Reading Note#5 How are immigrants seen and what do they want to see? -Feifei Ding

Mahtani (2008) compiles a literature review of media and immigrants over the past ten years. She scans how immigrants are represented on Canadian media-production of the immigrants’ media images and how immigrants choose and use media-consumption of media by immigrants, especially ethnic minority immigrants. In her article, Mahtani raises a few important points including why media representation is important and how immigrants are often underrepresented or even misrepresented by mainstream media. She cites quite a few cases, especially some in direct contrasts to illustrate the bias of mainstream media and its impact on public perception of certain groups of immigrants. The author finds that research starts to pay attention to examine production and consumption of media together, and uses settlement-related information as a perfect example. In conclusion, Mahtani encourages a multidimensional approach in closing the gap between production and consumption of media on immigrants. She ends the chapter by offering a few concrete suggestions on initiatives that can help to close the gap including analyzing neoliberal impact on media coverage, educating mainstream journalists, etc.

Although the title of the chapter defines the literature review in the Canadian English-language media, the research material Mahtani uses to analyze immigrants’ audience reception is on Chinese immigrants and Chinese-language media. This seems to deviate her comparison out of the presetted scope. As Chinese-language media are usually operated by Chinese immigrant community and cannot represent what Chinese would choose to receive information from the mainstream English-language media. 

Other than above issue, I find the reading very informative and educative. The examples of media coverage and public reaction of Fujianese Chinese landings in 1999 vs. refugees from Kosovo are such great contrast, Why are Chinese immigrants seen as problems and burdens, while refugees from Kosovo are welcomed by Canadians and make them feel proud? I was not aware of these examples until now, but I was quite bothered by the media coverage that foreign buyers high Vancouver real estate prices, and Chinese immigrants and “corrupted officials” are always blamed as main drives. Chinese immigrants are labeled as extravagant but not making contributions to Canadian society in many of these reports. How about those hardworking Chinese? How about those extravagant buyers from Russia and Middle East? The journalists could not care less about being fair, as they would like to produce news that catches attention of the mainstream audience.  Many Chinese new immigrants come to Canada, bringing all their savings from China, often including funds from sales of their property in China. They work hard to settle down and integrate, and save for the minimum down payment, and then buy a place that they call home. When they have more savings, more children, and then plan to sponsor their parents to join them in Canada, they upgrade to a bigger place. While Wealthy Barber is greeted with rapturous applause, should mainstream media cover how every Chinese is a “wealthy barber”? Are mainstream media interested in pay respect to Asian ideology and Chinese immigrant’s virtue of supporting children and caring for seniors’ late years? Indeed “tiger-mother” is more eye-catching and worth mocking at. If ignorance is a type of discrimination, mainstream media discriminate ethnic minority immigrants, especially those from a non English-language background. They assume those immigrants are not interested in active integration, and they probably do not think those immigrants are important parts of mosaic that shape the future of Canada. By not including and engaging immigrants, the English-language media are marginalizing them.