AsianWeek, the long-running English-language Asian-American newspaper, will stop publication this year in the face of declining readership and advertising revenue and a softening economy, editor and publisher Ted Fang said on Wednesday.
The paper’s last regular issue is scheduled for Jan. 2, but special editions may be considered, Fang said.
“There is a huge potential in the Asian-American market,” Fang said. “But we’re facing the difficulties and the reality of the newspaper environment and the economic environment.”
Community advocates say the paper’s closing leaves a gap that will be hard to fill.
“It’s a big blow,” said David Lee, who teaches political science at San Francisco State University, and heads the Chinese-American Voters Education Committee. “It was an important resource for bringing people together.”
The San Francisco-based paper, established in 1979, had a circulation of 60,000 and served as a platform for issues that affected Asian-Americans. It hosted health campaigns to fight hepatitis B, which disproportionally affects Asians, debates around immigration reform and voter registration drives, said Lee.
The newspaper took a blow in 2007, when it published an opinion piece by a contributor titled, “Why I hate blacks.”
Fang later said it was a mistake to publish the column. He issued an apology, and fired the contributor.
Much of the Asian-American community is relatively new to the US, with the majority arriving after 1965, when a change in immigration laws opened the borders to immigration from Asia.
It’s the fastest growing ethnic group in the country, with the US Census projecting a 213 percent increase by 2050.
By running in English, the newspaper helped bridge language differences between newly established communities.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
NO EXCUSES: Marcos said his administration was acting on voters’ demands, but an academic said the move was emotionally motivated after a poor midterm showing Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday sought the resignation of all his Cabinet secretaries, in a move seen as an attempt to reset the political agenda and assert his authority over the second half of his single six-year term. The order came after the president’s allies failed to win a majority of Senate seats contested in the 12 polls on Monday last week, leaving Marcos facing a divided political and legislative landscape that could thwart his attempts to have an ally succeed him in 2028. “He’s talking to the people, trying to salvage whatever political capital he has left. I think it’s
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
Polish presidential candidates offered different visions of Poland and its relations with Ukraine in a televised debate ahead of next week’s run-off, which remains on a knife-edge. During a head-to-head debate lasting two hours, centrist Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, from Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s governing pro-European coalition, faced the Eurosceptic historian Karol Nawrocki, backed by the right-wing populist Law and Justice party (PiS). The two candidates, who qualified for the second round after coming in the top two places in the first vote on Sunday last week, clashed over Poland’s relations with Ukraine, EU policy and the track records of their
RSS