Celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month: These 8 Sites Offer A Mix Of Asian-American News, Storytelling, Art & More
From time to time, an industry or subject inspires us to create a best-of list. These are sites that produce out-of-this-world coverage in a crowded arena. In case you’ve missed some of these, you can find them here. If you think your site should be considered, give us a holler and tell us why.
The U.S. Asian population is diverse and fast growing. According to Pew Research Center, Asian Americans were the fastest-growing major racial or ethnic group from 2000 to 2015, with a 72 percent growth rate.
At that rate, Asian Americans could surpass Hispanics as the largest immigrant group by 2055.
With a population of more than 20 million in the US and a drive for increased Asian-American representation in film, media, and politics, we went on a search for publications that focus on bringing breaking news, investigative stories, lifestyle content, and more to this group.
While we celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, we want to highlight some top sites with content targeting this key audience. These sites offer readers timely news and stories from and about the community.
1. Mochi Magazine
Founded in 2008 and volunteer-led, Mochi is an online magazine that targets young Asian-American women. Its articles offer Asian-American teenage girls life advice and aim to help readers gain self-esteem. The magazine covers topics like fashion and beauty, relationships, and college and careers.
Co-founders Maggie Hsu and Stephanie Wu encourage readers to engage with the content and magazine. They say on the site: “Let us inspire you to pursue a new career path, try out a new look, or listen to a different music genre. And if you have ideas, share them with us!”
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2. NBC News – Asian America
The Asian-American section of NBC News offers breaking stories and content, ranging from economy and politics to food and lifestyle. There’s a mix of content specific to Asian Americans and stories from other sections of the site, like the Supreme Court or Congress, for example, that are relevant to multiple audiences.
The site also includes a selection of video content.
Videos generally range from one minute to five minutes, which is perfect for those wanting news quickly in this format.
Stories to read right now: In California, Asian Americans find growing political power, Mothers seek to combat breastfeeding stigma in Asian-American communities, Activists seek to preserve historic Japanese-American site involved in possible sale
3. AsAm News
With more than 9,000 subscribers to its blog, this compilation of headlines covers a broad range of Asian-American topics, including education, LGBT, and entertainment news, as well as origin group-specific stories.
A special grouping of content called “Bad Ass Asians” shines a spotlight on members of the community who are challenging stereotypes and making significant contributions to the community.
Posts highlight the diversity of Asian Americans. Users are encouraged to engage with the content by having meaningful dialogues with each other.
Stories to read right now: New Film from Award Winning Director Hits the Big Screen Today, Asian American Buying Power Outpaces other Ethnic Consumers, Viral Petition Demands Rehire of Asian American Scholars
4. Asian Fortune
The “source for all things Asian American,” this publication has been serving Washington, D.C., Virginia, and Maryland since 1993. A free monthly newspaper, Asian Fortune covers a broad spectrum of the goings-on in the Asian-American community.
Its mission is to bring the individuals and organizations of the community together as a whole.
‘Profiles’ highlight accomplishments of Asian-American politicians, artists, scientists, and others. An event calendar for the D.C. metro area and job listings also are part of the site.
Stories to read right now: Lily Qi Eyes Open Seat For Maryland Delegate, Four Leaders Honored By The Nation’s Only Asian Community Foundation That Serves Asian And Diverse Communities On Both Local And National Levels, Looking Forward: Top Issues in 2018
5. Hyphen Magazine
This nonprofit publication, founded in 2002, offers readers news and culture with “substance, style and sass.”
Every issue includes a mix of interviews with community members, product reviews, art, original fiction or poetry, and more, all in an effort to spark discussions and make connections with its Asian-American audience.
According to the site, the goal of the magazine is to create “a publication that would go beyond celebrity interviews and essays about discovering our roots, which we found a long time ago, thank-you-very-much.”
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6. Asian Americans – The New York Times
A compilation of Asian-American stories, this section of The New York Times site includes relevant features, opinions, interviews, and letters.
Archival stories allow readers to take a deep dive into past commentaries from the publication.
The section also includes content from Race/Related, a compelling newsletter by New York Times journalists that explores race in-depth and looks at how it’s lived in today’s world.
Stories to read right now: BuzzFeed’s Eugene Lee Yang Mixes Humor With Social Commentary, Why So Many Asian-American Women Are Bleaching Their Hair Blond, When Hollywood Is Your Mirror
7. Kore Asian Media
Kore lifestyle brand uses original content and events to shine a light on the Asian-American community.
What began as a print tabloid in 1990, Kore since has shifted gears to become an online hub of video content and news stories.
Its events include the Unforgettable Asian American Awards, now in its 16th year, and Kore Pro-Am golf tournament, celebrating its third year in 2018.
Original site content puts videos front and center. Articles run the gamut, from current events to culture, sports, and music, among others.
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8. slant’d
Completely volunteer-run, slant’d is a new annual print magazine funded on Kickstarter that shares personal stories from its writers.
Each issue comes with a particular theme. The overarching goal is to generate conversations around Asian-American identity.
The first issue, Beginnings, is available to purchase through the site and includes non-fiction in a mix of formats like poetry, photography, storytelling and more.
slant’d also regularly posts digital content to its Instagram page, @slantdmedia. This publication surely is one to watch.
Stories to read right now: Issue 01: Beginnings, New magazine upends Asian-American stereotypes (CBS News)
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Author Rocky Parker works as a Senior Customer Content Specialist at PR Newswire. When she’s not working, Rocky can be found testing new recipes, binge watching a new Netflix series, or taking her pitbull puppy Hudson out around town.