On any given morning on the Manhattan bound seven train, I'd climb aboard and see newspapers held up by every other passenger. If it's not the free Metro or AM Newspaper, it's the Spanish newspaper, Hoy; if it's not Hoy, it's the Daily News; if it's not the Daily News, it's definitely a Chinese newspaper. This was made apparent to me one day when I was shuffled into a Chinese dominant cart where every passenger was reading an edition of World Journal or Sing Tao. No really, EVERY passenger: suit, sweats, students, grandmas, grandpas, etc... I don't know what the chances of seeing this is; regardless of the statistic it simply made me realize that these Chinese newspapers reach a huge population in New York City of all sorts.
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| News involving Asians are followed in depth, compared to other local news sources. |
For some reason I've neglected this media source all my life, I sure as hell grew up with it- my father buys a copy every morning, and my house carries about 2 months worth of newspapers my grandfather bought when he was staying with us. It never really occurred to me that the top Chinese newspapers in New York: World Journal, Sing Tao, and China Press played an vital role in our local media (rankings by Gothan Gazette).
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| It's typical for American celeberties to be in Asian newspapers, will it ever be typical for an Asian to be in an American newspaper? |
I was under the impression that if it wasn't in English, it wasn't important. Alternative news organizations are often independent sources that don't have that power to stand up tall in the midst of all the "American" media, they're not well known with the general public- especially if it's in a foreign language. However, these ethnic publications are alternative news sources that stray away from the main stream- that selected groups depend on in order to access news relevant to them. The stories selected and focused on apply to their readers, creating a close social network between fellow consumers.
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| "Don't you want to look like her? She must be pretty if she's in the newspaper!" |
I decided to focus on Chinese newspaper in New York City because I realized they reach a large amount of the city's population. “Between 1990 and 2000, the number of Asians in the U.S. grew by nearly 50%, or a staggering 72% when including those who are Asian in combination with another race or ethnic group. By comparison, the total U.S. population grew by only 13%” (World Journal). Readers vary a great deal in terms of demographics and social class, sharing and consumption of the content relayed in this publication can go a long way. We've all learned and seen that values can easily translate through all forms of media- it's critical to analyze those that reach large populations, for they are highly influential. Stick a section in for the ‘hottest’ trends of tight jeans and a 25” waist, and grandma might use that as a reference for her granddaughter who doesn’t know any better. (Asian beauty image is a whole nother' post. However, it's a given that thin to the bone is indeed beautiful in this culture)
Going through the newspaper and their website I discovered there aren’t many gender specific sections. In addition to the top headlines, publications tend to contain entertainment, classifieds, food and culture, and sports. I also discovered in the weekend editions they have personal interest sections where they include a pornographic-like ad for what I assume is a dating service (my dad refuses to answer me when I ask him what it is, and my reading skills are also very limited). This section, tends to be only females- it’s quite sickening to see such a large picture of a woman in a revealing top. Removing inappropriate content as such should be one of the top things to preserve authenticity.
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| Go on, enjoy your morning coffee with this page |
In states where the Chinese population isn’t as populous, they receive newspapers from New York City- it’s even accessible around the world now.
The audiences these news papers reach continues to expand, and it’s critical to be cautious of the content within it. A large part of the stories covered reflect the top headlines of English newspaper, no doubt Kim Kardashian’s divorce made a slot or two. However, articles also include news that involve Chinese/Asian people, issues that citizens don’t get to watch on Fox’s 10 o’ clock news. What frustrates me is that Asian Americans make up a large portion of New York’s population, even more so, the country- it’s very common to see white women in Chinese newspapers and ads, but it’s not as common to see Asians in the New York Times. Having the Chinese publications is preserves the culture immigrants have brought with them- it’s critical to maintain this connection. However, once corporations begin to notice the expanding market- they’ll want a piece of it.
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| Mmm'mmm Huge Ad space, for a Huge audience. McDonald's Lovin' It. |
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I’m also part Vietnamese, the monthly publication of Nguoi Dep (Beautiful People) Magazine is distributed throughout the East Coast, and is littered with permanent make up ads and nail salon warehouse deals. Mind you, there’s not many Vietnamese publications to begin with, in fact this is one of two magazines that are well known in New York City.
There’s also textual articles in between the colorful ads; however, the articles consist of Hollywood tabloids, Chinese zodiac horoscopes, and beauty tips. Clearly there is a bigger issue at hand here for the Vietnamese population if this is one of the very few publications available for yet another growing populous.
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| Get your news from what's going on locally with the Vietnamese community AND botox! |
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Links
NYCMA: New York Community Media Alliance is a member-driver organization that promotes and advocates for the ethnic and community media in New York and the metropolitan area. NYCMA is a project of the Fund for the City of New York.
NYC Newspaper/News Media Guide: http://www.abyznewslinks.com/unitenyny.htm
Gotham Gazette: http://www.gothamgazette.com/commentary/80.scher.shtml
Chinese Media Guide: http://www.chineseadvertisingagencies.com/mediaguide/Chinese-newspapers-New-York.html
World Journal Statistics/Information: http://www.worldjournal.com/5news-e
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Photos
News Clippings from various editions of World Journal and Sing Tao in 2011.
August Edition of Nguoi Dep.
Hello Thu,
ReplyDeleteThis was a very informative reading. I enjoyed learning that there was Chinese and Asian newspapers made available in your community focused on your people. However, I wanted to know if you were able to find Asian forms of news, whether local, national and/or international, that was not so Westernized in its approach, coverage, storytelling and/or formatting of images in terms of news?
Based on the images of these newspapers that you featured in your post, they look very Westernized in its ads, its tabloid-like appearance, its focus on celebrity news, lifestyle, and projection of westernized ideas of beauty, quality-of-life, and so forth.
Nguoi Dep seems like a Vietnamese version of People Magazine.
Aside from the "news" publications, what other news outlets, such as TV, web, radio, and/or newspapers, did you find that has socio-cultural context relevant your Asian community?