Nayaba Arinde, Amsterdam News; Wenjie Dong, Ming Pao Daily (New York); Tomasz Deptula, Nowy
Dziennik (Polish Daily News); Lisa Vives, Global Information Network; Carolina Gonzalez; Anthony D.
Advincula, moderator, Independent Press Association-New York
When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, nothing in the mainstream press covered how this natural
disaster impacted thousands of ethnic minorities. The plight of these communities was neither seen nor heard, and even government agencies failed to address their needs. Likewise, since the war in Iraq broke out, stories have focused on the Bush administration and his policies, but not what this means for minority communities whose young people are being recruited to fight abroad. Only the ethnic press has been tackling the issues overlooked by major newspapers. Bringing together editors of ethnic press outlets and representatives from the mainstream, this panel will discuss why the voices of ethnic minorities are so often left out of the discourse, how this impacts our communities and how ethnic press serves to bridge the gap.