Ethnic media in the U.S. dates to the 1800s and early 1900s. It is one of the oldest branches in a collective of news organizations known as alternative media that also includes podcast, the international press, small independent news outfits, strictly digital news providers and social media. Today, collectively, alternative media now rival the mainstream media as a co-leading source of news in the U.S.
In a striking, awesome showing of influence at this very moment, history is in the making as alternative media are co-presenting the narrative of the current war in Gaza. Milennials, Gen X are not going to traditional channels – network and cable news outlets that once cornered reporting on war – to get their updates. Instead, they and millions of others are plugging in, powering up, and connecting online to access a plethora of information — some precise, enlightening, and professional news reporting while others are pedestrian, amateur and even fake commentary.
This is the state of news in 2023 that some say is rendering a fuller picture on the issues of the day as enterprises of competing ideas, unfettered by traditional colossal corporate media gatekeepers, swirl around in new (powered by tech) and old channels of communication.
Ongoing need for ethnic media Ethnic media are a niche in alternative media. Alternative because from their very start hundreds of years ago they were then and remain now often a counter narrative to mainstream media. Where communities of color, ethnic and immigrant were largely invisible and unheard, it was the ethnic media as an “alternative” to mainstream media that gave these communities a body of presence and voice.
With ethnic media, you have the niche of the niche,” says Sandy Close, founder and director of the San Francisco-based Ethnic Media Services, which works to foster and sustain ethnic news outlets. “You can’t get more local.”
Hilda Gurdian, La Noticia’s publisher, said “In the best case, we are under covered. In the worst case, we are ignored.”
“People watch our news in order to survive in this country,” said Univision anchor Jorge Ramos. “We are providing essential information…How does one receive a scholarship, how does one get medical insurance, how to vote on the day of elections,” he said.
Chona Montesines-Sonido, publisher and managing editor of the Hawaii Filipino Chronicle, said “We need ethnic media to communicate the news happening in our ethnic communities since the mainstream media tend to leave us out. They do not tell the whole story. Sometimes, the bad news overshadows the good news that often is not even reported. We have many community activities that go uncovered.
“Ethnic media showcase the best in our community, our culture and both our successes and failures. Our reporting is not always a self-pat on the back. In fact, we report on areas of need for improvement that we ourselves know best what they are and the right solutions for us,” said Montesines-Sonido.
The Hawaii Filipino Chronicle who Chona along with her husband Dr. Charlie Sonido founded is in its 31st year of publishing.
She gives an example of the importance of the ethnic media that occurred during the height and preceding years of the COVID-19 pandemic. “It was the ethnic media that first brought attention to Asian hate and crimes against Asians by reporting on STOP AAPI Hate’s data showing thousands of Asians across the country experiencing racism to outright violence and deaths. And Asians are still targets of discrimination and violence today solely based on race. So, in this example alone, ethnic media remain relevant and needed,” said Montesines-Sonido.
How big is ethnic media in the U.S. A study from the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill identified 950 ethnic news outlets in the U.S. in 2020. That number could be higher as some important ethnic media has been uncounted in the UNC study.
Hawaii has a vibrant ethnic media with newspapers for the Filipino, Japanese, Chinese, Korean and Native Hawaiian communities. Currently, there are two statewide Filipino newspapers – the Hawaii Filipino Chronicle and FilAm Courier.
The Hawaii Hochi has a Japanese-language newspaper and an English-language edition started in 1912 called the Hawaii Herald. Started in 2002, the Hawaii Chinese News is currently the major newspaper for Chinese Americans in the State. But their community had a far older newspaper, the Hawaiian Chinese News that was circulated from 1881 to 1907.
On the mainland the first Spanish-language newspaper was El Misispi, published in 1808 and immediately followed by El Mensajero Luisianes in 1809. Dating as far back as 1827, the first African American newspaper was the Freedom’s Journal.
Ethnic media have been story tellers of the American experience from the nation’s cradle years of the old Spanish-Mexican west, to the Japanese intern camps, to the COVID-19 pandemic that claimed the lives of hundreds of Filipino nurses, nearly a third of all nurses who’ve died from the coronavirus in the U.S. That story is still largely untold.
