WASHINGTON: Several sweeping, but seemingly contradictory, trends were reshaping the ethnic sector of American media at the end of 2007. Some pointed to a future of growth and others indicated a flattening or even contraction, according to a new report on the state of journalism in America by the Project for Excellence in Journalism, a nonpartisan, non-political research group.

As a growing variety of ethnic groups put down roots in America, there seems to be growth potential for small startup ethnic outlets, especially in print. But other trends among the immigrant population may be working against the ethnic media. For example, the more established an immigrant population is, the less likely they are to rely on native-language media.

The audited circulations of three of the biggest Spanish-language dailies in established communities-La Opinión, based in Los Angeles, El Diario-La Prensa in New York and El Nuevo Herald in Miami-have been flat for several years. And there is increasing competition from the mainstream media as they tailor their content to Hispanic audiences, deliberately choosing topics and personalities that will appeal to Latinos.

These issues complicate the economics of ethnic media, its news-gathering muscle, and its reach. As the sector matures, the economics are in many ways also becoming more stable. "In the end, the current demographic trends may be pointing to a more multi-faceted ethnic media landscape with no across-the-board positive or negative prognosis," says PEJ Director Tom Rosenstiel. These are some of the conclusions from "The State of the News Media, 2008," a 700-page comprehensive look at the state of U.S. journalism by PEJ, a project of the Pew Research Center in Washington, D.C. and funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

This is the fifth annual report. Among the other findings: 1. In August 2007, Nielsen launched its new system measuring Spanish-language broadcasting as part of all programming. It showed Univision beating every broadcast network among viewers ages 18 to 34. But by the end of the month - and the year - Univision was trailing all three US networks in this demographic. 2. Ad revenues for Hispanic papers broke the $1 billion mark for the first time, hitting $1.1 billion in 2006, up from $996 million in 2005, an increase of 13 percent, according to the Latino Print Network. 3. ImpreMedia, owner of Hoy New York and El Diario-La Prensa, added the Texas-based Rumbo newspaper chain to its media stable.

This extends its reach to advertisers in the top 10 US Hispanic markets. 4. Less-than-weekly papers, highly visible in new immigrant communities, climbed to 39 pages per issues in 2006 from 21 in 2005, an 86 percent increase. As with past annual reports, the 2008 study offers detailed chapters on eight different sectors of the press-newspapers, magazines, network television, cable news, local TV, the Internet, radio, and the ethnic press.

This year's report also includes some new features: A Survey of Journalists produced with the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press; A Year in the News, a comprehensive content analysis of more than 70,000 stories from 48 different news outlets across five media sectors; A Special Report on the Future of Advertising; a review of 25 Years of Public Attitudes Data; and a content analysis of 64 Different Citizen Media Sites in 15 communities.