Negotiating national identity through media consumption

When people from a certain nation decide to move in another one and accommodate with a new life, their national identity changes. In order to integrate in a new country they speak a different language, learn various customs, while still keeping in touch with their families, friends, and consuming media from homeland. All these actions performed in both countries are transforming diaspora’s national identity in a hybrid identity. DoR magazine is a media product written in the Romanian language, a tool of nation-building along the social institutions who construct the Romanian nation, thus worth of research. This study researched a specific diaspora that reads the independent magazine DoR. I wanted to find whether the magazine plays a role in their national identity negotiation, and if so what is that. The theoretical framework used nationalism’s definition of Anderson (1991) in which the nations are ‘imagined communities’. Furthermore, the research drawn on theories regarding media’s role in nation building, diaspora and transnationalism, as well as the history and myths composing Romania. By applying the qualitative method of discourse analysis over the in-depth interviews with 14 subscribers located all over the world, findings revealed the negotiation of national identity correlated with the consumption of DoR magazine. The findings split between an analysis on the national identity invoked by participants when sharing their personal story and future plans, and the national identity invoked in relation with their DoR subscription. The results of each category mirrored, showing an on-going shift between the civic and ethnic identity, and a hybrid identity this diaspora is dealing with between their homeland and the countries they live in. In conclusion, the print magazine of DoR plays a role in the negotiation of national identity for its diaspora subscribers. From the language used, subjects approached, and the community it builds, this magazine is a reference for the ethnic identity these diaspora members ache for. Moreover, the magazine also appeals to a civic identity this diaspora discovered in their countries of residence, building an image of Romania with which this diaspora identifies. The role of media in nation building, especially for diasporas, has been approached through various mediums, such as television or newspaper prints. However, the role of magazines in the hybrid identities diaspora members develop has not been under focus.