Thumbs down on AsianWeek in Rochester
“For AsianWeek newspaper for publishing a column titled ‘Why I Hate Blacks.’ The column’s author, New Yorker Kenneth Eng, wrote ‘a list of reasons why we should discriminate against blacks.’ The newspaper’s editors have said they made a lapse in judgment by publishing the piece,” wrote the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle.
Mercury News’ Lisa Chung: ‘Blog-style column falls way short’
In her column today, Mercury News columnist Lisa Chung shares her thoughts on the hate speech printed by AsianWeek:
Even if you think newspapers are dead, this is what happens when an editor falls down on the job. And this is what happens when a callow young writer — or the Net-loving public at large — can’t distinguish between the kind of opinion-mongering that is rampant in the blogosphere and writing and reporting that adheres to journalistic standards.
“The editor is the gatekeeper,” said Yumi Wilson, assistant professor of journalism at San Francisco State University. She teaches journalism ethics, opinion and newswriting. The editor has to ask, “Where’s the research? Where’s the original reporting?”
New America Media forum on journalistic issues related to AsianWeek’s printing of hate speech
Update Sat March 3: New America Media’s own coverage of their event, Sandip Roy’s commentary, and a Chronicle article.
I just returned from attending this morning’s forum sponsored by New America Media in Chinatown. The event was billed as an opportunity for “ethnic media leaders [to] discuss the issue of journalistic responsibility in light of the AsianWeek columns and what we can do, individually and collectively, to repair the damage and improve coverage of each other’s communities.”
Vin Pan from CAA, Malcolm Yeung from ALC, and I attended and Aileen Hernandez from the Calif. Civil Rights Coalition was there, and Janice Lee from AAJA, just to name a few of the maybe 80 in the crowd.
It’s a success anytime people of color come together to discuss race and race relations between our communities. That definitely happened here. But today’s forum was supposed to focus on journalistic responsibility following AsianWeek’s printing of Eng’s hate speech. That wasn’t accomplished.
It took Vin Pan stepping up to the mic to make the point that if we do not hold AsianWeek and the editor responsible for printing the piece full accountable — in the editor’s case, removed — we set a corrosive precedent that we do not hold our own ethnic media to the same standards as we would if a mainstream media outlet were to do the same thing.
Raj Jaydeev of Silicon Valley De-Bug said it best: “Fiction can become reality as soon as it’s in print.”
Aileen mentioned to me after the end of the forum that this latest incident is part of much larger and more complicated problem. The 49ers racist video, the SFPD officers’ video, Eng’s column … are symptoms of something macro in scale. What that is specifically is something worth future discussion, analysis and action.
Finally, AsianWeek’s Ted Fang said at least twice that the paper “rejects racist views.” Funny how that sentiment wasn’t in the email response I received from editor-in-chief Samson Wong, nor the paper’s Monday statement — both saying that the printing of Eng’s column was part of their covering the diversity of Asian America. It’s only after tremendouse pressure from civil rights organizations, elected officials, their readership and the public that they reject only now what they should have rejected from the start.
- Keith Kamisugi
Come on down: New America Media Forum for Ethnic Media Discussion
If you’re free tomorrow at 10 a.m., please join us at tomorrow’s media forum sponsored by New America Media. As NAM clarifies in their statement below, this is not the town hall style format that some of the media reported, but there will be a public audience.
NAM accommodated our request to have only ethnic media participate in a dialogue on journalistic responsibility and how that affects Black-Asian relations. We did not want this to be a vehicle for AsianWeek to sidestep the issue on why they allowed hate speech to be printed on its pages, or why no editor is being held responsible for this.
In its statement issued today, New America Media said they wish “to clarify the purpose of the forum we are convening on Friday, Mar. 2 at the Chinese American Citizens Alliance. The panel we have invited will be made up of ethnic media leaders who will discuss the issue of journalistic responsibility in light of the AsianWeek columns and what we can do, individually and collectively, to repair the damage and improve coverage of each other’s communities.
“One short hour cannot do justice to the need for ongoing dialogue on inter-racial, inter-ethnic relations. Community leaders are scheduling town hall meetings and forums to help address this need. Tomorrow’s forum will focus on the unique role of ethnic media – as the collective voice of our communities – in improving communications within our diverse society.”
Sandy Close, executive director of New America Media, will moderate a roundtable discussion among ethnic media leaders
Friday, March 2, 2007
10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Chinese American Citizens Alliance
1044 Stockton St., San Francisco, CA 94108 (MAP)
415-434-2222
Limited metered street parking is available. The closest parking lot is located at 550 Kearny Street (between Sacramento St. and California St.). Chinese American Citizens Alliance is located near stops for SF MUNI 1, 30 and 45.
To RSVP, email bhouston@newamericamedia.org
San Francisco Democratic Party condemns AsianWeek for printing hate speech
Last night, the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee passed a resolution condemning AsianWeek. The resolution was offered by Speaker Pelosi’s representative to the Committee and passed by voice vote.
The resolution reads as follows:
“WHEREAS the hateful views expressed in Kenneth Eng’s column published in the February 23rd edition of Asian Week must not be tolerated, and Asian Week’s decision to print them was irresponsible;
WHEREAS Eng’s words were not only offensive to African Americans, but to all Americans, and speech that promotes hate has no place in San Francisco or anywhere in our country;
WHEREAS AsianWeek, a publication known for promoting diversity and civil rights, has taken steps in the right direction by issuing an apology and deciding to no longer run material by Mr. Eng;
THEREFORE, be it resolved, that the San Francisco Democratic Central Committee denounces the column by Kenneth Eng, asks Asian Week to re-consider its editorial policy and hold accountable its editor(s) who permitted the column to be published, and calls on Asian Week and all San Franciscans to recommit ourselves to fight racism and promote social justice for all.”
Examiner: ‘Fang refused to comment on how Eng’s column made it past AsianWeek’s editors’
From a March 1 article by Alexandria Rocha:
On Wednesday, Fang refused to comment on how Eng’s column made it past AsianWeek’s editors and into the paper, repeatedly saying the editorial process will be reviewed. He would not comment on Eng’s previous two columns, “Why I Hate Asians” and “Why I Hate White People” either.
Asian American Advertising Federation – 3AF
Responding to the recent furor over a racist column titled “Why I Hate Blacks” which appeared in the February 23 edition of the San Francisco publication AsianWeek, the multicultural advertising industry trade group – The Asian American Advertising Federation (3AF) – announced that it strongly, and unequivocally condemns the opinions of the column. Noting that AsianWeek has publicly apologized for the column and severed ties with the column’s author, the 3AF urges AsianWeek to take extraordinary steps to rebuild the severe damage which the column has caused in the relationship between the Asian American and African American communities. Said Julia Huang, President of the 3AF, “While AsianWeek has a long history of service to the Asian American community in the San Francisco area, this column is an obvious blight on the publication. There is no acceptable place in Asian culture for discrimination against African Americans or any other segment of the population, and AsianWeek’s profound lapse in judgment must be condemned both within and outside the Asian American community.”
