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The 2024 Ethnic Media Conference, Expo & Awards held at the Sheraton Grand in Sacramento was a celebration of California’s vibrant and diverse ethnic media landscape. This year’s event brought together over 300 entries, 40 finalists, and 22 winners, showcasing outstanding journalism that is rarely seen in the mainstream. Representing ethnic multimedia outlets from across California and reporting in a dozen languages, the conference highlighted the indispensable role of ethnic media in the Golden State.
Hosted by California Black Media and Ethnic Media Services, the two-day event was a “who’s who” of the ethnic media sector, with journalists, editors, and media owners celebrating each other’s work. Sandy Close, Executive Director of Ethnic Media Services, emphasized the unity and importance of ethnic media in California. “This is telling the decision-makers in Sacramento that we’re back. We were here last year, and we are working together as a united front. Ethnic media represent the most important and indispensable bridge to tell how important diversity is,” Close said.
For the second year in a row Beyond Borders Gazette attended the event to expand its network and get the resources needed to improve.
The Expo’s first day featured several key California state decision-makers, including California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and California Attorney General Rob Bonta. Thurmond, in his luncheon keynote address, underscored the importance of literacy in reducing the state’s incarceration rate. “If a child can’t read by the time they are in third grade, there’s a good chance they’re going to drop out of school,” he said. Thurmond also proposed banning cell phones in classrooms due to their negative impact on mental health and outlined a plan to address the state’s acute housing shortage by building small housing units on school sites.
During the sessions, California State Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks announced a $250 million public-private partnership between Google and the state of California, aimed at supporting the ethnic press. The deal, however, has been met with criticism by some mainstream news organizations, labeling it as “disastrous.” Despite the controversy, the partnership represents a significant step towards sustaining ethnic media outlets in the digital age.
Attorney General Bonta, in a panel discussion moderated by Larry Lee, president and publisher of the Sacramento Observer, addressed the state’s efforts to combat hate crimes, the housing crisis, and the influx of fentanyl. Bonta highlighted the importance of law enforcement’s role in addressing hate crimes and emphasized the need for increased vigilance at the border to prevent fentanyl from entering the state.
For attendees like Hector Felix from El Informador Del Valle in Riverside County, the event was an opportunity to gain resources and knowledge to improve their journalistic work. “They are supporting us with new programs such as the Google News Initiative, journalism, paid advertising, and hopefully, we’ll win some awards for the stories we submitted,” Felix said.
Publications across the country are grappling with severe budget cuts, leading to reduced newsroom staff and shrinking coverage areas. In this challenging climate, events like the Ethnic Media Conference, Expo & Awards play a crucial role in bringing journalists together, fostering solidarity, and underscoring the critical need for a robust and diverse media sector.
The conference highlighted the essential function of ethnic media in providing nuanced, community-focused reporting that often gets overlooked by mainstream outlets, reinforcing the importance of sustaining and supporting diverse voices in journalism.
