AsianWeek: On the Cutting Edge of the APA Community
NCM Profile
NCM, Astrid Martinez Posted: Jun 17, 2003
Every Thursday morning throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, red newspaper racks are filled with dozens of colorful AsianWeek publications reaching out to the diverse faces that make up the Asian Pacific American community.
Samson
Wong, Editor-in-Chief of AsianWeek |
AsianWeek is the only national English-language publication catering to Asian Pacific Americans,
an audience comprised of an abundant amount of Asian sub-groups, languages and
cultures. The free San Francisco-based tabloid publishes articles for a broad
audience––from recent immigrants to second and third generation Asian
Pacific Americans––in an attempt to connect the 10.2 million Asian
Americans in the nation.
AsianWeek positions itself on the cutting edge of Asian Pacific American issues
and communicates to both its Asian audience as well as those seeking the pulse
of an emerging community. Founded in 1979 by John T.C. Fang, the publication
strives to unite a diverse population of Asian Americans by reaching out to
the growing community that is no longer fluent in their native languages. By
providing news in English with an Asian Pacific American focus, AsianWeek attempts
to keep American-born Asians and Asian immigrants informed and connected to
their communities, both old and new.
“We’re here to help APAs (Asian Pacific Americans) work closely together,
know each other better, and identify our common heritage,” says editor
Samson Wong. “We are a publication that chronicles events of importance
to APAs.”
With a circulation of 50,000 and a readership of 175,000, AsianWeek brings news
from around the globe and highlights its impact on the Asian Pacific American
community at home. Its focus on immigration has included stories on the INS
raids in airports shortly after 9/11 and the registration deadline for visitors
from Arab and South Asian countries. The publication has also featured articles
on drug abuse by Asian American teenagers that goes unnoticed in government
statistics and in their own homes. AsianWeek also covers national political
issues such as Asian Pacific Americans speaking out against George W. Bush’s
stance against affirmative action.
AsianWeek reaches out to young people by publishing poems, essays, and drawings
by winners of the national contest “Growing Up Asian in America.”
It also engages Asian Pacific American youth in its weekly column "Floss,"
where high school students write about their positions on the Iraq war, applying
to college and getting ready for their prom.
The online edition www.asianweek.com
includes sports articles on topics such as Chinese basketball legend Yao Ming,
and the regular comic strip “Secret Asian Man” which features an Asian
boy dealing with the complexities of being Asian in America.
AsianWeek’s articles on the issues facing the growing Asian Pacific American
community are written by a staff that is almost all under 30.
“We’re here to help Asian Pacific Americans work closely together,
know each other better, and identify our common heritage,” says Wong. “Beyond
our common history and heritage, we’re also looking to identify our common
futures as citizens in this country.”
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