Interkulturelle Medienwissenschaft und Kulturkonflikt

Abstract

The paper attempts a combination of intercultural studies and media studies. It first provides a terminological framework for the analysis of intercultural communication. Secondly, it gives a short outline of current research in the field of intercultural media studies, with special reference to the press and to television. It then opens up a perspective of empirical investigation into forms and functions of the depiction of ethnic minorities in the media, of implicit racism and hidden forms of discrimination in the news broadcasting, and of the image of foreigners in contemporary film. The main part of the paper is, on the one hand, devoted to the observation of the presence of foreigners in German TV programmes and the ways they are treated in with in various formats of broadcasting. On the other hand, it takes a closer look at the role of media for ethnic minorities, whether or not they serve a policy of integration and how the minorities make use of their own newspapers and television programmes. In a concluding paragraph a new field of research within intercultural media studies is outlined: development communication and eco-semiotics. Here, intercultural, institutional, and interpersonal communication processes merge in sustainable instruction procedures for the implementation of knowledge relevant for technology, environment and health in so-called low income countries.