Ethnic Media
Authors: Yu Sherry S. , Matsaganis Matthew 
Published: March 2024

Ethnic media are defined in the widely cited book Understanding Ethnic Media (cited under Overview Work) as “media that are produced by and for (a) immigrants, (b) racial, ethnic, and linguistic minorities, as well as (c) indigenous populations living across different countries.” This bibliography on “Ethnic Media” specifically focuses on the first two groups and not the third, because a rich bibliography dedicated to “Indigenous Media” already exists in the Oxford Bibliographies. The emphasis in this bibliography is on both “ethnic media” and “diasporic media,” whose audiences comprise migrants (immigrants) and people of migrant heritage (racial, ethnic, linguistic minorities). While digital native ethnic media expand the concept of what ethnic media used to be, locally produced media are still often associated with the term “ethnic media,” whereas internationally imported media from or linked to a variety of countries of origin are often associated with “diasporic media,” as discussed in the references provided in this bibliography, including Understanding Ethnic Media. The references are organized to provide a roadmap of ethnic/diasporic media research, from Early Work to Areas for Further Research. The first three sections (Early Work, Overview Work, and Encyclopedia Entries) showcase ethnic media research dating back to Chicago School pioneer Robert E. Park (see Park 1922, cited under Early Work) to recent work that offers a comprehensive overview of ethnic media research. These publications will likely serve well any researcher, instructor, or student venturing into this field for the first time. Two sections that follow, on Theories and Methodological Approaches and Concerns, offer references that speak to conceptual frameworks and methods used for ethnic media research and lay the groundwork for the sections that follow to examine ethnic media from various vantage points: The Roles of Ethnic Media in the Lives of their Audiences, Ethnic Media Audiences, Ethnic Media Producers, and Ethnic Media Organizations. Expanding on ethnic media production, the references on Comparative Journalism highlight studies that juxtapose mainstream and ethnic journalism practices and explore similarities and differences. Such comparisons are marginal in the comparative journalism literature but are significant in the ethnic media literature. The Policies and Regulations section offers references that inform our understanding of how policy regimes in various regions of the world affect ethnic media production and consumption. Although all of these sections consider research on Asian, Black, and Latino Media, alongside studies on other ethnic media, a separate section is provided to highlight the long history of ethnic media research pertaining to these three groups. For example, while the Early Work section introduces several seminal studies on Black media, the references in the Black Media section emphasize more recent work. The final section of the entry, Areas for Further Research, compiles work that expands the conceptualizations of ethnic media, highlights understudied regions in the world, and begins to fill in these gaps in the literature. Note that this bibliography cites a limited number of specific chapters found in edited volumes that have been included in the reference list in order to avoid double listings as much as possible. Some seminal work is not listed for this reason. We would like to acknowledge the generous support of the Department of Arts, Culture and Media, University of Toronto, through the I.D.E.A.S Grant. We would also like to acknowledge the research assistance provided by Ayla Morland and Leela Ramiengar for compiling and drafting overviews of this expanding literature.