What is ethnic media? |
Ethnic media, also called cultural or multicultural media, consists of media sources that self-define as representing minority communities in terms of language, ethnicity, customs or religious beliefs that are not official in Canada. In Canadian cities, they serve a substantial segment of the population, mostly descendants of immigrants or newcomers themselves, who are still closely connected to their cultural and ethnic roots while living in Canada. Although it is sometimes in English or French, most cultural media is published or broadcast in other languages.
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Enhancing equity, diversity, and inclusion through the monitoring of multilingual media impacts a sizable portion of the population (newcomers and descendants of immigrants) and reflects their emerging opinions and trends including the access to information that foreshadows or does not reach mainstream sources.
Communicate more efficiently with your target audiences
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Why monitor multilingual ethnic media? |
What benefits does media monitoring provide? |
Media monitoring provides a daily, weekly, or monthly public opinion poll, demonstrating what issues, concerns, individuals, or events were of interest to the general public in the stated period.
Ethnic media monitoring offers the same information from a perspective belonging to certain ethnic/language groups. As a result, companies, opinion makers, and government and non-profit organizations can assess their own media presence, analyze how the opinions expressed vary from one ethnic group to another, and research current consumer trends. Ultimately you should consider this information when developing or modifying your communications strategies and public relations activities.
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Multilingual media is often overlooked and excluded from regular media monitoring lists; it is important to not assume that everyone only follows mainstream media when there are hundreds of ethnic media outlets available per language.
It provides valuable informational access to a huge demographic segment that transitions from permanent residency to citizenship and from needs to contributions to the Canadian economy and society. The main impact of ethnic media lies in the fact that it is in non-official languages and, therefore, is not accessible to those outside a certain language group. In addition to what is being said, the importance of multilingual media analysis is identifying who is saying it and with what cultural perspective. |
How does it impact the Canadian media scene? |
How many multilingual media sources and languages does MIREMS monitor?
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Our inventory of sources runs to around 2,000, including specialized publications such as directories. They are spread across more than 30 language groups, including homeland outlets, the top ones being Chinese, South Asian, and Mediterranean.
Our language and media lists are regularly extended, depending on the number of newly emerging ethnic media sources and the increase in the population of certain ethnic groups. For more information see our Media List. |
How do we differentiate from other monitoring services?
Unlike other monitoring services based on automated algorithms, MIREMS uses human intelligence with cultural and linguistic knowledge. Our focus is to provide the cultural context behind the wording of the messages.