PRINCE: Well, you know, in some ways the ethnic media have an advantage over the corporate media in that a lot of them are smaller and family owned. So are there particular issues that the ethnic media are suffering that are different from or apart from what everybody in the media is going through? They work in places like Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, which have had buy-outs and layoffs. Most of these people don't work in ethnic media. You've also documented the number of say, memberships in ethnic media organizations like the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the National Association of Black Journalists. MARTIN: But of course, you've documented - probably better than anybody - the erosion in the sort of the general market media. In another words, when push comes to shove they're the first to go. There is another common thread, and that is advertising and the attitude of corporate advertisers toward the ethnic media. PRINCE: Well, the common thread, of course, is the recession. It's mortgaged itself to its printer because it couldn't pay its printing bills. And as we said, Ebony is considered to be on the ropes. Vibe has been publishing - it was considered a very successful publication, kind of a must-read for people particularly interested in hip hop and the music industry. As we mentioned, the Bay State Banner announced it is going on hiatus just yesterday, the only black newspaper in Boston. MARTIN: Richard Prince, let me start with you. KEN SMIKLE (President, Target Market News): Glad to be here, Michel. MIMI VALDES RYAN (Editor, Latina Magazine): Thank you. RICHARD PRINCE (Writer, Journal-isms): Great to be here. Welcome to you all, thank you so much for joining us. And Mimi Valdes Ryan, she is editor of Latina magazine, and she is a former editor of Vibe. It's a Chicago based company that monitors African-American marketing and media. Ken Smikle is president of Target Market News. It's an online publication about diversity issues in the media. We wanted to talk more about this and what it means, so we've called on Richard Prince. And the venerable Johnson Publishing Company, publisher of Ebony and Jet magazines, is also coping with a severe financial crunch. Last week the publishers of Vibe magazine, known as the hip-hop bible, announced that it is folding after 16 years. Just yesterday we learned that the Bay State Banner, the only black newspaper in Boston, laid off its 12 employees and went on hiatus. These institutions might be invisible to many Americans but to millions of others, they are critical cultural touchstones.Įthnic media - these are media organizations owned by, run by and meant to serve ethnic communities. And now we want to talk about another looming casualty of the recession. We just talked about the worsening unemployment numbers, another sign of how bad the economy still is. But first, we're going to talk more about the effects of the recession. But with eye-popping approval ratings, why does she need to? The moms weigh in. I'm Michel Martin, and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News.Ĭoming up, Michelle Obama says she wants to expand her role as first lady.