Misinformation in the era of information

Ethnic and alternative media

Ethnic media is a part of the proliferation of alternative media in a wider social trend: the worldwide emergence of all kinds of community, alternative, oppositional, and collaborative media practices, in part amplified by the internet.

We need to define ethnic and alternative media.

For instance, are Univision and Telemundo considered in this category of ethnic media? These media conglomerates seem to walk a fine line between mainstream and alternative media.

In recent years, Univision has reached parity with the U.S.'s five major English-language television networks, and is often a strong fifth, with some fourth-place weekly placings, and as of 2012, even first place rankings for individual programs over all five English networks due to the network's consistent schedule of new telenovelas all 52 weeks of the year.

In major markets such as Los Angeles, New York, and Miami the local newscasts carried by the network's stations are equally competitive in ratings with their English-language counterparts.

For the first 20 years, the network was owned by Hispanic media people. In 1955, Raul Cortez founded Channel 41, in San Antonio, Texas.

Through a series of mergers and acquisitions of local TV and radio channels in different states, until 2006, when Univision announced that it accepted bid from a group of private equity investors.

Univisión was acquired on March 29, 2007 by a consortium of global investors for $13.7 billion plus $1.4 billion in acquired debt.The buyout left the company with a debt level of twelve times its annual cash flow,  twice the norm in buyouts over the previous two years.

For ethnic media to truly be considered “ethnic media,” it must be both produced/owned by and targeted at a particular ethnic community.

As for the alternative press, many weekly alternative media has little to do with what might be described as “alternative.” According to a study by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press , the term is mostly a catch-all phrase used by the mainstream media, but these publications are not a “dissident” press in America. A political mission is not their defining characteristic. They are just targeting a young, educated demographics with high income and buying power.

Real alternative media has found its common ground in the non-profit sector so that advertising does not blemish its content, which does not mean they are unbiased.

Is or can ethnic and alternative media be a counter power to mainstream media?

I believe there’s always hope in the laws of physics.

You can always be sure that when a force presses in one direction, there will be another counter force that will press against it. I believe ethnic and alternative media can have this role.

Ethnic and alternative media receive the information from the same agencies, we have the availability of the same images and we are “encouraged” to use the same information. There is no time or resources to get out and do research or field work –This point has been greatly satirized by “The Daily Show” and other comedy shows. The pressure to get information out is on a very small team that has practically to wear all hats.

However, the increasing presence of these media is a challenge to mainstream media. They can bring up issues and topics that mainstream media censors, such as discrimination, racism and bigotry, social unrest and social inequality. They also bring up cultural disparities and cultural differences, which brings the mainstream society to a new way of recognizing itself by differentiation. This is who we are, and we are not you.

For instance, new immigrant groups have established institutions to sustain their ethnicity, a different way of integration to the American society from previous immigration waves, who chose or, better yet, were forced into assimilation. This presence of new unassimilated ethnic groups has created a sense of permanently “unfinished American society.”

Ethnic mass media has a significant role in a society that tries to appear as seamless. The role of ethnic media is to constantly remind the rest of the society that there are differences, and how that manifests in their news content. It creates a perspective of constant “functional conflict.”

However migration is no longer the only factor that brings together producers and audiences of ethnic media. The long history of migration in this country has meant that there is more than one generation with multiple cultural identities.

But also, the wide access to information technologies has allowed cultural and informational exchanges between people across territories, which keep nurturing the ability of an ethnic media writer to be rooted to his base –namely, his original language, culture and audience.

I used to write for a digital platform in Spanish produced in the United States, and 50 percent of my audience was from Latin America. The other domestic 50 percent were not only first generation migrants but also readers with different cultural background such as immigrant descendants and those influenced by Latino culture.

Of course there are downsides to being in ethnic media, for one, you are not allowed nor are part not even should try to be part of mainstream media. You can be an anchor or a radio host if you look ethnic but God forbid you show the slightest accent –that, of course, except if you have a British accent, which is highly praised by mainstream media.

The big divider is also language. If ethnic media choose to go with its language of origin –Spanish, Chinese, Arab, etc.-, then the possibility of having a slight influence in the general public’s opinion is almost null given the widespread lack of language ability in the American public, a significant difference with European ethnic media.

Many ethnic outlets have now chosen to use English language still targeting a more acculturated audience that can relate to stories with ethnic focus while including general information. Of course that also talks to a wealthier audience with increasing buying and economic power to entice potential advertisers. However, advertising dollars from Fortune 500 corporations are still meager in the ethnic media arena.

Finally, I don’t believe ethnic or alternative media are unbiased, pure, or are not seeking profitability. As with many other forces in a democratic society, the idea of bringing up the differences in the pursue of an educated and more politically aware audience can resonate better than the cookie cutter machine that mainstream media have become.