If all else fails it, the ethnic news media can always count on one thing to survive. It is a connection. It is a legacy. It is a memory. It is another way of listening, hearing, seeing. It carries the sound that lasts for generations.

As yet another wonderful NPR program reminded us today, the success of some ethnic media amid the stunning collapse of American journalism is their ability to link one generation after another with a common root, and to keep their eye on what matters.

It is the ability of some Latino radio stations to capture the imagination of second and third generation Latinos with a delicious presentation of Spanglish.

Its the powerful appeal of Korean or Chinese television stations that tell the story of our daily lives in the rhythm of the place where we now live but in the language of where we came from. 

And it is the ability to satisfy the hunger of  immigrant parents and their children and their children’s children who want to be able to feel as if they are living within the same story though generations and countries separate them.

What works for the Ethnic New Media

The ethnic media can continue to thrive by speaking out and speaking for their communities. By staying focused on this mission and  doing its job in the most creative way possible.  By staying update in technology and business strategy so it can get by on less in these hard times. By learning to share with others in order to survive. And by not giving up.

Here are the NPR programs.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102802880

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102705139

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94472417