Placing the diaspora in the frame: A case study of Zee TV’s Raj Britannia documentary series

This study examines the archives of current affairs programme Raj Britannia, produced by British Journalists for transnational satellite broadcaster Zee TV, to better understand historic television journalism practice in the UK. The article evaluates the role journalists at Zee TV played in advocating, empowering and educating the British Asian diaspora in the run up to the General Election in 1997.  The analysis reveals that while Zee TV journalists applied advocacy practices to encourage the viewer to be politically strategic in voting, the tone of programmes mimic mainstream media deficit discourses. This suggests ethnic media may on occasions perform contradictory roles, advocate for their audience and also apply deficit models in a reflection of dominant news ideologies.