Ethnic entrepreneurship can help communities better if they are recognized in public discourse

Leona Achtenhagen & Cindy Price Schultz, "Invisible struggles: the representation of ethnic entrepreneurship in US newspapers," Journal of Community Development 47 (2015): 5

The take-away: This textual study compares the representation of ethnic minority entrepreneurs in newspapers to sociological literature on their experiences. In general, it finds newspapers are lacking in terms of reporting the recurrent struggles experienced by ethnic minority entrepreneurs. The article further asserts the importance for community development of publicizing the struggles of, as well as the opportunities available to such entrepreneurs.

Abstract: How entrepreneurship is portrayed in media can play an important role for how attractive it is perceived as a career and/or investment option. Communities need people of all ethnicities to be interested in starting businesses because economic development is tied so closely to community development. To date, little to no community development literature has been published about how newspapers frame ethnic minority entrepreneurs and how that might affect the community. This article examined such framing and its implications. This article presents a textual analysis of how ethnic minority entrepreneurship is represented in US newspapers included in the LexisNexis Academic Database from 2003 to 2008. Overall, ethnic minority entrepreneurship, including the struggles the entrepreneurs face, is almost invisible in the newspapers, despite its importance for the economy. From the articles that were published in this field, important patterns were identified. The article concludes with suggestions about how community development officials can assist ethnic minority entrepreneurs.

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