Founded in 1996, New American Media is a collaborative of over 2,500 ethnic news organizations, the first of its kind and largest in the nation. As Ms. Close explained, ethnic media outlets often serve as the primary, if not exclusive, source of current information for diverse populations and serve as a cohesive community voice, a notion which differs from function of larger mainstream media outlets. A 2005 multilingual poll conducted by New America Media indicated that one in four adults access ethnic media, a proportion which is likely to increase as the U.S. Census Bureau projects that less than 50 percent of the U.S. will identify as non-Hispanic white by 2042. In spite of their wide use, ethnic media outlets are often overlooked as legitimate journalistic institutions by public health officials, creating a situation which can endanger the larger population in public health emergencies. Ms. Close provided a striking example of such a scenario in pointing to the E. coli spinach outbreak of 2006. Warnings regarding the potential dangers of serving spinach never reached Korean restaurant owners and chiefs whose primary source of information was the ethnic media. Thus they continued to serve spinach which was possibly tainted and unknowingly compromised population health.

In reaction to the shortcomings of existing risk communication strategies in reaching ethnically diverse communities, and in recognition of the potential for ethnic media to bridge existing gaps, New America Media has developed a plan to link the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with ethnic media. As Ms. Close explained, the proposed plan serves to enhance communication between ethnic media outlets and the CDC by creating a “directory of front line messengers in the event of emergencies.”

In the event of a public health emergency the CDC would contact New America Media with information, New America Media would then function as a conduit in delivering the message to approximately 700 ethnic media outlets who have agreed to dispense the message, these media outlets would then send confirmation of the message’s delivery to the New America Media who would then in turn send confirmation to the CDC. An online directory of participating ethnic media outlets will also be made available to allow local, county and state public health and emergency management officials to develop a similar relationship with ethnic media outlets in their geographic locale. If all goes according to plan the website and communications grid should be fully functional by June of 2009.

Ms. Close went on to explain how the proposed plan will valorize the credibility of ethnic media outlets by “positioning the ethnic media as a valid and unique part of communication infrastructure and journalism... and position the leaders of ethnic media as people with the trust, credibility and knowledge necessary to communicate effectively in these situations.” Check out New America Media’s website to stay abreast of the initiative’s progress and learn more about the possible uses of ethnic media.

Written By: Jonathan Purtle