By Assunta Ng
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
I stunned the community in 2023 by slashing 75% of our news operation, including the Seattle Chinese Post, both print and online, and the Northwest Asian Weekly (NWAW) print edition.
Nearly 2,900 newspapers have closed in the U.S. since 2005. Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism found in 2023, the average number of newspapers closed had increased to 2.5 local papers per week in 2022.
These newspapers were victims of the internet and social media. Many papers shut down simply because they failed to find buyers to carry on.
The dramatic shutdown not only caused pain for community members who were unprepared for the news, it led some of them to talking among themselves. Their concern was, “What if the community loses its voice?”
Then miracles struck…
Four people unexpectedly showed up at our door—they wanted to buy the Asian Weekly website. Each person has different skills, background, experiences, and connections. Now, these new owners are rewriting the script for the NWAW’s future.
My last day as NWAW publisher will be May 31. How fortunate it is for NWAW to have new blood carrying the torch!
Assunta Ng (middle) and Grace Roh hold up the signed contract (blurred for privacy reasons). Pictured with Dr. Jeffrey Roh (left), Sam Cho, (second from right), and John Liu (Photo by George Liu)
We have never advertised that Asian Weekly is for sale. We put our heads down and work hard, week after week, publishing fresh news online without failing our readers or the community. We are proud that Asian Weekly’s stories are often quoted in mainstream media.
Yet, we can’t pretend that we can continue in the same manner of gathering news and conducting business. What we need is a bold new vision, strategy, and leadership to develop the full potential of the NWAW, not just for longevity, but to serve the next generation of readers. It’s time for us to move on and let the younger generation take over and create their own dreams.
Hashing out the details of the sale agreement at the Northwest Asian Weekly office. From left: Dr. Jeffrey Roh, Grace Roh, Sam Cho, Assunta Ng, and John Liu. (Photo by George Liu)
The Asian Weekly
For a while, community members, who care about Northwest Asian Weekly’s fate, were concerned about what would happen if I retire. There wasn’t a succession plan. I disclosed to some that my sons have no desire to take over. What killed their appetite to take over was probably witnessing how hard I worked while they were growing up, and later how consuming it was for both of their parents to run the papers. I’d like to thank my children for being patient and understanding with me during their childhood. And how much I appreciate my son John’s contributions since joining the Asian Weekly!
The new owners are fully aware of the challenges in the news business. Their motive is not so much about making profit, but how to sustain their new venture. The values we share are the reason we want them to continue the Asian Weekly—a passion for enhancing and empowering the community. Taking over the Asian Weekly is an opportunity as well a challenge, they say. Their can-do attitude fascinates me.
New female publisher
The new team consists of Jeffrey Roh, IntuitiveX CEO; Grace Roh, a former executive with an MBA degree; Sam Cho, Port of Seattle Commissioner and Director of Strategic Initiatives for City of Seattle; and Tim Wang, TDW+Co founder. They all have successful careers.
I am thankful that the “four musketeers” have landed at our doorstep with courage, conviction, and a commitment to fight to preserve the voice of the community. They are a godsend to us.
The new management has also done their due diligence and concluded that “the Northwest Asian Weekly is unique.” They couldn’t find another English news site focusing on the Asian American community locally and nationwide, with local, national, and international news affecting our community. (Since the shutdown, we have worked tirelessly to update our news site constantly and break news all the time.) Our online platform, unlike our weekly print edition, doesn’t stick to a rigid publishing schedule. This means we have more leeway to be flexible and responsive to what’s happening in real-time.
The buyers also appreciate that the Asian Weekly is in the black. We’ve been able to sustain it because of our long-term advertisers, including Uwajimaya, Herrmann Law Firm, Buckley & Associates, and ICHS. If not for their unwavering support to switch their advertising online once our print edition ended, we couldn’t exist and survive.
Our editorial side will remain unchanged—editor Ruth Bayang, who has been with the Asian Weekly for eight years, will remain. A former broadcast journalist and two-time Emmy Award winner with 30 years experience, she is doing a fantastic job with limited resources and manpower. Our freelance writers are just as dedicated and committed to covering the community all over the greater Seattle area.
I am delighted to tell you the new publisher will be Grace Roh—who is active in the community. She is also the wife of Jeff Roh.
“I am humbled by this amazing opportunity to continue and honor the legacy and the incredible foundation that has been built at Northwest Asian Weekly,” Roh said. “I am proud and excited to take the torch, strengthen the bridge through NWAW, and continue to empower and expand the reach of our Asian American community.”
We have improved not only the speed in updating the newest information, but also the number of new stories reported every week. In 2023, the total number of stories we published was 661. As of April 2024, we have already published 261 stories. We still have eight months in 2024, and the trend shows that it will more than likely exceed the total number of stories in 2023. With your help for sending us news tips, we will succeed in paving a path for more breaking news on nwasianweekly.com. This is also the new management’s goal.
Luck is when preparation meets opportunity, a philosopher said. The new owners value what we have built over the past four decades, are passionate about the community’s well-being, the ties with the community, and the wide range of coverage including arts, culture, politics, business, and diverse Asian American issues. They choose to announce our transition in May to tie in with Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, illuminating their zeal in celebrating the unity and strength and beauty of our heritage.
While the partners are eager to develop a new formula for success to run and market the Asian Weekly, they can’t do it without your support. Please continue to reach out to our editorial staff and introduce yourself to Grace, Jeff, Tim, and Sam when you meet them in the community. Also, tell your family and friends to read the Asian Weekly and to advertise.
One last thing, the new owners invited me to be Publisher Emeritus. I will be a volunteer for the Asian Weekly for a while. However, there is a difference between my professional retirement and my personal journey—I am not retiring from the community. I will continue my role as a dream builder and inspire Asian Americans to have a seat at the table or run for office. And I will continue supporting education through the six scholarship endowments I established over the years for the University of Washington and Seattle Colleges.
I want to say a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to our advertisers and supporters over the past four decades. Your unwavering commitment has been instrumental in our journey, and I deeply appreciate your continued partnership as we embark on this new phase.
Forever grateful to the community, I am excited about the next chapter of my life.
The best is yet to come from the new owners. Please join me to welcome them. I look forward to working with many of you continuously and connecting you with the new owners.
There won’t be a sign at my door, “Gone fishing.” See you around Chinatown-International District and probably at Hing Hay Park watching kids playing.
Keep reading. The next chapter of the Asian Weekly will be exciting even without me and my family!
Congratulations and thanks to the new ownership to continue the legacy of Northwest Weekly. At the same time, I greatly appreciate what Assunta have done for the community. I still remember the day Assunta came by my restaurant to sell the Ad on The Seattle Chinese Post. The Asian Community wasn’t that big then. I remember saying to her that she was so brave to start a local Chinese Newspaper. Good luck to you and your family for your “retirement”.
Congratulations to Assunta. George and John, and best wishes to the four musketeers. It is truly a
labor of love to run a community newspaper these days.
Congratulations, Assunta, for an extraordinary career and a new generation to carry on and expand on your illustrious legacy!