Recession Silences More Asian-American Voices

Today comes more bad news for San Francisco's Asian-American community, which comprises a third of the city's population. After 12 years, the Chinese newspaper, Ming Pao Daily, has ceased publication, according to a report appearing on New America Media's online site by Jun Wang.
The paper had a daily circulation of around 33,000, according to David Lee at San Francisco State University, who is an expert on Asian-American media; and it follows by just six weeks the closure of Asian Week, which was the largest English-language Asian-American newspaper in the country.
As the mainstream media industry continues to go through its disastrous wave of contractions, many of those being laid off or choosing buyouts are minority journalists. After years of struggle to diversify what was until relatively recently a bastion of white men, the younger reporters entering the business since the 1990s included a flood of women and ethnic minorities, including many Asians.

The Asian-American Journalists Association, which encouraged through mentoring and scholarships many of these younger people to enter the profession, has always been unique (in my experience) among hyphenated media organizations, in that it welcomes anybody of any race or ethnicity to join. Having served as a judge, panel speaker, and group attendee on various occasions, I can say that one came away from this remarkable group's spirit of inclusiveness with the impression that we are all, in fact, Asian-Americans at heart.

But there is no question that growing up in an Asian family in America yields a rich array of unqiue cultural and political insights that, when included in our media, broadens and deepens coverage in ways that are palpably positive. Therefore, I mourn the passing of each Asian-oriented newspaper, magazine, TV or radio show (such as the discontinued Pacific Time on KQED-FM) that is characterizing this present industry crisis.