United Kingdom – (E4) Minority / Alternative media

Media 08, the Guardian’s media directory (2008)¹³, listed no fewer than 77 UK minority press outlets, catering to the UK’s rich multicultural diversity. This included numerous titles for the numerous British ethnic minorities and religious minorities. Through non-terrestrial channels these communities were also able to access a range of programming that featured culture, heritage, news and language associated with their ethnic background (Ofcom 2007). The MediaWise website links to a sizeable number of alternative media websites.¹⁴ However, there is argument about how well minority needs are catered for by the mainstream media, and indeed about the need for special programming for them. In 2010, the BBC announced the closure of its Asian programmes unit, saying ‘departments catering specifically for particular minority groups are no longer required’ because the representation of different communities had become an integral part of its commissioning process. The BBC, however, still produces the BBC Asian Network and the black music radio station 1Xtra.¹⁵ Lastly, in this context, it is noteworthy that national minority languages within the UK have been catered for, notably by S4C, the Welsh TV channel established in 1982 and by government subsidies for Gaelic programming in Scotland and Northern Ireland; the 2003 Communications Act provided for the establishment of a Gaelic Media Service, which launched in 2008 under the operating name MG ALBA, funded by the Scottish government.