Ethnic Media Audience Trends

In addition to circulation and ratings data, 2005 marked the release of a massive survey on the readership habits of ethnic media users. The polling firm Bendixen and Associates and New California Media surveyed 1,895 media users of various languages and ethnic backgrounds from around the country.

Its central findings were that as of 2005, 51 million Americans, 24% of U.S. adults, are either primary or secondary consumers of ethnic media,12 and that primary consumers, those who prefer ethnic media over mainstream outlets, make up 13% of the adult population, or 29 million people, on their own.13

Ethnic Media Users in the U.S. Population

Number of people who rely on ethnic outlets as a primary or secondary source of media in millions

Design Your Own Chart

Source: New California Media Poll, The Ethnic Media in America: The Giant Hidden in Plain Sight

* Primary consumers favor ethnic media, secondary consumers favor mainstream outlets but use ethnic ones.

The survey was produced for an ethnic media organization, but the findings still suggest that the ethnic media play a significant role in the American media landscape, influencing the views of a large number of citizens of various ethnic backgrounds. The findings also suggest that more study of those media is needed.

Within ethnic groups and subgroups there are notable differences in the extent of their use of media and in what kind of media are preferred. Hispanics are by far the heaviest users over all. A full 87% of Hispanics use one form of ethnic media or another14 (a Pew Hispanic Center survey puts that figure at 69%)15. African-Americans and Arab Americans are next, with 74% using some form of ethnic media. Then come Asian-Americans at 70% and Native Americans at 64%.16

Looking at the kind of media preferred reveals other differences among the ethnic groups. Hispanics rely most heavily on ethnic television — 78% watch Spanish-language TV primarily or secondarily. African-Americans, on the other hand, rely more heavily on ethnic radio; 58% of them tune in to it. And Native Americans look mostly to native-language newspapers; 47% turn to their ethnic printed pages.17

Ethnic Television Use by Population Group

Percent who say they are primary or secondary ethnic TV consumers

Design Your Own Chart

Source: New California Media Poll, The Ethnic Media in America: The Giant Hidden in Plain Sight

* Primary consumers favor ethnic media, secondary consumers favor mainstream outlets but use ethnic ones

Ethnic Radio Use by Population Group

Percent who say they are primary or secondary ethnic radio listeners

Design Your Own Chart

Source: New California Media Poll, The Ethnic Media in America: The Giant Hidden in Plain Sight

* Primary consumers favor ethnic media, secondary consumers favor mainstream outlets but use ethnic ones

Ethnic Newspaper Readership by Population Group

Percent who say they are primary or secondary ethnic newspaper readers

Design Your Own Chart

Source: New California Media Poll, The Ethnic Media in America: The Giant Hidden in Plain Sight

* Primary consumers favor ethnic media, secondary consumers favor mainstream outlets but use ethnic ones

Those numbers may have as much to do with the forms available in each language as with preferences among the ethnic groups. For instance, the high penetration of ethnic newspapers among Native Americans has more than a little to do with the tradition and strength of that group’s press, which is situated in areas densely populated by its audiences, while there is little Native American TV programming. And the high ethnic television use by Arab Americans is, in part, attributable to satellite television, which brings programming from overseas.

In each medium, though, Hispanics are the leaders in “primary consumers” of ethnic media. They are tied with African-Americans in ethnic radio use and lead outright in the other media. Why?

The answer is probably twofold. First, in sheer numbers, Hispanics make up such a large part of the population that they have reached a kind of critical mass that has allowed their media to grow far faster than those of other ethnic groups. Those media, which are now national, can go beyond what many other ethnic media offer and can more easily be a substitution for other mainstream outlets. Second, roughly three quarters of Hispanics share a common language rather than a common national background, giving the media a broader audience base — immigrants from Puerto Rico and El Salvador as well as Mexico, for example. New California Media’s National Ethnic Media Directory has more than 130 pages listing all the Spanish-language print, radio and television outlets. No other ethnic group has even 90 pages, and some of the others have several different languages represented in their outlets.18

Access to various media obviously influences the extent of their use. Only 10% of Hispanics visit ethnic Web sites, while 45% of Arab Americans do, according to the New California Media survey.19

Internet Use by Ethnic Groups

Percent who say they are primary or secondary ethnic internet consumers

Design Your Own Chart

Source: New California Media Poll, The Ethnic Media in America: The Giant Hidden in Plain Sight

* Primary consumers favor ethnic media, secondary consumers favor mainstream outlets but use ethnic ones

What is it ethnic groups are looking for from their media? The NCM poll finds that nearly every ethnic group studied turns first to ethnic outlets when looking for information on their “native country” or “ethnic community,” news generally not covered by the English-language media. But mainstream media are the choice for information on “politics and government” in the U.S.

Which media do various ethnic groups rely on more heavily for information on their native lands and communities?

Design Your Own Chart

Source: New California Media Poll, The Ethnic Media in America: The Giant Hidden in Plain Sight

Which media do various ethnic groups rely on more heavily for news on politics and government?

Design Your Own Chart

Source: New California Media Poll, The Ethnic Media in America: The Giant Hidden in Plain Sight

Nor are the ethnic media a means of translating what people who have language barriers could otherwise get from the English-language press. The mainstream and ethnic media are by and large complementary.

Here too, however, there are differences between Hispanics and other ethnic groups. They are the only group to turn consistently to their native-language media for traditional ethnic-media issues and government coverage. And the fact that Hispanics so readily turn to Spanish-language outlets may be partly because those outlets are more developed than other ethnic media. Spanish-language are the only ethnic media so far that have developed beyond a local presence. They have national outlets with large organizations that can invest more in newsgathering. They can go beyond what other ethnic media do and devote time and money to covering city, state and national politics.

That finding, along with the large number of secondary ethnic media users, raises the question whether the ethnic media are primarily a transitional convenience for immigrants. Would other ethnic groups do what Spanish-speakers do and turn to their native-language outlets if broader coverage was available?

It may be a question that remains unanswered, at least for some time. Lacking a common language, other ethnic groups are ultimately Vietnamese media, say, or Korean media, more than Asian media. But if immigrant populations continue to grow and targeting audiences by satellite programming or the Internet becomes easier, it is conceivable other ethnic groups could develop broader media as well.