MIREMS, Canada’s leading multilingual media monitoring and analysis company, presented in Ottawa a ground-breaking discussion paper titled “Diaspora and the Representation of Home Conflicts in Canada’s Ethnic Media”.

Presented at the Pathways to Prosperity Conference on April 24-25, at Saint Paul University in Ottawa, the paper delves into the reactions of ethnic media in Canada to four distinct conflicts: the allegations of election interference, the assassination of a Sikh leader in Canada, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the Israel-Palestine conflict.

By comparing and contrasting the coverage of these events in Chinese, South Asian, Eastern European, and Middle Eastern Canadian media outlets, the paper sheds light on the critical role that ethnic media plays in shaping the mindset of Canadian citizens.

“Ignoring grassroots community media can have significant consequences for understanding the mindset of Canadian residents, as evidenced by the reactions to these conflicts in ethnic media outlets,” said Silke Reichrath, Editor in Chief at MIREMS.

“This assertion is grounded in several well-established theories in the field of media and social communications analysis.”

Considering the growing prevalence of foreign interference in Canada and its ethnic media, MIREMS will provide an in-depth look at local and international multilingual media coverage. MIREMS’ community-based insights on these conflicts are a result of daily monitoring and analysis of 600+ ethnic media sources published or broadcast in Canada’s main immigrant destinations – Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Montreal – as well as relevant international media outlets with reach in Canada.

To offer a perspective into diaspora perspectives on the four conflicts mentioned above, MIREMS’ team of language analysts extracted insights from media outlets in 30 languages including Chinese (Cantonese & Mandarin), Punjabi, Gujarati, Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, Russian, Ukrainian, Arabic, Hebrew, English, and French.

The presentation of this discussion paper at the Diaspora, Diversity and Immigration Conference sponsored by Pathways to Prosperity serves as a call to action for greater attention to and engagement with ethnic media outlets in Canada.

By recognizing the power of these grassroots community media in shaping the mindset of Canadians, we all can work towards a more nuanced and comprehensive understanding of how global conflicts and events are impacting our diverse nation.

A preview version of the whole paper is available on request. For more information about the discussion paper and research, and interviews with Silke Reichrath, please contact Fatima Witt at outreach@mirems.com / 437-971-0255 or visit www.mirems.com/conferences.

(information provided by MIREMS)