A study was conducted to examine the relationships among communication, social class, and ethnic heritage. Eleven of thirteen ethnic groups in a Midwestern metropolitan area who had been studied in 1976 were surveyed again in late 1980 and early 1981. Groups surveyed were Irish, Greek, Czech, Italian, Lebanese, Hungarian, Lithuanian, Polish, Romanian, Slovene, and Ukrainian. From a total of 644 people, 392 were interviewed again in 1980-81, for a completion rate of 58.9%. Both surveys tested ethnic media use, metro media use, ethnic interpersonal communication, ethnic cultural patterns, and social status. Results indicated that although income was negatively associated with ethnic identification and behavior in the 1976 survey, the influence was mediated by ethnic communication when ethnic identification was the criterion variable and by identification and communication when the criterion variable was the observance of ethnic customs and holidays. Also, both mass and interpersonal communication filled mediating positions between social status and ethnic cultural behaviors; however, environmental factors may shift the relative importance each plays in the future. Changes in media delivery systems and communication technologies may also affect both ethnic identification and social status. (JL)