Chicago is Da World

a doorway to ethnic media in the american heartland

Archive for July, 2009

The Sounds of Life

July 19, 2009 at 6:05 pm · Filed under community radio we listen to

radio vida

What stories we tell each other tells us who we are.

When we are moved by the humanity around us, when we are touched by the dramas we see and hear and sense everyday, this is what brings a newspaper alive.

And this is when a newspaper that talks to a community connects.

I was thinking about this when I read Oscar Avila’s wonderful piece on Horacio Esparza in the Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/chi-0719-blind-fatherjul19,0,1259253.story

Click here:

Radio Vida Independiente

Comments

Our Immigrant Sisters – Changing Immigration, Nations and Families

July 13, 2009 at 6:42 pm · Filed under Ethnic Media in Chicago, female immigrants

female immigrants They no longer wait behind. Now, they are arriving like never before. Some come with husbands, but increasingly  they come without. They arrive fleeing poverty and wars and religious and racial prejudice. They race here hoping new doors will open. But the doors still remain shut or difficult to open for many. They are the ones more likely to push for citizenship. They are the ones who hold their families together when the men can’t. They find work when the men can’t. They accept the grinding downward slide in jobs because they need to keep their families united.They more than ever are partners in decisions about their future and their families’ futures. Some fall into silence, their hearts broken by the new isolation. Some are too old, too unsure of themselves, too unprepared to make the new life they want. But many do. And this is what our press conference this Thursday, July 16th, is about. It is a look at the first national survey of immigrant women.  With funding from the Ford Foundation, New America Media has relied on one of the most experienced pollsters familiar with immigrant communities to create a telling snapshot of the numbers, the issues, the problems and concerns of immigrant women in the U.S. today. The meeting is from 10 a.m. to noon Thursday at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, 55 E. Jackson Blvd, Suite 2075. Tell me if this is not the time to tell these women’s stories. I can think of few other stories that that are so important, so critical and so basic to the lives of millions of immigrants and their communities. I’m glad to share ideas. Call me. Write me. This is what makes ethnic media a treasure not to be ignored.

Comments

Something I just wandered into

July 4, 2009 at 10:25 am · Filed under what keeps the news media alive

I’ve been thinking about his lately. About how newspapers can seem boring and lifeless without any innovation or feeling for what intrigues us. I couldn’t put the words together and then I ran into this essay – pure serendipity – and that’s what I was thinking. Here is an excerpt from an essay in Nieman Reports by Ethan Zuckerman:

There’s a strong temptation to give readers what they want. The Huffington Post has increased its traffic nearly five-fold in the past year. Some of this traffic growth is surely due to an endless and contentious election. Betsy Morgan, CEO of The Huffington Post and former head of CBSNews.com, suggests another reason for growth—a relentless focus on metrics. On taking the post, she immediately asked staff to provide her with daily traffic statistics, showing which stories generated the most interest. Those stories are heavily promoted on the site’s heavily trafficked front page. It’s a smart business strategy, signaling to the site’s employees and unpaid contributors what stories are most likely to be celebrated and amplified by editors and appreciated by the site’s readers.

This strategy has a downside. Too much reliance on viewer metrics by newspapers could have an important unintended consequence—a decrease in a publication’s ability to provide serendipity. Serendipity is the wonderful experience of stumbling upon something you didn’t know you wanted to know. It’s a surprisingly powerful tool for helping people break out of echo chambers of all sorts. If you stumble upon a story that appeals to your interest in rugby, model railroads or rainbows, even if it’s from a part of the world you have no explicit interest in, it may capture your attention and broaden your worldview.

Comments