New America Media will partner with IPA-NY to host a panel of ethnic media practitioners -- reporters, producers, editors from Korean, Arab, Black, Hispanic news outlets -- working primarily in the South to talk about ethnic media's role as America's new "global media." As mainstream media cuts back foreign news bureaus under the mantra of "local, local, local", ethnic media provide an increasingly important lens on international news. Panelists will speak to the stories that exemplify ethnic media's capacity to transcend geographical boundaries, covering news as a single continuum from home country to neighborhood, and challenge the stereotype of ethnic media as insular and parochial. The panel will also provide an overview of the sector -- its growth and diversity (Kurdish media in Nashville, Korean media in Atlanta, Somali media in Minneapolis, etc.), and its reach: one out of four adults in the US now rely on ethnic media for news, information and entertainment. Finally, the panel will address ethnic media's role in projecting the collective voices of America's most cosmopolitan audiences -- ethnic and immigrant communities -- into the public forum. The great mobilization of immigrants in the Spring of 05 was driven by a blend of ethnic media, from Hispanic deejays to Asian print to Black radio.

The panel will start with a 4 minute video overview of ethnic media practitioners from around the country, then feature four speakers and a moderator. IPA-NY's Juana Ponce de Leon will join NAM Washington director Khalil Abdullah and four ethnic media practitioners on the panel.