This chapter takes as its point of departure a significant book that has inspired media and communication studies even though it treats issues of information and communication from a mathematical and technical angle. This chapter introduces Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver’s communication theory and its central concepts, which have been especially important in the field of media and communication studies, including the now-common terms information, selection, uncertainty and the (im)probability of communication. This chapter first reviews the mathematical theory of communication, as formulated by Shannon, and the additions provided by Weaver; it then briefly presents the criticism against this theory and how the theory has been used and further developed in fields such as cybernetics and systems theory.

This article examines the entanglement between refugees’ Internet use and their present living conditions of resettlement in Sweden and Germany. It seeks to provide a new perspective by applying the operational concept of expectation as developed by Niklas Luhmann. Expectations emerge in the interplay between the user and the materiality as well as functionality of media technologies that are embedded in concrete living conditions. In the case of disappointed expectations, a cognitive or normative expectation stabilization strategy is applied. Based on in-depth interviews, it becomes obvious that where cognitive expectations are concerned, openness to change one’s expectations, and therefore learning, is increased.

This paper gives first insights into a new research project (started in January 2021) about ”migrant voices”. We study different media initiatives and media productions by migrants or people with migrant backgrounds from different generations and in different countries (Sweden, Germany, Estonia). The term “migrant media” holds the idea that migrants make their own content, that is, they have editorial control, and tell their own stories purposefully and intentionally. This is a field that has only received marginal attention in the wider field of media and communication studies. Since the technical preconditions for speech, e.g. for participating in the public sphere are enhanced due to digital communication technologies, digital voices of the migrants have the potential to counteract a dominant mainstream media discourse. 

In order to explore forms of “listening” and “talking back”, I focus on a podcast named “Kanackische Welle” with 42 episodes (June 2021) that gained wider attention in the German public sphere. The topic of living in a multi-cultural society in general and racism in Germany in particular are widely discussed in this podcast. This paper asks how the producers work in order to amplify their voice beyond their own migrant community. What kind of voices, narratives and frames are privileged by this media? 

This podcast shows how it is possible to add new voices to the wider public sphere by addressing issues from perspectives that are usually not or only marginally noticed. The question of racism is not new, but the angle of everyday stereotyping and hierarchization of cultures and shades of skin color, and privileges of white people are hardly discussed. The issues are both treated in a “we and them” manner but also in self-reflective way. Guests are usually invited in order to deepen the conversation and to give a broader view. It is not done in a pro and contra manner but rather in an informal way of common understanding of the relevance of the issue by e.g. sharing expert knowledge in order to understand the roots and causes for widespread racist thinking. Already from the beginning, the hosts and guests agree upon the importance of the issue and want to clarify the problem. 

Actually, this media production is an example of how to make the media landscape more diverse. Benefitting from the status of being trained journalists and having a journalistic network behind, gave the hosts good starting opportunities for gaining attention and recognition from mainstream media and, therefore, a path into the wider public sphere and outside one’s own community. The combination of status and thoughtful treatment of complex issues in a playful way, especially target at the younger generation, has opened the door for recognition from mainstream media. The perspectives addressed in the podcast are “currently very requested” by mainstream media (Krone 2020) because they attract migrant communities and especially a younger audience, something that, mainstream media often have not succeeded with.

This article examines the entanglement between refugees’ Internet use and their present living conditions of re-settlement in Sweden and Germany. It seeks to provide a new perspective by applying the operational concept of “expectation” as developed by Niklas Luhmann.

Expectations emerge in the interplay between the user and the materiality as well as functionality of media technologies that are embedded in concrete living conditions. Based on in-depth interviews, it becomes obvious that using media technologies in order to manage one’s life situation is a learning process influenced by social and cognitive conditions, whereby the responsibility of the individual is decisive for a successful outcome.

Inom den svenska medie- och kommunikationsvetenskapen är forskningen kring migration och etnisk mångfald ett relativt nedprioriterat ämne. Det kan te sig märkligt i en tid kännetecknad av stora migrationsrörelser som förändrat samhället till att bli allt mer etniskt och kulturellt heterogent. Dessa samhällsförändringar har konsekvenser för det offentliga samtalet. I mitt bidrag ger jag en översikt av vad som forskats om i Sverige och försöker avslutningsvist ge några svar på varför det finns ett relativt lågt intresse för ämnet.