NAM Executive Director Sandy Close on the 2009 EXPO and The Growth of The Ethnic Media

and disaster relief organizations to perfect a communications system that would allow ethnic media to transmit emergency alerts to the communities they serve across the country. In one of the EXPO’s highlight events, the new technology will be unveiled. NAM has a network of more than 2,500 ethnic media outlets that are vital communications links. With increasing numbers of people depending on ethnic media for news and information, it’s crucial these communities are plugged into health and emergency alerts that can save lives.



This network can also be used for purposes far beyond health and emergency alerts. We also hope to persuade corporate America and public officials that the ethnic media network is a valuable communications link that can be used to transmit a wide range of information, such as product information to consumers and public policy statements to voters.



The full results of the NAM poll will be released at the EXPO. Conducted by Bendixen & Associates, a veteran polling firm, the results underscore the growth of ethnic media and the important role they play in the lives of millions of Americans each day. The Latino Print Network recently reported that there are 834 newspapers, 556 magazines and another 526 journals, annuals, yellow-page directories and newsletters oriented to Hispanics in the US.



NAM wants the EXPO to be a useful and rallying event for ethnic media, but we also want it to be a wake-up call for the rest of America. The ethnic media are how millions of Americans get their news and information, so individuals or organizations who want to communicate to the broadest public should become more familiar with how to utilize the network.