Taking Root: Media, Community, and Belonging in Ottawa April Bella
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Taking Root: Media, Community, and Belonging in Ottawa April Bella Lilas Carriere A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Doctorate in Philosophy in Political Science School of Political Studies Faculty of Social Sciences University of Ottawa © April Bella Lilas Carriere, Ottawa, Canada, 2016 For my grand-mother, Lili, who, through her love, support, and indomitable spirit, instilled in me everything I needed to follow my dreams II TABLE OF CONTENTS Legend ........................................................................................................................................ VI Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... VII Preface ..................................................................................................................................... VIII Chapter 1 – Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1 Guiding Research Questions and Hypothesis ............................................................................. 5 Thesis Outline.............................................................................................................................. 6 Chapter 2 – Literature Review, theoretical framework, and Methodology ................................... 8 Literature Review ........................................................................................................................ 9 Theoretical Framework: ............................................................................................................ 38 Methodology ............................................................................................................................. 50 Chapter 3 - Mapping Media Use in Three Ottawa Ethno-cultural Communities ......................... 62 Demographic Characteristics of Survey Respondents .............................................................. 65 Ethno-cultural and Country of Origin Media Consumption ..................................................... 70 Comparative Use of Mainstream Media, ECM and Country of Origin Media .......................... 73 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 100 Chapter 4 - Exploring the Uses and Gratifications of Ethno-Cultural and Country of Origin Media in Ottawa’s Chinese, Latin American, and Somali Communities ................................................ 107 Part 1: Feelings of representation in Mainstream media ....................................................... 108 Part 2: Uses and Gratifications Analysis ................................................................................. 117 Part 3: Contribution to Collective Capacity ............................................................................ 155 Chapter 5 - Potential of ECM to Support Collective Capacity in Ottawa’s Chinese, Latin American, and Somali Communities ............................................................................................................ 163 Potential as a Communication Channel .................................................................................. 165 Potential to Support In-community Networks of Interaction ................................................ 169 Potential to Support an Enabling Collective Imaginary .......................................................... 169 Provision of Integrative Content and Ads ............................................................................... 172 III Ottawa’s Chinese Canadian Community ................................................................................ 173 Ottawa’s Latin American Community ..................................................................................... 208 Ottawa’s Somali Canadian Community .................................................................................. 244 Chapter 6 – Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 265 Appendices .................................................................................................................................. 276 Appendix 1 – Tables ................................................................................................................ 276 Appendix 2 – Charts ................................................................................................................ 283 Appendix 3 – OMMI Survey Questionnaire ............................................................................ 360 Appendix 4 – OMMI Content Analysis Coding Protocol ......................................................... 372 Appendix 5 – Television Content Analysis Coding Protocol ................................................... 379 Appendix 6 – OMMI List of Operational Terms ...................................................................... 388 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................ 394 IV Abstract This thesis employs a post-anarchist influenced lens and develops a collective capacity framework in order to explore how the media consumption and production practices of the Chinese Canadian, Latin American, and Somali Canadian communities in Ottawa, Canada, can strengthen these communities’ ability to facilitate the process by which immigrants become community members and form a sense of belonging in Ottawa. The thesis explores both how ethno-cultural media can help newcomers to form a sense of belonging and become part of a local ethno-cultural community, as well as how such media can help members of minority ethno- cultural communities become part of the broader local community and to form a sense of belonging in Ottawa, and Canada more broadly. Throughout, the thesis identifies and explores the differences that emerge between the three communities in order to gain better insight into the potential benefits of ethno-cultural media. In order to explore and to answer these questions, the thesis employs quantitative and qualitative methods. It relies on analysis of secondary literature, raw data from the OMMI 2012 Survey, raw content coding of local Chinese and Spanish language media carried out as part of the Ottawa Multicultural Media Initiative, and primary research consisting of content coding of a Somali Canadian television program. The main contribution of this thesis lies in offering a new lens through which to assess the integrative potential of ethno-cultural media. Approaching the question from a bottom-up, relationship-centred perspective has yielded different findings than those generally reported in Canadian ethno-cultural media research. Although there were significant differences in terms of media use and media production between the three communities, the findings revealed that all three used ethno-cultural media in ways that had the potential to help them in the process of settling down and taking root in a new city, and of helping them to form a sense of belonging. V Legend BC – British Columbia CBC – Canadian Broadcasting Corporation CCN – Canada China News CRTC – Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission ECM – Ethno-Cultural Media EL – Eco Latino HT – Health Times ITV – Integration: Building a New Cultural Identity MEE – Mundo en Español OMMI – Ottawa Multicultural Media Initiative VI Acknowledgements I would first like to thank my thesis supervisor, Professor Caroline Andrew, for her continuous and unfailing support. She has been unbelievably generous with her time, providing me with guidance and encouragement throughout the research and writing process, and I cannot begin to express how fortunate I feel to have benefited from her knowledge, experience, and mentorship over the course of my PhD studies. I would also like to thank Professors Emily Wills, Luc Turgeon, Martine Lagacé, and last but not least, Minelle Mahtani who graciously accepted to serve as part of my thesis committee. They provide incredibly thoughtful insights and critiques which encouraged me to push my thinking further, and for that I am truly grateful. This thesis made extensive use of survey and content coding data produced as part of the Ottawa Multicultural Media Initiative (OMMI). I am grateful to the OMMI team (Principal Investigator: Dr. Rukhsana Ahmed; Co-investigators: Dr. Caroline Andrew, Dr. Houssein Charmarkeh, Dr. Jaya Peruvemba, and Dr. Luisa Veronis) for generously granting me the permission to use this data. I would also like to acknowledge and to thank Dr. Jing Feng and Ms. Fatima Yusuf whose contribution to the OMMI as research assistants was essential to the data collection process. This thesis would not have been possible without their brilliance, hard work, and dedication. I would like to thank the friends and family who supported me and cheered me on as I completed my thesis. A heartfelt thanks to Cindy, a lifelong friend, for making Ottawa feel more like home, and for all the hours spent proofreading my thesis; to Saeda, for adopting me as a sister, and all the time spent assuaging my doubts; and to Colin, my husband, and Jacquie, my mother-in-law, for their unwavering support and encouragement. I am so fortunate to have you in my life. VII Preface Following the thesis defence, I was