As the Oregonian newspaper’s first race and ethnicity beat reporter, Angie Chuang turned to ethnic media outlets to help her stay abreast of community issues and identify sources she should get to know. So when she became an assistant journalism professor at American University in Washington, D.C., Chuang aimed to share the importance of ethnic media with her mostly White students

In her ‘Race, Ethnic and Community Reporting’ class, Chuang’s students follow the city’s newspapers, magazines and television and radio stations that cater to particular ethnic groups. They track important issues, such as immigration, to compare coverage in mainstream media with reporting in the ethnic outlets.

“We wouldn’t be doing our jobs if we weren’t paying attention to ethnic media,” Chuang says. “It is part of who we are as a society and what we’re becoming as a city and a country.”

At colleges and universities across the country, the study of ethnic media is growing. Some schools, such as California State University, Northridge, sanction student-written ethnic publications. The University of Georgia and Louisiana State University, among others, host events for ethnic media reporters.

The expanding interest in ethnic media is, at least partly, a practical one. While many mainstream media outlets face declining revenues and readership, ethnic media is growing, according to a 2009 study by pollster Sergio Bendixen. His report showed that the number of U.S. adults consuming ethnic media grew from 51 million in 2005 to 57 million last year.

Aside from preparing young reporters for a changing journalism job market, proponents say, incorporating ethnic media into journalism classes and into institutions’ culture can expand students’ perspectives and change perceptions. Similarly, support for ethnic outlets through educational workshops and other opportunities can help maintain media diversity on campus — and off.

“Ethnic media is filling the gap of what mainstream media has not been able to cover,” says Odette Keeley, news anchor and executive producer at New America Media, a national collaboration and advocate of 2,000 ethnic news organizations. Keeley helps coordinate New America Media’s network of about 50 journalism school partners.