ve expanded to a national reach, notes Mackey. Admittedly, they are hungry for advertising support. They are also hungry, though, for stories relevant to the communities they serve, and, Mackey observes, many nonprofit stories fit the bill.

Mackey credits Ms. Close for fostering the spirit of dialogue and community that is beginning to

The ethnic media is a critical communications conduit nonprofit communicators can’t ignore. And, at the same time, ethnic media outlets are hungry for stories relevant to the communities they serve. Many nonprofit stories fit the bill. A colleague of mine, Pete Mackey recently attended the NCM (formerly New California Media) Expo, hosted by NCM founder Sandy Close, and was generous enough to share what he learned.

Mackey credits the Expo with providing attendees with great insight into a media world that may be as new to most nonprofits and foundations as it is to him. In attendance were some 800 representatives from nearly 200 ethnic media outlets serving the 1/6 of the US population that speak languages in addition to (or instead of) English at home. These outlets reach African, African American, Asian, and Latino readers, among other groups – via magazines, newspapers, radio and TV.

Session presenters and exhibitors were extremely wide- ranging, including a managing partner at Ogilvy Worldwide, Ben Chavis, formerly of the NAACP and now of the Hip Hop Summit Action Network and heads of national Latin-American-oriented television and radio networks. While many of the outlets presenting were relatively small, serving distinct populations such as immigrants from one country living in a particular city such as Chicago, a number of them have expanded to a national reach, notes Mackey. Admittedly, they are hungry for advertising support. They are also hungry, though, for stories relevant to the communities they serve, and, Mackey observes, many nonprofit stories fit the bill.

Mackey credits Ms. Close for fostering the spirit of dialogue and community that is beginning to

y NCM founder Sandy Close, and was generous enough to share what he learned.

Mackey credits the Expo with providing attendees with great insight into a media world that may be as new to most nonprofits and foundations as it is to him. In attendance were some 800 representatives from nearly 200 ethnic media outlets serving the 1/6 of the US population that speak languages in addition to (or instead of) English at home. These outlets reach African, African American, Asian, and Latino readers, among other groups – via magazines, newspapers, radio and TV.

Session presenters and exhibitors were extremely wide- ranging, including a managing partner at Ogilvy Worldwide, Ben Chavis, formerly of the NAACP and now of the Hip Hop Summit Action Network and heads of national Latin-American-oriented television and radio networks. While many of the outlets presenting were relatively small, serving distinct populations such as immigrants from one country living in a particular city such as Chicago, a number of them have expanded to a national reach, notes Mackey. Admittedly, they are hungry for advertising support. They are also hungry, though, for stories relevant to the communities they serve, and, Mackey observes, many nonprofit stories fit the bill.

Mackey credits Ms. Close for fostering the spirit of dialogue and community that is beginning to

n Chavis, formerly of the NAACP and now of the Hip Hop Summit Action Network and heads of national Latin-American-oriented television and radio networks. While many of the outlets presenting were relatively small, serving distinct populations such as immigrants from one country living in a particular city such as Chicago, a number of them have expanded to a national reach, notes Mackey. Admittedly, they are hungry for advertising support. They are also hungry, though, for stories relevant to the communities they serve, and, Mackey observes, many nonprofit stories fit the bill.

Mackey credits Ms. Close for fostering the spirit of dialogue and community that is beginning to

ve expanded to a national reach, notes Mackey. Admittedly, they are hungry for advertising support. They are also hungry, though, for stories relevant to the communities they serve, and, Mackey observes, many nonprofit stories fit the bill.

Mackey credits Ms. Close for fostering the spirit of dialogue and community that is beginning to gel among these outlets. The stronger an organization they develop, the more clout they will inevitably gather. Indeed, their energy and passion reminds Mackey of the buzz of the dot.com companies – innovative, driven, specialized, and entrepreneurial. He anticipates additional outlets and individual leaders who will help shape US media in decades to come from the synergies and successes among them.

However, Mackey is still trying to figure out how he can work relationships with these media into his budget. "The problem is they serve such targeted markets that I have to decide to what extent it's worth it for a foundation like ours to invest in them. We have a national reach but only provide about 150 scholarships annually," he comments.

Readers, the ethnic media is definitely a critical audience for nonprofit communicators to explore in reaching populations less well-served via mainstream media – not least because they represent and serve a burgeoning cross-section of the new America.

From my perspective, the solution to Mackey's dilemma is to very carefully target those specific audience segments you need to reach but whom you are not reaching successfully. Ethnic media outlets offer your organization new, affordable strategies to reach these key audiences.

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