AsianWeek

AsianWeek
Name	AsianWeek
Type	Weekly newspaper
Format	Tabloid
Foundation	1979
Ceased publication	2009
Owners	Pacific News Service
Publisher	Ysmael R. "Bud" Dalai (founder)
Language	English
Headquarters	San Francisco, California

AsianWeek AsianWeek was an English-language weekly newspaper and newsmagazine based in San Francisco covering news, culture, politics, business, and arts related to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Founded in 1979, it served as a regional and national voice linking communities in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York City, Seattle, Honolulu, and Toronto, while engaging with events in East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands. The publication intersected with organizations and figures from the civil rights era, immigrant advocacy networks, ethnic media coalitions, and contemporary cultural institutions.

History

AsianWeek was launched in 1979 amid post‑1965 immigration flows that reshaped demography in California and major metropolitan areas such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, Seattle, and Honolulu. Its founding coincided with policy shifts like the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act that affected migration from China, India, Philippines, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. Early editors and contributors intersected with advocacy groups including the Asian American Political Alliance, the Japanese American Citizens League, the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, and labor organizations in industries linked to International Longshore and Warehouse Union activity. The paper reported on landmark events such as protests related to the Vincent Chin case, the activism around the Madrigal v. Quilter-era decisions, and responses to international crises like the Vietnam War aftermath and the Sino‑American rapprochement era. Over time AsianWeek expanded coverage to include diasporic networks connecting to the Indian Independence movement's legacies, Filipino veterans advocacy, and the transnational flows shaped by World Trade Organization negotiations and regional summits.

In the 1990s and 2000s the publication engaged with municipal politics in San Francisco and Oakland, immigrant policy debates at the level of the U.S. Congress, and civic coalitions including the APALA (Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance) and the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies. The paper's ownership and operational model linked it to nonprofit journalism efforts exemplified by organizations akin to the Pacific News Service and to community-based outlets such as Anglo‑Asian community papers and ethnic broadcasters tied to KTSF.

Editorial Mission and Content

AsianWeek described a mission of reporting on issues affecting Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, amplifying voices from neighborhoods ranging from San Francisco Chinatown to Jackson Heights, Queens, and spotlighting cultural production from creators like Amy Tan, Jhumpa Lahiri, Gish Jen, Haruki Murakami, and filmmakers connected to festivals such as Sundance Film Festival and Tribeca Film Festival. Coverage blended local reporting on school board races in districts like San Francisco Unified School District with national analysis of Supreme Court decisions involving civil rights organizations including the ACLU and the Asian Law Caucus. Features profiled community leaders associated with institutions such as Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, Columbia University, and think tanks connected to Council on Foreign Relations discussions about U.S. relations with China, India, Japan, and ASEAN members like Indonesia and Philippines.

Cultural pages reviewed exhibitions at museums such as the Asian Art Museum (San Francisco), performances at venues like the Kennedy Center, and books published by presses including Knopf and Penguin Books. Business journalism covered entrepreneurs linked to sectors represented by organizations such as the National Federation of Independent Business and trade delegations attending conferences with participants from Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Distribution and Readership

AsianWeek circulated in print across metropolitan regions with significant Asian American populations, including neighborhoods served by transit systems like Bay Area Rapid Transit and commuter corridors into Silicon Valley. Readership included students and faculty at universities such as University of California, Los Angeles, University of Washington, and University of Hawaii; professionals working at firms like Google, Microsoft, and Intel; activists involved with groups like APIAVote and SAALT; and elders connected to community centers and temples such as BAPS mandirs and San Francisco Buddhist Temple. Distribution channels included independent newsstands, ethnic grocery stores, cultural festivals such as Lunar New Year parades, and partnerships with radio stations like KQED and television outlets in ethnic media markets such as KTSF.

The paper adapted to digital transitions in the 2000s with a website that targeted diasporic audiences in cities including Toronto and Vancouver, linking to social networks and blogs influential in Asian American journalism ecosystems that also produced commentary on events like 9/11 and the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Controversies and Criticism

AsianWeek attracted criticism and generated controversies over editorial choices, representation, and coverage decisions that intersected with debates within communities from Chinatowns to Korean American churches. Critics included columnists associated with rival outlets and advocacy organizations such as the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium and cultural commentators writing for publications like Colorlines and The Huffington Post. Debates ranged over the portrayal of issues like affirmative action in cases argued at the U.S. Supreme Court, community responses to incidents like the Shooting of Kathryn Steinle, and coverage of intra‑ethnic tensions among groups from Filipino American activists to Hmong communities. Editorial independence and funding models were scrutinized by scholars from institutions such as University of California, Berkeley and Columbia Journalism School, while media critics compared the paper to other ethnic outlets like Sing Tao Daily, World Journal, and Korean‑language dailies.

Awards and Recognition

AsianWeek and its journalists received recognition from organizations and awards programs including honors from the National Association of Asian American Professionals, citations from the National Newspaper Association, and journalism awards presented by local bodies such as the San Francisco Press Club. Writers and editors were finalists for prizes associated with entities like the PEN America awards, fellowships from the Knight Foundation and the Ford Foundation, and academic citations from departments at Stanford University and University of California, Berkeley. Coverage was cited in scholarship published by presses like University of California Press and Routledge, and the publication was acknowledged in historiographies of Asian American media alongside peers such as Pacific Citizen and The Rafu Shimpo.

Category:Newspapers published in San Francisco Category:Asian American press