Tony Bennett, Differing diversities - Council of Europe

Reasearch position paper 1Strategic directions for researchConceptual clarificationA necessary condition for progress in research (and also policy) in this area is adedicated inquiry into the complexities of the many issues that are identified underthe heading of “cultural diversity”. The term has been widely used in differentways to refer to many different aspects of (a changing) reality and the existingstock of ideas, terms, concepts and theories is rich but confusing. Diversity ofmedia can take several forms, especially internal versus external and proportionalversus equal or open access. 1 It can relate to different levels of social organisationand kinds of collectivity (society, community, nation, group, region, etc.). Theinternal cultural diversity of most European countries is constituted by new as wellas older divisions and identifications (think of refugees, ex-colonial citizens,“guest workers”, citizens of other European Union countries, etc.) Changingmedia also give rise to new modes of access, representation and participation.Cultural diversity can (in principle) be “measured” or assessed according tonumerous dimensions and criteria (ethnicity, religion, language, nation, gender,social class, region, aesthetics, media forms etc.). However, compared to earliersituations in which diversity research was carried out, there are now many morepotential cultural divisions that can claim equal recognition. This poses an acuteproblem of selection of “cultural indicators”.The difficult question of the relation between culture and identity needs also to betaken into account. 2 Ideas about cultural identity, autonomy, authenticity are theheart of public and policy concerns and need to be clarified on a continuous basis,because of the pace of globalisation and of other changes. It is also pertinent tomention debates and research around the notion of media and cultural “quality”,which have not diminished in intensity and relevance even in this postmodernage. 3The conceptual work referred to does not have to be done again from the beginningbut it needs to be kept under continuous review and adapted to new situations.Turning to more empirical matters, there are numerous lines of research that meritcontinuation or initiation. It is not easy to assign priorities or orders of importance,but the agenda that follows is influenced by certain assumptions about trends andforces at work in the cultural-media landscape and about gaps in deficiencies inwhat we know.Media concentrationThere is reason to think that processes of concentration at the level of ownershipare likely to accelerate in global media markets which will affect European mediadirectly and indirectly, especially as digital television and Internet develop further__________1. See McQuail and Cuilenburg, 1983.2. See, for instance, Schlesinger, 1987 and 2000.3. See Ishikawa, 1996; Rosengren, Carlsson and Tågerud, 1991.83