10/08/2007 03:11 PM Global Media Journal Page 1 of 22 http://lass.calumet.purdue.edu/cca/gmj/sp07/gmj-sp07-schejter-kittler-lim-douai-balaji.htm Volume 6, Issue 10 | Spring 2007 | Table of Contents Home About GMJ Journal Editors Advisory Board Global Editions Contact Us Current Issue Archives Book Reviews Commentaries Dialogue Call for Papers Submission Guidelines Editor's Guide Paper Review Form Future Issues and Editors Past Issues and Editors Media Links Site Search Article No. 3 “Let's go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech:” 1 Developing a Model for Comparative Analysis and Normative Assessment of Minority Media Rights Amit Schejter, Juraj Kittler, Ming Kuok Lim, Aziz Douai, and Murali Balaji Pennsylvania State University Abstract The media have traditionally been assigned a role in creating a unified national identity, a process that has often come at the expense of recognizing the distinct identities of minority groups. Dramatic geopolitical changes and increased awareness of human rights in recent years, however, have focused attention around the world on the need to institutionalize media services designed to preserve the cultural rights of minorities, and a growing number of democratic societies have, at least in ideal, shifted away from uniform national identity to pluralistic consensus in order to maximize participation by diverse groups. These needs have been addressed in various ways in different countries and have been the focus of growing academic interest. This study offers a unified conceptual model for assessing the effectiveness of policies that aim to enhance minority representation and voice in national media systems, and tests the model on a “convenience sample” of nations self-defined as democratic. It creates a generalized model that allows comparing different policies using a common definitional context, and it examines these policies and how they measure up to ideal standards of discourse. Introduction Recognized as a tool for promoting national development, economic, educational and cultural goals, the media have traditionally been assigned a role in creating a unified national identity (i.e. Geertz, 1973; Katz & Weddel, 1977; Schudson 1994; Anderson, 1991). This phenomenon, however, is not unique to developing nations. Indeed, in some developed nations, where national identity is defined as a "vulnerable value" to be protected, policy makers have also focused attention on how to use the media to advance the goal of its protection and preservation (Blumler, 1992). The process of creating a uniform national identity has often come at the expense of recognizing the distinct identities of minority groups. Dramatic geopolitical changes and increased awareness of human rights in recent years, however, have focused attention around the world on the need to institutionalize media services designed to preserve the cultural rights of minorities, in particular their linguistic rights. A growing number of democratic societies have, at least in ideal, shifted away from uniform national identity to pluralistic consensus in order to maximize