This article investigates the content of ethnic media to better understand their roles in contemporary immigrant communities under the forces of globalization, population diversity, and new communication technologies. Drawing upon communication infrastructure theory (CIT), we argue that globalization is always experienced in the local context. We thus investigate the extent to which the ethnic press tells geo-ethnic stories, which are culturally relevant and locally vital information to immigrants in the host society. We analyzed 51 ethnic newspapers in the Asian and Latino neighborhoods of Los Angeles. The findings showed that these print media outlets in new immigrant communities were very diverse, ranging from small mom-and-pop businesses, to medium-and large-sized enterprises. In terms of the nature of news stories, we found that the news coverage in the ethnic press included a large amount of news related to the home country, in contrast to a relatively small number of geoethnic stories that are essential to community building.
This study seeks to examine the ways in which transnational life is lived at different ''local'' levels. In particular, we ask: What are some of the important aspects of immigrants' life that are enacted across borders? To what extent are ethnic media that serve the immigrant population connected to home countries in content and operation? To what extent does transnational news have local and global implications? Multiple methods are employed in this study, including a telephone survey of immigrant communities, interviews with media producers and senior editors, and a content analysis of ethnic newspapers. This study shows that transnational activities go beyond economics to include more social aspects and communication practices in immigrants' everyday lives.
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