The Ethnic Press In The United States

Features

Description

A fine scholarly collection that evokes the pre-WW I era when some 1,300 foreign-language newspapers served America's immigrant millions. It consists of essays by qualified scholars on the newspapers of 27 immigrant groups, ranging from the important German and Jewish presses to comparatively obscure ones such as Arabic, Danish, Portuguese, and Ukranian...[T]his volume offers valuable references and suggestive interpretive insights to students of American jouralism, immigration, urbanization, and ethnic studies.

Choice Review: ?The ethnic press of many U.S. immigrant groups is currently marking its centenary. The newspapers that were published by and for various groups now comprise primary research material for students of immigration history. This volume is intended to be an introduction to the foreign-language press in the United States and to contemporary research in this subject.

In her introduction, the editor acknowledges the impossibility of compiling a comprehensive survey of the ethnic press: the twenty-seven groups covered in the essays represent those who chose to immigrate to America and who have significant publishing histories. In this work, the term ethnic press refers to general circulation newspapers that were usually published in the language of the immigrant group.

The essays are written by ethnic studies specialists; the writers are historians, sociologists, and journalists. Each author explains the background of the ethnic group in America and the political and cultural environments that influenced the foundation and fortunes of their newspapers; historical commentary generally covers through the early to mid-1980s.

Although their approaches and styles vary, the contributors all provide succinct historical surveys and analysis. Extensive notes and a bibliography are included in each chapter. The volume has an index that includes subject terms; newspaper titles; and names of editors, journalists, and publishers.

This volume will provide excellent coverage of the foreign-language press in America.?-ARBA