Finland: TV gives little to immigrants, says study

Finland: TV gives little to immigrants, says study


TV programming in Finland has little to give to immigrants in the country, says a study carried out at the University of Tampere.


Researchers say that programmes are often made without considering that the viewer might be a refugee or an asylum-seeker who finds the style or the content offensive.


According to Mari Maasilla of the University of Tampere, for example those who have come to Finland from other European countries find that matters that affect them are not presented on Finnish TV at all. Immigration is often associated with non-European origins and refugees. It is also seen as offensive that immigrants are lumped together as one single mass and not considered as individuals.


Even so, most immigrants are interested in what is on TV. Television is a window on the culture of the new country where they are living. Those taking part in the Tampere study said that they would like to see more programmes that would help them learn more about daily life in Finland. For immigrants, the television is also a useful tool in learning the language.


Both native-born Finns and immigrants would like, above all, to see programmes in which immigrants are first and foremost journalists, actors and entertainers, not primarily immigrants.


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Source: YLE (English)