This article examines how minority ethnic audiences are measured, and thus constructed, in the Netherlands today. The analysis shows that this process is tightly woven into the dominant assimilationist and neoliberal discourse. This discourse portrays specific minority groups as deviant in relation to an essentialized notion of Dutchness. Furthermore, it presents social inclusion as an opportunity that is limited to well-adjusted, profitable consumers. Different attempts to represent minority audiences – including efforts to promote a more just minority representation in Dutch media – are compelled to accommodate to this dominant discourse. The article underscores the limited scope for contesting current hegemonic representations of minority groups and national belonging in the Netherlands.

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doi.org/10.1177/0267323112468684, hdl.handle.net/1765/39773
European Journal of Communication
Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication (ESHCC)

Awad Cherit, I. (2013). Desperately constructing ethnic audiences: Anti-immigration discourses and minority audience research in the Netherlands
. European Journal of Communication, 28(2), 168–182. doi:10.1177/0267323112468684