We Are French Too, but Different

There have been very few attempts to critically examine the issue of migration (in terms of the movement of people and cultures) in the light of recent theoretical and methodological developments in media studies. Research has focused mainly on migrants' representation in and reception of the mainstream media of the host country. While this line of research is still valuable, it obscures the role of migrants as active participants and producers of alternative media outlets that help in the articulation of their diasporic experience. This article discusses how, through radio and music, young North Africans in France negotiate, elaborate and reappropriate different cultural forms to carve out a place for themselves in French culture. A focus on production illuminates the value of media as a site where monolithic forms of cultural belonging are rejected and new hybrid ethnicities are forged.