The UK has a wide range of minority media across all platforms and serving many of the UK’s minority groups, from South Asian diasporas, to the Jewish community and smaller minority and language groups such as the traveller and Roma communities. The BBC also operates television and radio channels broadcasting in Welsh and Gaelic.
The BBC provides programming and news in Gaelic on television (BBC Alba) and radio (BBC Radio nan Gàidheal), and in Welsh through its contributions to the television channel S4C and the Welsh-language radio station BBC Radio Cymru. The Corporation also operates the BBC Asian Network on national analogue and digital radio for British Asians. The station broadcasts mostly in English, but also offers programming in other languages. Altogether, the BBC spent £57 million on Welsh and Gaelic radio, S4C and the BBC Asian Network in 2018/19 (BBC, 2019a).
Minority and ethnic programming on commercial digital television is provided by a range of channels licensed by Ofcom. For example, Al Araby Television, based in London, broadcasts news, factual and entertainment programming in Arabic, while Dunya TV offers a similar service in Urdu. Many commercial radio stations serve minority communities, including Gaelic broadcasting (Cuillin FM), South Asian communities (for example, Lyca Radio and Dilse Radio). Polski Radio Londyn provides Polish-language broadcasting.
A range of minority newspapers (and their online counterparts) is also available within the UK. The Jewish Chronicle is a weekly newspaper based in London, and has been publishing since 1841 (Jewish Chronicle, n.d.). Some Polish-language newspapers have been in circulation for some time, such as Dziennek Polski and the Polish Express. These have been joined by more recent additions such as Cooltura 24, which publishes online and in print (and is regulated by IMPRESS). The gypsy, traveller and Roma communities are served by the Travellers Times, a bi-annual publication regulated by IPSO, which also publishes online throughout the year. Ashraq Al Awsat is a London-based Arabic newspaper, while a range of newspapers in South Asian languages are avaliable, including the Urdu Times.
