Ethnic Media Program

Download a flyer about the Ethnic Media Program. (Right-click, then select, "Save link as..." and save to your computer.)

What is Ethnic Media?

We define "ethnic media" as any communications outlet that intentionally produces journalistic news stories and other informational and/or entertainment content for a particular cultural or linguistic group or ethnic community residing in the U.S. Ethnic media outlets can be small businesses, often run by a family or an individual in their community. They can also be large multinational companies with headquarters located in other countries. Ethnic media can include the mediums of television, radio, online, and print. They can be in-language or bilingual, but their content is created with a specific ethnic community in mind.

In Seattle, the largest ethnic media communities are ones that serve Black and People of Color communities, including Chinese-, Korean-, Spanish-, and Vietnamese-speaking communities, as well as African American communities.

What is OIRA's Ethnic Media Program?

The goal of the Ethnic Media Program is to help City of Seattle departments integrate ethnic media campaigns in their outreach and engagement strategies. To this end, the program coordinator works across departments, including the Mayor's Office, to provide technical assistance and resources (such as the Ethnic Media Directory below) to make it easier for staff to invest in these community institutions, the majority of which are led by and are for BIPOC community members.

Ethnic Media Directory

This is the most current list of ethnic media outlets serving the City of Seattle, maintained by the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs and updated quarterly. OIRA welcomes any individual or organization to utilize this directory as a resource that can help their own outreach and engagement planning. (Highlighted outlets indicate they are English-only or bilingual.)
Last updated: 7/5/2023.

Are you a member of a media organization that serves immigrant and refugee communities and want to be added to this list? Please email your request to Beleqsa Tamaami at beleqsa.tamaami@seattle.gov.

Why Ethnic Media?

According to Census data, approximately 20% of Seattle's population is foreign-born. And of this population, over 30 percent are "linguistically isolated." The U.S. Census Bureau defines linguistically isolated as "a household in which no person 14-years-old and over speaks only English, and no person 14-years-old and over who speaks a language other than English speaks English 'very well'."

Many of these residents do not access information from mainstream English-language news outlets. Instead, they access other alternate sources for news and information, including word of mouth, faith/religious leaders, and media that communicates in languages other than English. This is why the City of Seattle strives to ensure ethnic media is a component of outreach or marketing campaigns.

Learn More about Ethnic Media

City of Seattle Ethnic Media Directory

This is the most current list of ethnic media outlets serving the City of Seattle, maintained by the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs and updated quarterly. (Highlighted outlets indicate they are English-only or bilingual.)
Last updated: 7/5/2023.

Are you a member of a media organization that serves immigrant and refugee communities and want to be added to this list? Please email your request to Shilpa Salgar at shilpa.salgar@seattle.gov.

 

Banner photo credit: Alabastro Photography.

Immigrant and Refugee Affairs

Hamdi Mohamed, Director
Address: 700 5th Ave, Suite 1616, Seattle, WA, 98104
Mailing Address: PO Box 94573, Seattle, WA, 98124
Phone: (206) 727-8515
oira@seattle.gov

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The mission of the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs is to improve the lives of Seattle’s immigrant and refugee communities by engaging them in decisions about the City of Seattle’s future and improving the City’s programs and services to meet the needs of all constituents.