AsianWeek, established in 1979, is the long-running English language Asian-American newspaper. However, it will not celebrate its 30th anniversary in print. AsianWeek will cease publishing its weekly paper. The January 2, 2009 issue will be its last. They will let go almost all 11 of its employees at AsianWeek. (This adds to the list of troubled Asian American media outlets – AZN shuts down, Fallout Central goes RIP, iaTV layoffs, Save KoreAm Journal campaign)

AsianWeek was a mostly San Francisco Bay Area publication. 90% of the newspapers were picked up in San Francisco and Daly City and the remainder around the rest of the Bay Area. It had an audited circulation of almost 60,000 with 95% of the copies published picked up by readers.

Here’s some commentary about AsianWeek’s shutdown from other Asian American online outlets:

The End of a Pan-Asian dream?, asianweek is shutting down, AsianWeek to Cease Publication, AsianWeek Stops Printing: Good Riddance!, Loss of AsianWeek Increases Hole in Asian-American Coverage

For its time AsianWeek filled a need for the community by covering issue such as the killing of Vincent Chin, he innocence of Wen Ho Lee, and many other stoty. However, in February 2007 it suffered a major setback. An racist article entitled “Why I Hate Blacks” by Kenneth Eng caused a major stir around the country. The backlash was severe to AsianWeek not only from the Asian American community, but also to AsianWeek’s pocketbook with a San Francisco resolution sponsored by the president of the board and co-sponsored by all 10 of the other supervisors “That the Board of Supervisors urges all City departments and other government entities to withdraw any money spent on advertising in AsianWeek.”

We are not sure what the future holds for the rest AsianWeek, but we have noticed a couple things. Around Thanksgiving of 2008, Asianweek.com got a massive makeover. Also interestingly in early December 2008, AsianWeek had some job postings for a Sales Account Executive and Production Interns. Tune in to see what happens.

Expect to see AsianWeek to continue to support events like Asian Heritage Street Celebration

Here’s the notice AsianWeek posted to its readers:

AsianWeek has played a long and significant role in helping develop Asian Pacific America, from publishing the first 1980 U.S. Census data on Asian and Pacific Islanders Americans to co-publishing the most comprehensive textbook analyzing 2000 Census data with UCLA.

AsianWeek has also changed itself to keep up with the rapidly evolving Asian American community. This includes the relaunching of AsianWeek.com, as the largest Asian American news site, using the newest delivery tools for electronic media. We also have worked to bring together the increasingly diverse segments of the Asian Pacific American community, organizing events like the Asian Heritage Street Celebration and community-wide campaigns like the San Francisco Hep B Free initiative. Our news focus has shifted in turn to reflect the growing focus of Asian Pacific Americans on their own career as well as their professional and business development. We are also producing more special newspaper sections around issues as diverse as heritage, health issues and car reviews.

The economy and the news business have experienced their own changes. There are fewer major newspapers, fewer newspaper readers and fewer newspaper advertisers than ever before. A faltering economy has accelerated the decline. Meanwhile, Asian Pacific Americans have led the way in the digital revolution, migrating away from print media and into receiving their news and information electronically.

To reflect these changing times, AsianWeek will cease regular newspaper publication immediately. We will continue to publish online and in special newspaper editions. Electronic versions of AsianWeek articles will be available free via email. We will also be more active than ever in the community, helping Asian Pacific America to grow, evolve and reach its full potential. We appreciate the support the community has given us over the last three decades and look forward to giving back to the community for many decades to come.

James Fang

President

Ted Fang

Editor and Publisher