Page 90 - Communication Cultural and Media Studies The Key Concepts

DIY CULTURE

particular texts take up elements of different discourses and articulate
them (that is, ‘knit them together’).
However, although discourses may be traced in texts, and although
texts may be the means by which discursive knowledges are circulated,
established or suppressed, discourses are not themselves textual.

Further reading: for discourse analysis in linguistics see Coulthard and
Montgomery (1981); for the concept of discourse in post-structuralism see Mills
(1997) and Sturrock (1979), introduction and chapter on Foucault.

DIVERSITY

Recognition of difference in politics, culture and heritage. Early
discussions of diversity in the media context concentrated on diversity
of ownership of media corporations, in order to ensure plurality of
published opinion. The idea, backed up by media ownership laws in
many countries, was that multiple viewpoints were preferable to a
limited selection. More recently the idea of diversity has been
extended to entire cultures: the rise of multiculturalism, and post-
colonial and diasporic theory has led to calls for diversity as a
fundamental goal of human endeavour, as well as public policy.
The exact outcomes of media diversity policies can be difficult to
identify. One area of activism in the name of diversity has been the
attempt to disrupt existing hegemonic structures by enabling minority
groups to be represented or to participate in the production of media
content. For instance, diversity is a chief concern of studies that
investigate industry practices in the casting of performers from
culturally diverse backgrounds. Diversity is also often used as a
justification for public service and community broadcasting. In both of
these instances the goal is to address the lack of representation of
particular groups in commercial media.
See also: Diaspora, Ethnic/ethnicity, Hegemony, Public sphere,
Regulation

DIY CULTURE

The form taken by youth activism and media citizenship in and after
the 1990s. Associated with raves and free dance parties, culture
jamming, eco-protests such as anti-road-building campaigns and DIY
media such as Squall, a magazine produced by and for squatters

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