New Study Argues for More Local News Content in Ethnocultural News Media

Newswise — TORONTO, November 24, 2011 --- News from home is often a comfort to newcomers to Canada, reminding them of loved ones and familiar traditions and pastimes. But to what extent do ethnic media play a role in familiarizing new Canadians with their adopted country? A study from the School of Journalism at Ryerson University explores this issue by examining news coverage in Ming Pao, Toronto’s second- largest Chinese language newspaper.

Professor April Lindgren, of Ryerson’s School of Journalism, is the author of Interpreting the City: Portrayals of Place in a Toronto-area Ethnic Newspaper. The study examines the amount of local news coverage in Ming Pao, which is published seven days a week and has a daily readership of more than 50,000. Lindgren was interested in how the Greater Toronto Area is depicted on the pages of Ming Pao, one of the country’s largest ethnic newspapers, and how the paper balances that coverage with news coverage of China. Her findings revealed that the amount of local reporting is dwarfed by news from China and that it tends to be dominated by local crime news.

“Media has a big role to play in creating a sense of place for readers - how people feel about a place, how they understand it and what goes on there,’” said Lindgren. “When people come to Canada they have a sense of what their home country is like but they don’t really know what they are getting into in their adopted city. Essentially, their new city or country is a blank canvas – and media plays a role in adding colour to that canvas.”

To understand the image Ming Pao paints of the GTA, Lindgren examined four weeks’ worth of coverage, published over the course of eight months. Her research revealed that of the 13,641 news items published during that period, eight per cent, or 1,157 news items, could be considered local news coverage. In comparison, 52 per cent (7,050 items) dealt with news from China while 33 percent (4,443 items) covered other international news. The remaining seven per cent (991 items) covered national and provincial news.

Lindgren argues that the amount of local coverage carried by publications such as Ming Pao sends messages about what the newspaper judges to be important in people’s lives and plays a key role in the integration process and the extent to which newcomers become engaged with local issues.

“Reading a newspaper doesn’t tell you what to think, but it plays a role in suggesting what readers think about,” said Lindgren. Through local news coverage, she said, ethnic newspapers transmit explicit information, such as when and where to file your taxes but they also disseminate more implicit information through stories that deal with citizens who don’t clean the snow from the sidewalks in front of their homes or the role of volunteers and charities in the community. Limited local news coverage hinders readers’ ability to understand and learn about their communities, she said, while the type of stories covered also can have an impact.

“Crime coverage is a staple of all media,” Lindgren said. “But an overwhelming emphasis on murder and mayhem can shape perceptions of newcomers about the safety and security of the communities they have just arrived in. At the same time, it squeezes out other stories – about local politics for instance – that are important in terms of informing people so they understand how the local political system works, why they should care and how they can become involved.”

In reflecting on this research, Lindgren says there are some simple, cost-effective ways to achieve a better balance in news coverage. A great first step would be to feature more GTA news on the front page. Lindgren said she is interested in exploring possibilities for the School of Journalism to work more closely with ethnic media outlets like Ming Pao to better understand the constraints they face when it comes to reporting on local news. She is also expanding her study to examine the local news content of GTA-area Punjabi, Korean and Russian-language newspapers.

Interpreting the City: Portrayals of Place in a Toronto-area Ethnic Newspaper was published in the Fall 2011 issue of Aether: The Journal of Media Geography and was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), CERIS - The Ontario Metropolis Centre and Ryerson University.

Ryerson University is Canada's leader in innovative, career-oriented education and a university clearly on the move. With a mission to serve societal need, and a long-standing commitment to engaging its community, Ryerson offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate programs. Distinctly urban, culturally diverse and inclusive, the university is home to 28,000 students, including 2,000 master's and PhD students, nearly 2,700 faculty and staff, and more than 130,000 alumni worldwide. Research at Ryerson is on a trajectory of success and growth: externally funded research has doubled in the past four years. The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education is Canada's leading provider of university-based adult education. For more information, visit www.ryerson.ca