Constructing Racial Groups' Identities in the Diasporic Press: Internalization,Resonance, Transparency,and Offset

This study examines the ways that the Korean American diasporic press constructs identities of its own ethnic group as well as those of other racial/ethnic groups by employing both quantitative and qualitative research methods. The author identifies three metaframes of diasporic media's representations of interracial relations—(a) internalization/resonance (related to racial/ethnic minorities), (b) transparency (related to Whites), and (c) offset (related to their ethnic members)—as ways that the diasporic media adopt, adapt, and counteract prevailing racial ideologies in their new host country. The diasporic media offset the negative images of their own ethnic members in the mainstream media by depicting the roles of their own group as victims of other racial/ethnic groups. Findings indicate that Korean Americans were frequently shown as victims of crimes (mostly related to Blacks), racial discrimination (mostly related to Whites), problematic laborers (mostly related to Latinos), and business rivals (mostly related to other Asian Americans).