Hello Atlanta, CNN and fellow ethnic journalists

I took a picture with CNN's 360 anchor Anderson Cooper! Well...I took a picture with a poster of him reporting in the field but it’s good enough for me. Anyway, he’s based in New York City and he never returns my call. :o) I did witness, with about 50 other ethnic journalists, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent and Brain Surgeon, do a taping at CNN's Atlanta headquarters. The free ($12 value) two hour tour was part of my two day ticket to the National Ethnic Media Expo and Awards event at the Hyatt Hotel.

Thousands of ethnic news organizations reach out to over 60 million ethnic Americans according to a recent poll conducted by New America Media (NAM), the main organizer of the annual event. Even as print newspapers continue to shut down or shrink its staff, it's great to know that ethnic newspapers continue to survive. I hear time and time again from ethnic journalists from California to Michigan that the Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese, Filipino, and Latino readership is not dead, mainly because the ethnic press serves a niche market that has been largely ignored by mainstream media.

My late morning began when I attended a forum conducted by the U.S. Census 2010 titled “How can we get an accurate count this time?”. More money, press, marketing and staff were injected in the 2010 campaign, which officially starts April 1, 2010. The packed crowd represented a wide spectrum of the ethnic press: Jamaican, Latino, African American, Vietnamese, Middle Eastern and all the rainbow colors in between. The Census 2010 directors said they plan on making sure everyone counts, which is why they are reaching out the ethnic press to help spread the word.

The answers that respondents complete on the short questionnaire are confidential and will not be shared with immigration, FBI or police personnel. But many immigrant communities are fearful or distrustful of the government, based on their experience with the governments of their home country and/or they are scared that their information will be used against them, a major concern among undocumented immigrants who fear deportation. Gaining trust from immigrants is a major hurdle that the U.S. Census must overcome.

There were so many other questions during the Q&A session that the forum ran into overtime past the lunch break. When I finished my lunch 45 minutes later, people were still talking to the U.S. Census team which is a very good thing. They had to hear these questions from the front lines of the reporters who tell the stories of the untold and unrepresented.

The day ended with theAwards Banquet which ended about two hours and half hours ago. Reporters covering investigative, environmental, international, health care, entertainment, senior citizens, and the community were awarded for their in depth reporting and story telling. Bloggers and Opinion/Editorial writers were also recognized. I was surprised to learn at the last half hour of the event that the ethnic press has been around for 200 years, when the first Latin paper was published in New Orleans. African American and Asian papers quickly followed. I thought the ethnic media had only been around since post World War I.

Judging from the exuberant and passionate crowd, we’re not going away either.

Tomorrow continues on. There’ll be more workshops and my company is exhibiting at the expo. It’s 12:30 am and I’m too pooped to upload my photos. So come back soon for my photos!

Good night Atlanta.