We’ve all heard the doom facing mainstream media: the downfall of print, the flawed money-making model of online, and the get-it-free attitude debate over the future of print and the Web. Still, even with today’s financial woes, one part of the journalism business is poised to thrive – ethnic media.

In some ways it’s no surprise. Ethnic media has a minority audience that will soon be a majority, as early as 2042, and go on to represent 54 percent of the nation’s population, according to an August 2008 report by the U.S. Census Bureau. The report projected that Hispanic and Asian populations in the U.S. would triple by 2050, meaning they would make up a significantly larger slice of the American pie. Currently, the minority population, which stands at over 100 million, accounts for roughly over one-third of the U.S. population, according to the bureau.

And it’s not just a growing audience of minorities, either. New media outlets are already emerging, especially in places like California as a growing audience also needs more coverage on issues related to them. There’s also mainstream popularity of ethnic-focused programs, not to mention representation of minorities in politics too.

The statistics

A June 2009 ethnic media usage poll commissioned by San Francisco-based New America Media and designed and coordinated by Florida-based Bendixen & Associates, found 57 million African-Americans, Hispanics and Asian-Americans consume some form of ethnic media, up 16 percent from 51 million in the last study conducted in 2005. And ethnic media reaches 82 percent of the ethnic population in the U.S., according to the NAM study, which offers the latest available glimpse into the media habits of America’s minorities.

But despite the presence of a clear opportunity, some think ethnic media must fix itself before it can move forward and avoid the same dire situation facing mainstream media – a market reality that has already forced both major dailies in Chicago into bankruptcy court. Following the ethics of journalism, fact-checking and providing balanced coverage are a few such issues.

Having statistical proof of the nation’s changing demographic alters the balance of power, with ripple effects particularly prominent in the media. Whether it is hard news, broadcast programs, cable television, radio shows or the pages of a glossy magazine, the emphasis on reflecting a multiracial audience will be of utmost importance as outlets try to survive by attracting the highest volume of advertising dollars.

Diversity on television

Some of the changes are already apparent, both in and out of the media. There’s Spanish language television from media companies like Telemundo and Universal; Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic justice on the high court; the fame of Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire, which was based and filmed in India; the Latina-inspired primetime television show Ugly Betty; and of course, the election of President Barack Obama, whose ethnic roots spread wide and deep.

“I think they are really making an effort to try and reach out to more diverse audiences in both primetime and daytime, but unfortunately, for me, it’s not enough,” said Mala Bhattacharjee, news editor for Soap Opera Weekly. Growing up, Bhattacharjee watched American soap operas with her mother as a way to connect to the culture here. The sweeping drama, complicated storylines and emotional turmoil were themes very similar to the style of Bollywood films, the famed Hollywood alternative that has made India such fertile ground for talent, she said.

But as Bhattacharjee grew older, issues of gender and diversity on television became close to her heart as she became more aware of the lack of representation of different races. “That’s the kind of thing I want to see daytime TV follow through with, is that you can have a cast that’s multiracial and speaks to an audience and it doesn’t take away from a story; if anything, it adds to the story,” she said.

Turns out soap opera audiences are a varied lot. More non-Caucasian visitors, specifically African-Americans, go to soap opera Web sites than average. Quantcast.com, a Web site analyzing online traffic, measures visits on an index scale, with 100 being the Internet average. Soapopera.com has an index of 161 for African-Americans, Soapoperadigest.com at 141 and Soaps.com at 190.

“Actually the highest percentage of soap opera viewers, I believe, is African-American,” Bhattacharjee said. “So you would think that these shows would start to reflect how diverse their audience is and really just tell those stories because there’s so much organic conflict and drama.”

Ethnic newspapers

And it’s not just about television. Ethnic newspapers are a growing medium, contrary to the crisis of the mainstream, according to the NAM study. A National Study on the Penetration of Ethnic Media in America was based on a telephone poll of 1,329 African-Americans, Hispanics and Asian-Americans. The study found that Chinese newspapers reach 70 percent of their adult demographic based on a sample size of 110 Chinese people and Korean newspapers are reaching 64 percent, based on a sample size of 111 Korean people.

New publications are cropping up as well, and surpassing expectations. The FilAm Star, a biweekly Filipino-oriented newspaper based in the Bay Area, launched in December 2007 and now plans to go weekly, Spanish language papers such as Atlanta-based Padres and Hijos as well as La Voz de San Diego launched in the last four years. And California’s Oakland Globe, has increased circulation of its large audience of African-Americans.