Changing demographics behind rise in ethnic media By 2045, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates the current U.S. minority population will outnumber whites, which rise in the Latino, Asian, African and Native-American communities is the spark currently igniting an explosion of new ethnic media found mostly along the coasts in California, Washington, New York, Florida, and in the south in Texas.
Pew Research shows Latino-Hispanic media are by far the largest ethnic media, followed by the Asian American community.
Besides the Latino population’s strength in number (in both California and Texas, they make up the largest racial group), their media’s success can be attributed to their communities’ high Spanish-language retention and ongoing immigration.
Asians currently have the highest immigration into the U.S., but third, fourth, and even second-generation Asians have low ancestral language retention. This is true for Hawaii Asian immigrants. Ancestral language retention is one sign of connection to one’s ethnic community, which connection is key to ethnic media’s audience size and success.
Besides a strong connection to community, Montesines-Sonido echoes what other owners of media say, is that “you must build trust in the community you are serving.”
She explains, “Trust is one area ethnic media has an advantage over the mainstream media. Certainly, there are reputable legacy newspapers like the New York Times and Washington Post, but there are many new mainstream newspapers struggling to build trust with their audience. With ethnic media, our community, our audience trust us because our very existence is built upon advocacy for our people.
“We in the ethnic media have our niche audience, we have their trust, our big challenge is to survive the brutal economic conditions,” said Montesines-Sonido.
Economic conditions specific to Ethnic Media In the same UNC study, researchers found that most ethnic media outlets are independently owned small businesses except for a few conglomerates such as Entravision Communications (28 Hispanic/Latino outlets), NBC Universal (26 Hispanic/Latino Outlets) and Univision (20 Hispanic/Latino outlets).
Small independently owned media are faced with ongoing financial limitations. They don’t have enough capital to grow to a readership size that will entice more advertisers interested in reaching a maximum audience for their limited advertising budget.
But most companies that do advertise in ethnic media understand that they are reaching an audience that mainstream media often will not penetrate, particularly in non-English ethnic publications. Any reader they reach in ethnic media is potentially a new client, a potentially new market base, advertisers say.
Advertising remains the main source of revenue for ethnic media. Because of their smaller audience, ethnic news outlets can’t charge as much for ads, ethnic media owners say.
They also say minorities’ buying power are often underestimated, no matter the size they may be in a community.
In Hawaii where minorities make up a majority, and specific to Hawaii’s Filipino community, they are the largest and fastest ethnic group in the state. Filipinos’ buying power in Hawaii is unquestionable, many advertisers say.
New sources of income for ethnic media Publishers of ethnic media are fully invested in digital platforms and social media to maximize exposure. Some ethnic media account executives say having a digital presence in addition to a hard copy product justifies higher rates for advertising. This is additional revenue that was not available years ago.
Larger well-established ethnic media will take the digital market further and have pay walls to their online site and have digital subscription as another income stream.
Ethnic outlets and alternative media in general will also seek grants and funding from corporations, charitable foundations, or even local governments to run their operations, the UNC study says.
“However, ethnic media outlets received only 2.1 percent of the total funding that philanthropic foundations gave all local media outlets from 2010-2015, according to the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University. Also, reliance on such funding can leave a news organization beholden to its sponsor,” according to the UNC study.
Some ethnic media will merge and buy out others to build a larger base with scale of economies in mind.
Even with these new opportunities to increase revenue, ethnic media are still competing in the same environment that larger mainstream newspapers are in; and according to data from UNC, in Hawaii, mainstream media newspapers are down by 38% and newspaper circulation is down by 60% between 2004 and 2019.
The digital future Minority populations are expected to continue growing so ethnic media will have opportunities to grow. The increasing reliance on the internet for news among millennials and Gen Z sets the trend for prosperity in the digital sphere, social media and mobile news apps.
All media owners, not just ethnic media, know that’s it’s not enough to just have a website, but to have an active social media presence. Large mainstream media have employees whose primary responsibility is building their companies’ social media presence. This is the modern frontier of marketing.
Filipino community on ethnic media Edna Bautista, Ed.D, retired journalism professor, said she enjoys picking up different ethnic newspapers from the stands wherever available to see what articles and ads are published. “No matter if it is Filipino, Indian, Vietnamese, Japanese, Ukrainian, Hispanic, etc., we really do share a lot of similarities. There are stories that highlight immigrant success, ads for services for and by the ethnic group, article snippets from the motherland and sometimes authentic recipes. I also check the community calendar in the different ethnic newspapers to see if there are any fun festivals to attend!”
