The New York Times announced that it will once again be joining forces with Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) to run a weekend-long workshop covering aspects of investigative and enterprise reporting within ethnic communities.

The workshop, targeted at working reporters and editors, is also open to students currently enrolled on a journalism course and is scheduled to take place at the New York Times building in April.

The workshop will look at police and court reporting, investigating immigration, criminal justice and social issues, and will advise journalists on the most efficient way of obtaining background information on individuals and organisations, as well as exploiting existing tools such as open record laws to facilitate such research. In light of the economic crisis, there will also be a session looking at the impact this has had on local and ethnic communities.

The ethnic media workshop is a relatively new project funded by the New York Times Company Foundation in collaboration with the New York Media Alliance and New America Media.

Just last week, the Editors Weblog ran an article looking at the loss of ethnic media within the United States. As ethnic media outlets across the country struggle to survive during the downturn, New York appears to be one of the few cities continuing to invest in journalism which covers its many diverse communities.

This is not the first time the New York Times Company has proven its commitment to promoting ethnic journalism. In 2005 the corporation launched the Florida-based Gainesville Guardian, serving the region's 15,000-strong African-American community. At the time, reactions from its target audience were mixed, with some people arguing that ethnic news should not be segregated from mainstream news.

The profile of ethnic news organisations has said to have been enhanced following the inauguration of President Barack Obama. In February, Obama gave his first print interview to Black Enterprise magazine, in what some refer to as a "new spirit of inclusion", limited not just to his ties with the black community but also to the all-encompassing manner he has extended the lines of communication to other ethnic communities, including America's large Hispanic population.

Sources: Editor & Publisher , Highbeam , Newser ,