Fix the flaws first

But before ethnic media can grow any further, some say much work needs to be done to fix existing flaws, such as following best practices, using reliable sources and forming a common group identity.

Many suggestions were made during a panel on the state of ethnic media in the economy held at City University of New York’s Graduate School of Journalism. Majeed Babar, the executive editor for the New York-based Asia Tribune suggested these outlets come together under a “joint umbrella.” Babar worked for The New York Times as a stringer from 1992 to 1994 and was based in Kabul and other parts of the Middle East.

He covered the civil war in Afghanistan and the rise of the Taliban among other crises, until threats of death and serious violence forced him to relocate to the U.S. Here, however, the threats have not stopped. Originally from Pakistan, Babar now is the New York newsroom supervisor for The New York Times while juggling his duties with the Asia Tribune.

For ethnic media to come together under a group identity would benefit everyone, Babar stressed, adding it would present a better investment for advertisers. The chief problem: Setting high goals and accomplishing them, Babar said. “The people running the ethnic media, they really think it’s kind of unreachable,” he said. Major advertising outlets are missed opportunities that ethnic media doesn’t reach for, Babar explained.

A number of suggestions regarding the business model, quality of content and journalism ethics were also discussed during the panel, which ran July 11 during the South Asian Journalists Association’s 15^th Annual Convention. Babar acknowledged that for ethnic media to move forward and really stake its claim, it must first overcome some serious internal errors.

“We don’t follow the real ethics of journalism, I have to accept that,” Babar said. “With the ethnic media, they don’t re-check it, they don’t do fact check…They are very reluctant to get the version of another person.”

Poor pay, or taking content for free and questionable reliability of sources are other issues, he said. “This is a regular practice, not following the real ethics of journalism,” Babar said.

As realistic as Babar may be about the failures of ethnic media — though certainly not all can be painted so broadly – he is also largely confident and optimistic about its place in the world. Just the same, he is passionate about the avid audience it has. Babar, in fact, founded the weekly Asia Tribune in 2006 based in part on this recognition of a hole in the mainstream media.

Ethnic media taps into niche communities

“You know, 300,000 Afghans-Pashtuns live in the United States,” Babar said. “They don’t have a single newspaper, they don’t even have a single flyer, not a radio station, nothing. The ethnic media, especially our newspaper, was the main source of news for them. To me, that was kind of establishing for their own identity in this country, and telling them that’s how your own language [looks] when it’s written.”

To further drive the point home, the paper is published in a mix of languages: Urdu, Pashtu (Afghani) and English. Babar said the decision to publish this way was an expression of his cultural background, as well as mission of sorts to serve an audience in their own language and build a sense of trust and community.

“There are 72 different communities living in New York, only in New York,” Babar said. “Seventy-two different communities, different languages, different cultures and everyday they have events, they have discussions, they have talks, they have religious ceremonies and the mainstream media is just ignoring it.”

And a multi-ethnic audience needs stories that are reported with a sense of cultural understanding, which means hiring journalists who, as best they can, reflect their audience.

“I personally think it’s really important to have a lot of diversity in the media, especially if a person knows a language,” said Rozina Ali, who recently graduated with her Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University in New York. “There’s something to be said for someone who comes from a specific culture, and cultural background, because they have more to offer and I think they understand a different concept of a specific story. At the same time I’m a little wary of some journalist becoming this token of some specific country or another.”

Part of the additional appeal of ethnic media is its ability to bring non-English speaking communities together. “It’s not just a generational difference, there’s a connectivity in English being made versus people going to their specific regional language for news,” said Bhattacharjee, who is the news editor for Soap Opera Weekly and also attended the panel.

Babar agreed, also pointing out that his audience is made up largely of immigrants, who might not only miss their home country but do not read publications such as The New York Times. The reason, he said, is not only the language barrier, but because they are not able to relate to the news covered; often news covered by such mainstream media outlets has little relevance to them, particularly large immigrant communities in places like New York who have highly specific concerns and needs.

A new era for ethnic media?

While this may be a new era for ethnic media, without a remedy to flaws in the model it stands as an institution that could easily succumb to the same pitfalls dogging mainstream media. The audience is here, and ready. But is the media capable of delivering anytime soon?

“I think right now, we have the perfect time, the perfect audience for ethnic-based drama or comedy, because lord knows we’re funny people,” said Bhattacharjee. “So just base it around a family and go.”

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Tags: African American, Asian American, diversity, ethnic media, Hispanic, Indian, Korean American, minorities, New America Media, SAJA, soap opera, Sotomayor, South Asia, South Asian Journalism Convention, South Asian Journalists Association, U.S. Census Bureau

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