a short monthly column on media and politics that Tracy and I coauthored for In These Times:
The Best of the Ethnic Media
Forget about the Pulitzer Prize. On Nov. 14, the most recent addition to the world of journalism awards ignored old standards like the New York Times and the Washington Post, instead honoring the work of such reporters as Dennis Romero of Tu Ciudad in Los Angeles and Ray Hanania of Ynet-News.com/Yedioth Ahronoth in Orland Park, Ill.
Romero and Hanania are two of the 19 winners from New America Media’s (NAM) first National Ethnic Media Awards. NAM is the country’s first and largest national network of ethnic news organizations and runs its own newswire service, funneling content to and from its 700 media partners. According to NAM, there are more than 2,500 ethnic media outlets across the country, from newspapers to TV broadcasts.
The NAM award winners reflected the diversity of these media outlets, honoring reporters who work for print publications like the Nguoi Viet Daily News and Little India and broadcast outlets like New Tang Dynasty TV.
“Hurricane Katrina and immigration rights dominated news in ethnic media over the last year,” says awards coordinator Sandip Roy. “Each of these complex stories reflects ethnic media’s unique role as an advocacy voice, as well as a vital source of news and information for their audiences.”
Joining the awards ceremony was Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.). The cynical might suspect that it was more than the great reporting that brought the Senator to the event.
As the Nov. 4 Washington Post reported, “While general-market newspapers and broadcast networks are profitable, their well-heeled audience is steadily shrinking. These ethnic media– whose readers, viewers and listeners are often recent immigrants of lower income and limited interest to advertisers– say their current worth may be small but their potential is immense.”
And NAM knows it. The next day, the organization held its first national professional development seminar, including a training session on “The Future of the Ethnic Vote in American Politics.”
