What We Do Best
This week San Francisco hosts the Asian American Journalists Association National Annual Convention. Editors, writers and reporters from around the country will come together to learn a little and party a lot. They will partake in workshops, panel discussions, and banquets, and there will even be a salsa bus, where serious-minded journalists can “shake” their “bootie,” as the convention bulletin describes it.
I’ll pass on that. But I look forward to meeting other journalists. I always find it interesting to talk to people who work in mainstream media — and sometimes, I must admit, I wonder if writing for a daily is a prerequisite for respect in this industry. Most of the time, however, API journalists have positive things to say about AsianWeek.
Maybe that’s because AsianWeek’s staff takes seriously its responsibility as a watchdog for the community and Asians worldwide. Take, for example, this week’s story about API activists who are educating the public about U.S. military activity in Maehyang-ri, Korea, which is wreaking havoc on the environment and the citizens’ peace of mind. Or, the article on Sunny Liang, whose e-mail made New York Post’s front page. The Post crucified the high school educator in a racially tinged report, which blamed teachers with less than perfect English skills for the city’s poorly performing students.
As we continue to offer voice to the voiceless, we also have a psychological and perhaps even spiritual function. This is what AsianWeek does as a whole, each week throughout the year. For many Asian Americans, the experience of reading the paper, and seeing, page after page, API faces, opinions and issues, is very empowering — and it’s what sets us apart from the mainstream press.
In no other newspaper will you be able to read about an Asian-theme radio program; the fight of Houston Korean Americans to get a community center; a bill to recognize Native Hawaiians; Wen Ho Lee’s new autobiography; Rep. Mike Honda’s visit to China; the death of Phoolan Devi; nightmares of the Cambodian American community; an API teen accused of being a cult leader; and Rhiannon Tanaka of the San Diego Spirit — all in one sitting.
AsianWeek shows the full spectrum of what it is to be Asian American. And that is what we do best. |
