How ethnic media producers constitute their communities of practice: An ecological approach

Abstract

Almost 60 million Americans regularly get their news and other information from ethnically targeted television, radio, newspapers, and websites (Allen, 2009). However, there is little research on ethnic media producers. Data collected in group discussions with media producers serving a variety of immigrant populations in Los Angeles were analyzed to investigate how they negotiate and develop their professional identities. Husband's (2005) work on ethnic media newsrooms as communities of practice provided an explanatory framework for how respondents managed professional constraints resulting from their managers' priorities and limited institutional resources. Moreover, though, we found that respondents were deeply influenced by ecological forces beyond their workplaces -specifically, by their encounters with mainstream media producers and organizations, mainstream society institutions, and the ethnic communities they serve. How respondents negotiated challenges to their professional identities sheds light on changes in the US media landscape and civil society.

Pulled two Ways: Norms of ‘Pacificness’ and Journalism in New Zealand's Pacific News Media

“…Significantly, when they compared themselves with each other, that is within the Pacific media landscape, this distinction was brought into sharp relief. What emerged was a tension between the different fields in which Pacific media are located -a field of Pacific norms and practices (which is shaped more by Pacific norms of 'authenticity') and a field of journalism norms and practices that demand different things of media producers (which appears to support the argument advanced elsewhere [Husband 2005;Matsaganis and Katz 2014], that ethnic media professionals' identities are influenced by complex, cross-cutting interactions with mainstream media and social institutions, and the ethnic communities they serve). This tension provides a lens for understanding the complex forces shaping identity practices within Pacific media production -and for stepping back from rigid categories to better account for the complexity of Pacific media.…”

“…Notably, the representations at their disposal were circumscribed by the structural and ideological context (described elsewhere as a racial political economy [Abel 2011]) within which Pacific media reside. Matsaganis and Katz (2014) found ethnic media professionals' identities were influenced by their interactions with mainstream media and social institutions -and the people who hold positions of power within them. In this study, the broadcast media producers who were most dependent on state resources described being constrained by dominant institutional culture or conservatism; corporate gatekeepers; state regulatory frameworks and policy (such as the requirements on Niu FM to promote Pacific languages); and the attitudes and cultural capital of Pākehā programme commissioners, editors, and colleagues.…”

Remembering Ireland: News flows and 1916 in the transnational mediascape

“…In the Irish-British press, Brexit, the Euros 2016, the Olympics and travel issues all received more attention over the six months than 1916 Centenary which is associated with the application of news values of proximity, unexpectedness and impact (Hanusch, 2009; Ogunyemi, 2014; O’Neill and Harcup, 2009) and socio-political developments in the United Kingdom at the time. Matsaganis and Katz (2013) find that ethnic news producers are deeply influenced by the mainstream host society and media organisations as well as the communities they serve which is reflected in these findings.…”

“…Some definitions of diaspora journalism include descriptions of traits that can change from organisation to organisation, such as professionalism or volunteering, individuals or collectives, short or long life, and are sometimes shaped by what drives the journalism (public sphere function) or what it is used for (self-expression; Kperogi, 2011; Matsaganis and Katz, 2013; Ogunyemi, 2014; Rai and Cottle, 2007; Shumow, 2014; Skjerdal, 2011). I propose a definition that removes inconsistent characteristics, here, understood to be the process or practice of identifying, gathering, assessing, creating and distributing current affairs information from both homeland and hostland deemed to be of high news value to a specific ethnocultural group/audience.…”

Journalists as Communities of Practice

“…While this specific application has not been addressed to any great extent, certain aspects of journalism seem to fit the description of a community of practice (Weiss & Domingo, 2010). Matsaganis and Katz (2013), following Husband (2005, as cited in Matsaganis & Katz), look at ethnic media producers as communities of practice. A recent study by researchers Weiss and Domingo sought to describe specific journalist communities (e.g., online news teams) as communities of practice through their innovation practices; but while their findings technically draw associations between the two concepts, they did not seem to fully utilize relevant facets of a community of practice.…”