Ethnic Media Leaders Gather in Sacramento for Annual Conference and Awards

Regina Wilson, Executive Director of CBM, highlighted the importance of the event: “Last year, the inaugural convening in the state capital focused on ‘meeting the decision-makers.’ This year, the emphasis is on strengthening those connections. Key decision-makers have expressed their appreciation for our return, recognizing that at a time of deep budget cuts, our community ties and communication skills are more essential than ever for building new, more equitable messaging.”

Observer Group Newspapers of Southern California, Inc Staff

More than 250 news professionals representing nearly 150 media outlets attended the annual Ethnic Media Conference, Expo, and Awards held at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Sacramento on Aug. 27 and 28. The event was hosted by Ethnic Media Services (EMS) and California Black Media (CBM), and recognized journalists for outstanding reporting in areas such as health, politics, and culture.

Conference sessions leading up to the awards ceremony included panel discussions featuring state officials, government agencies, lobbying firms, advocacy organizations, and more. These sessions also provided networking opportunities for news media owners and professionals from Black, Native American, Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, Eastern European, North African, Caribbean, and LGBTQ press.

Regina Wilson, Executive Director of CBM, highlighted the importance of the event: “Last year, the inaugural convening in the state capital focused on ‘meeting the decision-makers.’ This year, the emphasis is on strengthening those connections. Key decision-makers have expressed their appreciation for our return, recognizing that at a time of deep budget cuts, our community ties and communication skills are more essential than ever for building new, more equitable messaging.

”State leaders in attendance included Attorney General Rob Bonta, State Treasurer Fiona Ma, and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond. Business leaders, communications firms, nonprofits, and philanthropic organizations also participated to emphasize the crucial role ethnic media play in California’s diverse communities.

Sandy Close, Director of EMS, underscored the significance of the conference: “California is home to the largest concentration of multilingual news outlets serving immigrant and ethnic communities in the U.S. This breakthrough public-private partnership to support local journalism brings welcome recognition of the ethnic media sector’s indispensable role in connecting these diverse communities to each other and to the wider public realm.”

Tony Thurmond, who is running for governor of California in 2026, also highlighted the role ethnic media plays in reporting on education. “We can’t get the right information out about education without the ethnic media in our state,” Thurmond said, stressing the need for early literacy and its role in preventing students from falling into the “school-to-prison pipeline.”

The event featured various workshops, plenaries, and breakout sessions on topics such as health care, artificial intelligence, public education, climate change, misinformation, hate crimes, and equity in government procurement. Google provided training on its digital news tools, and panelists discussed the impact of AI on journalism’s future.

The conference concluded with the Ethnic Media Awards, recognizing outstanding journalism in nine different categories. Over 300 entries were submitted in 12 different languages. This year’s conference coincided with the announcement of a $172 million public-private partnership in California to support journalism. The agreement, brokered with the help of Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) and led by Google, aims to bolster local newsrooms and serves as a national model for supporting journalism’s role in government and business.

Regina Wilson expressed gratitude for the success of the event, saying, “We’ve worked long and hard to gain this recognition as a multilingual, multiracial, multimedia sector. We extend our deepest thanks to our sponsors, speakers, media partners, and all our attendees for supporting this collective effort.”