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Ethnic Media Delivers Important Audiences

The following information was used in a workshop for a Bay Area government agency on How to Reach Ethnic Media. At a time when many traditional, mainstream news organizations are fighting for their lives, many ethnic media outlets seem to be thriving.

This was confirmed in a poll commissioned last year by New America Media, the largest association and advocate of more than 2,000 ethnic news organizations. According to the poll, ethnic media outlets saw their audiences grow 16 percent between 2005 and 2009.

The answer as to why ethnic media are growing seemed obvious after meeting with various media outlets over the last month. While not immune to the recession, ethnic media have a special, trusting relationship with their audiences. Those audiences want to know specifically how an issue will affect their communities, a perspective they often don’t find anywhere else. And editors and reporters are committed to delivering that information.

For example, Asian Americans reading up on immigration reform proposals might be most interested in family reunification plans, while traditional media will focus on proposals’ plans for guest workers or undocumented individuals.

The bottom line is that ethnic media reaches valuable and important audiences traditional media is missing. Don’t miss out on the opportunities to reach these audiences.

Become familiar with the ethnic media in your area.

My experience is that editors, reporters, news directors and producers from ethnic media outlets are more than willing to have a conversation about a story idea. They are looking for stories that are of interest to their readers, viewers or listeners.

Be respectful of their time by doing your homework.

Sending the same news release you would send to traditional media is often a waste of their time and yours. Don’t further waste their time by calling to see if they are going to run the story.

Go the extra step. Look at your “generic” news release.

Think like an editor at Chinese, Hispanic, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, South Asian or African American media outlet. Does your story affect that particular audience? Find someone in one or each of those communities who is affected by the story you are trying to “sell”.

Put yourself in the reporter’s place.

What is it about this story that is compelling? Line up the source and studies that a reporter would need if he or she were willing to look into the issue. This means playing reporter and is often makes the difference in whether a story is picked up or not. Now you are ready to call the media. Not before.

Present your case and then step back. Don’t micro-manage or disappear.

The story has been “sold”. Your job is not to impede the reporter in any way but to provide whatever information he or she needs to get the story done by the deadline. Give everyone involved in the story your cell phone number. Make yourself available. Get back to the reporter immediately with whatever he or she needs – a phone number, a fact, a source – even if it means you need to excuse yourself from a meeting or get off another phone call.

For more information on the growth of ethnic media, look around New American Media’s website under polls.

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