The Asian Media Initiative is dedicated to organizing and building sustainability for community media for Asian American and Pacific Islander communities across the U.S.

To support this critical media ecosystem, the Asian Media Initiative will:

• Increase the visibility of this sector through mapping, research, and public events;
• Build sustainability through needs assessment and targeted programming;
• Create communities of support and practice across diverse AAPI media through peer-to-peer resource exchange networks and dedicated spaces.

More than 25 million strong, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) are the fastest growing populations in the U.S., with Asian Americans projected to be the country’s largest immigrant population by 2055. And yet these communities remain largely invisible and underserved in traditional media. 

Community media for and by Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have existed for over 150 years. For example, the first Chinese-language newspaper in the U.S., The Golden Hills’ News (金山日新錄), began publishing in San Francisco in 1854; and independent Hawaiian-language media for and by Native Hawaiians have published continuously since 1861. In the intervening years, media for and by AAPI have grown to serve communities across the U.S. in more than 20 languages, from Indigenous people to new arrivals and Asian Americans well into their third generation or longer in the U.S. Asian media have long organized with Black and Latino media to not only participate in the U.S. democratic experiment, but to build it. 

The Asian Media Initiative builds on CCM’s previous efforts to support and amplify Asian media, including public conversations, special reports and social media engagement, and community spaces for Asian media journalists. 

To learn more about the Asian Media Initiative, add your outlet to our forthcoming map, or participate in the initiative, please contact AMI director Kavitha Rajagopalan at kavitha.rajagopalan@journalism.cuny.edu.

Asian Media Map & Directory

Over the coming months, the Asian Media Initiative will compile a national map and directory of APPI media outlets. To be included in the directory, outlets must meet the following criteria:

• Print, digital, or broadcast media outlet (including television, radio, YouTube, podcasts, or other digital broadcast platforms), based or published in the U.S. 
• Serving local or nationwide AAPI communities based in the U.S., or diasporic communities with a U.S.-based news audience, and with a U.S. or local focus. Coverage should primarily feature or center news for and about a local or U.S.-based AAPI community.
• Primarily journalism or news-producing organizations producing original reporting and storytelling content on a regular basis.
• Newsroom leadership and management are of AAPI descent, even if investors are corporate or from outside of the community served.
• Receives no foreign government funding.

We would love to include your outlet! Please send an email to kavitha.rajagopalan@journalism.cuny.edu and introduce yourself.

Needs Assessment and Sustainability Programming

We are currently undertaking a needs assessment with AAPI media publishers and newsroom leaders. The results of these in-depth interviews will be published in a landscape report of this news ecosystem and will inform our specialized training programs, workshops, cohorts, and other programming aimed at bringing resources and building sustainability for AAPI-serving media.

Asian media will continue to participate in CCM’s ongoing sustainability initiatives, including the Advertising Boost Initiative and the City Elections Initiative. 

Peer-to-Peer and Resource Exchange Networks

In Spring 2022, we convened the Asian Media Women’s Network, an invitation-only community space for women, female-identifying, and gender-diverse journalists working in AAPI community media. This space for sharing resources and mutual support meets monthly and includes a biweekly bulletin and a virtual communications platform, as well as specialized training opportunities and tools.

In Spring 2023, the AMI is launching a new series of workshops exclusively for members of the Asian Media Women’s Network, on such topics as desktop investigative tools, digital security, leadership and career development, and more. Women and gender-diverse journalists working in AAPI community media are welcome to join the network and participate in these and other opportunities.

Email Kavitha at kavitha.rajagopalan@journalism.cuny.edu for more information or to join the AMWN.

We will be announcing additional peer-to-peer resource exchange networks for publishers and journalists in Asian American and Pacific Islander media.

Research

CCM has published groundbreaking research and reporting on Asian media, prominently featuring Asian media outlets in our 2020 in-depth look at digital innovators serving immigrant communities, Digital First Responders, and in our special newsletter features on COVID-19’s impact on community media and on the loss of legacy outlets during pandemic lockdowns. 

In Spring 2021, CCM published an in-depth special report on how media for and by Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders were responding to the converging crises of the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-Asian violence, disinformation and polarization, and more. Read Asian Media on the Front Lines.

The Asian Media Initiative is preparing to publish forthcoming research on the Asian media ecosystem.

Public Events

CCM has previously hosted town hall gatherings and public conversations featuring Asian media leaders and journalists. We will continue to host events intended to elevate your expertise, both as journalism innovators and on the communities you serve. To receive invitations to CCM’s events, trainings, and other opportunities for community media journalists, join our mailing list.