Local journalists’ social imaginaries include Muslims as valued community members

Evidence

Returning to Charles Taylor’s concept of social imaginaries, it became evident from the accounts of the local journalists I spoke to that the social imaginary of their local community very much included, rather than excluded, Muslim communities. The voices of these communities were valued as part of public debate. Other voices that potentially caused them harm, and risked disrupting the harmony of the wider community that Muslims were an integral part of, were challenged. This social imaginary became reflective of the practices of their society (Taylor, 2004: 91), both in terms of their local communities and their own journalistic identity and practices. Negative Muslim representation did not reflect their identity as journalists nor as local citizens. — Nadia Haq, ‘The National Media Just Sees Muslims…, 59

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to Taylor’s social imaginaries framework and to scholarship on media Othering of Muslims.
• SEED: Essay angle: Taylor’s social imaginaries as an antidote to national-media Othering frames.