Media in minority contexts: Towards a research framework

This special issue on ‘Media in minority contexts’ includes some of the best papers presented at a 2012 conference on the same theme held at the University of Alberta. The issue comprises as well three articles written by media practitioners in response to the researchers’ work. It also provides a general literature review of the field distinguishing two main strands of research: the status of media in minority contexts, and the participation of minorities in national, transnational and international debates. This second strand can itself be divided into three different subfields: cultural representations, communicative structures and sociocultural conditions for media access and use. The first article is an introduction to the special issue. It underlines how each of the articles in this special issue adds to the two strands and their subfields. It lays out some questions to explore further and argues that the research framework thus outlined ought to be considered from a multidisciplinary perspective.