New Grant to Track Immigration Voting Patterns

The McCormick Foundation's Journalism Program approved a grant two weeks ago that will expose Chicago-area teens to radio journalism and energize their already growing enthusiasm for the electoral process. Over coming weeks the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) will provide training to some 60-75 teens in the basics of journalism and radio production. In addition, teens will conduct exit polling at voting places throughout the city and suburbs to better understand immigrant attitudes toward the Nov. 4 presidential election and a variety of key issues. The short-term project is a collaboration between ICIRR, Mikva Challenge, the Chicago Public Schools Service Learning, Univision Radio and the Asian American Institute.

Free Chicago Ethnic Media Directory

The Community Media Workshop (www.newstips.org) has just released a free beta-version of its Chicago Ethnic Media Directory online. This useful directory, which includes basic audience and contact information for more than 200 Chicago-area ethnic media outlets, is accessible by registering here: http://www.newstips.org/interior.php?section=Resources&main_id=889. This is the first organized, comprehensive ethnic media-exclusive media directory for the Chicago-area.

CMW's directory is just one useful tool the organization has generated as part of an MF-funded ethnic media initiative. They are also conducing research on the needs of the sector, along with hosting various meetings and trainings for ethnic media.