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.
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