Study: Chinese in California Prefer Chinese-language Media

By: Mark Fitzgerald Although Chinese in California are heavy readers of Chinese-language newspapers, they far prefer television as the medium in their language, according to a survey commissioned by two Chinese-language TV stations.

The survey of 800 adults of Chinese descent in the Los Angeles and San Francisco markets found that respondents in general strongly prefer to use Chinese-language media. Fully 87% of the respondents said they prefer Chinese-language TV, and just 13% prefer English-language television.

Some 83% of California Chinese reported watching Chinese TV several times a week or more.

Newspaper readership is heavy as well: 36% reported reading a Chinese-language newspaper every day or nearly every day, and a total of 60% read a Chinese paper several times a week or more.

Sixty percent of respondents reported listening to Chinese-language radio several times a week or more. Some 43% reported using Chinese-language Web sites several times a week or more, but 40% said they never access Web sites in their language.

In the survey conducted by Lieberman Research Worldwide and Interviewing Service of America, respondents could choose to be interviewed in Cantonese, Mandarin, or English. The survey was commissioned jointly by KTSF-TV in San Francisco and KSCI-TV in Los Angeles.