Bautista joined the Hawaii Filipino Chronicle staff in its second year and has worked with the Chronicle’s journalism scholarship recipients. On ethnic media, she says, “they have very important roles to fill. Ethnic newspapers and magazines, radio stations, TV programs and websites provide relevant information for the immigrants who have made their home here on the islands and the mainland. Ethnic media outlets keep them connected to their cultures and their countries and sometimes language(s), so they do not feel alone when they are far away from the motherland.
“They can build a community and highlight their contributions to the state and nation. Ethnic media also serve as an historical record for future generations who can look back on how their immigrant ancestors have worked hard to succeed in another culture and country, paving the way for their descendants to have a much better life,” she said.
Bautista has contributed myriad articles to the Chronicle. “I’m proud that our newspaper is brave to address major and sometimes controversial issues for Hawaii’s Filipinos as the cover stories. But I especially like to read about the Filipinos and Fil-Ams who are making a positive difference in society. Their stories are inspiring.”
She adds, “it is good that we also feature our youth. I hope we can get more younger voices represented in our newspaper and even extend ourselves to media that they use more often, such as podcasting or videos.”
Teresita Bernales, Ed.D., retired, Kailua, contributes articles to the Hawaii Filipino Chronicle. She is a former officer of the Medica Council Hawaii, now named Honolulu Community Media Council. She is a supporter of ethnic media and says, they play important roles in “various facets of living in an adopted community.”
Some examples she cites of the ethnic media, [collectively] “it gives a voice to minority communities, provides information to target population, connects them to their homeland, fosters community engagement, maintains and preserves culture and heritage, breaks down barriers thus promoting inclusion of all in the mainstream society, is a platform to share one’s stories of challenges, resilience and success, and contributes to the creation of role models and leaders.
She says specific to the Hawaii Filipino Chronicle, “I look forward to reading about the cover story which is the most pressing issue of the week. News from home provides me with current events, making me feel always connected to my country. Opinions by experts provide various points of view on an issue thus helping me shape my own view. I have high interest in reading local news, celebrations, festivals, social, political and cultural events to keep me up to date on what’s going on in the Filipino community. Example-the devastation on Maui rallied the community to one cause. The overwhelming support from various organizations was covered by radio, TV and print media resulting in massive outpouring of support and also creating a ripple effect to give aid to the victims from all ethnic and mainstream communities.”
Asked about a specific reporting by the Hawaii Filipino Chronicle that she felt was important for our community to learn about, Bernales said, the Ohana Medical Missions is very important. “This humanitarian effort of providing free medical services to underserved communities in Hawaii and the Philippines has been making significant impact on the healthcare landscape. By bringing healthcare directly to those in need, OMM helps to improve the health of patients and also elevate their quality of life.
“There is also the positive influence of OMM on community awareness and education about healthcare disparities. They collaborate with local organizations and community organizations to spread awareness and advocacy for better healthcare delivery. This has a profound impact on equity to healthcare access. The dedication and compassion of the mission’s countless volunteers continues to make lasting impact on thousands of sick and poor people whenever they conduct their missions which are held twice each year,” said Bernales.
Alfredo Evangelista, attorney, Maui, said ethnic media have oftentimes affirmed certain values or insights he has. “There are multiple roles of ethnic media. First, it is to report stories of the ethnic communities. Second, it is to provide a different viewpoint from the mainstream media. Third, it is to reach out to the ethnic communities.”
Montesines said, “HFC has greatly impacted our Filipino community – it gave our community a voice to express their opinion on our government, our politicians, our educators, and it also served as an advocate for Filipinos. HFC has empowered Filipinos. It’s a source of knowledge and information. Filipinos have drawn strength from the HFC and learned valuable information that have helped them to make important decisions in life. For example, what are the retirement options in Medicare, what are the top trends in careers, or what political candidates’ plans are that could benefit you – these are all valuable information that our community can make use of. We have health columns, legal columns. We have news that matter like how you can access certain government benefits like Social Security or disaster relief for those recently affected by the Maui wildfires. Ethnic media outlets are here to stay because we continue to have value in the communities we serve.”
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