The Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) news media landscape in Washington state is facing challenges amidst its rich history of community storytelling and engagement, as revealed in a groundbreaking report titled “AAPI News Media: Origins and Futures.”
Released by the Asian Media Initiative at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism’s Center for Community Media, the report comes on the 100th anniversary of the 1924 Immigration Act (Johnson-Reed Act), which banned all immigration from Asia.
AAPI media outlets have been serving their communities for over 150 years, starting with the establishment of the first Chinese-language newspaper in the United States, The Golden Hills’ News, in San Francisco in 1854. The report found that AAPI communities established and lost their news media sectors during the 19th and early 20th centuries, only to re-establish a vibrant news media ecosystem of more than 650 outlets that produce news in 54 languages today.
“With this wide-angle view of the entire AAPI news media ecosystem through its long history, and in all its forms, we hope to build awareness of this powerful, often overlooked, mechanism for engaging AAPI voters and supporting AAPI communities,” said Asian Media Initiative director Kavitha Rajagopalan.
Nearly half of the outlets in the directory are located in California (216) and New York (111), closely followed by states with historically high-density AAPI communities—Washington (47), Texas (33), New Jersey (31), Illinois (28), Georgia (26), and Minnesota (16).
Decline in Washington state
The Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area has 37 AAPI media outlets, including the Northwest Asian Weekly, according to a map compiled by the Asian Media Initiative.
Courtesy: Asian Media Initiative
Washington has witnessed a decline in the number of publications, highlighting the need for continued support and investment to ensure their vital contributions to community storytelling and civic engagement.
This trend is mirrored in other states like Minnesota, despite the growing AAPI audiences within these regions.
The report showcases the value of AAPI media, a critical and often overlooked resource for understanding AAPI history, engaging AAPI voters, and building AAPI futures.
This report represents the first effort to view the national AAPI news media ecosystem in its entirety, through all the periods of its existence, and in all its manifestations—from hyperlocal newspapers and glossy magazines to call-in shows and investigative reporting projects. The landscape has expanded to cater to diverse communities, including Indigenous people, recent arrivals, and multi-generational Asian Americans.
AAPIs are the fastest-growing demographic in the U.S. with a voting-eligible population that has increased by 15% since the last presidential election. But despite this significant growth, AAPI communities remain largely invisible and underserved in traditional media channels.