There’s no denying that minorities are at a distinct disadvantage in terms of their representation in the press – both the frequency with which they’re covered and the type of coverage they receive.  Oftentimes they are portrayed as criminals or helpless victims, which is problematic to say the least.  We know that news picks up on the exception rather than the rule, but that’s not what the average nightly news-watcher perceives.  As Michael Schudson has pointed out, this may be because of the demographics of many journalists, who are white and suburban.  That of course affects their worldview, which inevitably translates into what makes the news and how it’s written.

Over the years, that persistent problem gave rise to the minority press, its own separate entity designed to address issues of importance in minority communities.  In a way, that was a positive move, as it gave those minorities their own outlet through which to voice their ideas and opinions.  But in some ways, we might say it actually hurt their cause – by working outside the mainstream press, they inherently limited their audience and influence.  Although they can portray themselves the way they think they should, if virtually no one reads it, what’s the difference?

What’s more, we know that the news industry has been changing rapidly the last few years because of changes in advertising and the internet news revolution.  These factors have had a crippling effect on many news outlets, from local papers all the way up to agencies like the New York Times; undoubtedly, it hurt the minority press as well.  I actually spent some time looking at numerous minority press outlets as part of a project for another class, and the results were pretty discouraging.  Their web sites are limited, poorly designed, and difficult to navigate (and that’s just of those that do have web sites).  Few of them had comprehensive archives, which makes it difficult to find past stories.  Their presence on the internet is lacking, to say the least.

So what does all this mean?  These minority media outlets are already far behind their mainstream counterparts on the internet, even as the news industry moves increasingly towards exclusively publishing online.  Major outlets are trying (and struggling) to come up with successful online business models, and quite a few have been forced to close their doors because they could not keep up.  Likewise, I suspect that this move to internet news will spell disaster for most minority press outlets.  At the end of the day, the news business is still a business, and many minority press establishments do not seem positioned to deal with the way the industry is changing.  I’d like to think that some will survive, or perhaps that they will get folded into more mainstream outlets, but we’ll have to wait and see.