The U.S. Census Bureau has launched an effort to enlist the help of ethnic media to boost response rates in the 2010 census.

Census officials met with representatives from Georgia’s ethnic media outlets June 4 to gain insights on how to use their influence to encourage census participation throughout the state.

About 200 newspaper, radio, TV and digital media professionals packed a room at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta, representing a wide variety of backgrounds from Chinese to Caribbean and Korean to Kenyan

The event was part of a national awards conference and expo put on by New America Media, an organization that collaborates with some 2,500 ethnic media outlets around the country.

The chief concern the census leaders voiced is that some immigrant and minority communities are undercounted.  Some avoid participation out of apathy, while some fear that through the census the government will be able to determine their immigration status. 

Whatever their reasons, they don’t realize that they’re hurting themselves and their communities by choosing not to fill in the form, the officials said.

“There’s too much at stake,” said Stephen Buckner, a spokesman for the census bureau and panelist. “Your political representation is directly tied to your census counts.”

Census data gathered every 10 years determines the legislative districts and the number of seats each state has in the House of Representatives. 

The U.S. government also distributes $300 billion annually to communities and states based on the data.  Businesses use it to formulate their market strategies. Local governments look at it when deciding where to put schools and hospitals.  Media outlets reference it in their articles.

The benefits of participation outweigh the causes for fear, said Mr. Buckner.  He and the other panelists repeatedly emphasized that the Census Bureau is legally bound to protect the information it gathers.

It can’t be used by any other U.S. agency.  Confidentiality even “trumps the Patriot Act,” and if census employees don’t keep the information secret, they can face five years in prison and fines of $250,000, he said.

The census bureau is pulling out all the stops this year to increase participation, which might prove to be difficult with more illegal immigrants in the U.S. and with the heightened privacy concerns in the post 9/11 era. 

Mr. Buckner said the 2000 census bucked a three-decade trend of double-digit decreases in the percentage of participants from 1970-1990, and the bureau is dedicated to continuing with that momentum.

This year, every household will only have to answer 10 questions.  In 2000, a longer questionnaire requesting more detailed information was given to one in six applicants. That has been removed.  The American Community Survey is now sent out to 3 million households every year to track changes in population and ethnic communities.

In 2000, only 65 percent of Georgia households participated in the census, two points below the national average.

Manuel Landivar, a regional census manager and another panelist at the event, said the bureau tries to be culturally sensitive when sending out census takers - called “enumerators” - to retrieve data.

“When someone is knocking on someone’s door to complete a census questionnaire, we want to be certain that the person looks and talks like the person he’s trying to enumerate,” Mr. Landivar said.

That means the bureau will have to “hire indigenously,” recruiting people from a broad array of ethnic and linguistic backgrounds to help gather data.

Mr. Landivar said the census will create 40,000 jobs in Alabama, Georgia and Florida. Of 57 local offices in the three states, 17 are already open and more will follow as 2010 approaches.

The Census Bureau is partnering with ethnic media outlets because of the pulse they have on specific communities that aren’t generally reached by the mainstream media.

According to a poll released by New America Media on June 5, ethnic media have picked up more than 8 million readers/viewers in the last four years, expanding their reach to 57 million people across the nation.

“The increase in ethnic media audiences is incredible, considering the declines that many mainstream media outlets are confronting," said Sandy Close, New America Media’s executive director.

The growth in circulation is likely indicative of a boost in certain ethnic populations.

For some economic development organizations in Georgia, that becomes a selling tool on the international stage.

Gwinnett County is one of the many Georgia regions that have undergone tremendous demographic shifts over the past few decades.

Nick Masino, vice president of economic development for the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, said census data is “invaluable” when he’s courting international businesses.

He uses the fact that there are Korean grocery stores, churches and restaurants serving the thousands of Koreans in Gwinnett in his attempts to persuade companies to locate here instead of traditional Asian-influenced locales like California.

The Census Bureau estimates that there are nearly 40,000 Koreans in metro Atlanta. 

Mr. Masino gave an example of a pitch to a Korean businessperson: “If you came over from your country, your kids will be able to meet and go to school with people that are like them.”

New America Media’s expo concluded Friday June 5. For more information about the organization, visit www.newamericamedia.org. 

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