"The Asian Reporter": Portland's Newspaper with an Asian Focus

Dr Rabin Man Shakya

Portland, June 29 (Nepal Oregon News): While "The Oregonian" is the only daily newspaper in Portland for sale and subscription, there are a number of other newspapers which are available free of cost at every nook and corner of Portland. Most of them are alt weeklies and fortnightly newspapers.

Mercury weekly and Willamette weekly are prominent alt newspapers of Portland whereas  Portland Tribune is also a formidable weekly publication in Portland. These and a number of other newspapers are for free distribution but they leave no stone unturned in making adverse comments about local leaders, celebrities, city and state.

Copies of the Asian Reporter

 Rabin Man Shakya (a Nepali journalist in the USA) reading  the newspaper "The Asian Reporter"

The Asian Reporter is a fortnightly Pacific Northwest based newspaper in Portland, USA.  Even though it is not a daily or weekly newspaper and is only published twice monthly, it certainly is not an alt newspaper in the publication genre.

The newspaper with almost two decades of existence in Portland highlights international, regional and local Northwest news and events with an Asian focus. It defends the interests of Asian Americans but it is not as harsh as other alt newspapers in criticisms of the local authorities and the state.

The Asian Reporter which was launched in 1991 works as the voice of Asians and Asian Americans in Portland. There is no denying the fact that 'The Asian Reporter' is the community's premiere source for local and international news and information with focus on Asian matters. The only newspaper in English for broader Asian Portlanders is published on the first and third Monday of each month.

One of the remarkable aspects of 'The Asian Reporter' is: it publishes news about arts, culture, festivals and traditions of different Asian countries. Nepal's news about Himalayan expeditions and mountaineering  are generously published in The Asian Reporter.

Similarly, The Asian Reporter keeps publishing news about Nepalese culture and festivals, for example, a very comprehensive and detailed news about the living Goddess Kumari was also published in the Asian Reporter.  On March 2, 2020 it published a story about Shivratri festival headlined "Thousands light up joints during Hindu festival in Nepal".

Asian Americans of Portland do read the newspaper "The Asian Reporter" with great interest, so do the Nepalese Portlanders, as they are also the part of Asian demography of Portland.

Meanwhile, in what may be an insignificant flaw of The Asian Reporter, it has not covered or published news stories related to religion, culture, tradition, festivals, music, arts, heritage and Charya dance etc carried out by America's only one Nepalese Buddhist temple in Portland -- Nritya Mandala Mahavihara.

Obviously, from the journalistic point of view, the Living Goddess Kumari, the shortest man in the world, the Sadhus -- Babajis and the Himalayan expeditions are not the only news features about news from Nepal. Actually, there are more interesting aspects of human interest news about Nepal than meets the eye.

While analyzing about the contents of The Asian Reporter, it publishes news in different categories: Asia/Pacific, USA, Sports, Community/ACE, Arts, Culture and Entertainment, Recipe etc. It publishes news in brief about events taking place in different Asian countries under the column "Around Asia & the Pacific."

Opinion page of The Asian Reporter is the most readable stuff. Polo (Ronault L S Catalani) is a regular contributor of articles under the column "Talking Story in Asian America", while Dmae Roberts and Wayne Chan also throw light on Asian American issues in their column "My Turn".

The source of international and regional news including news about Nepal is the Associated Press (AP) which is one of the most prominent news agencies of the world. AP's news from Nepal is usually bylined Binaj Gurubacharya who is the foreign correspondent of AP for Nepal.

A newspaper usually consists of news as well as views. Standard practice of newspapers is: 75 percent news and 25 percent views. Opinion or views section of The Asian Reporter is little more than five percent of entire contents. Freedom of expression must be respected in the 'real' and the 'digital' worlds, where news and views are increasingly produced and consumed. Likewise, some of the conspicuous absence in The Asian Reporter are: it does not publish editorials and letters to editor. It goes without saying that editorial and letters to editor are important components of newspaper journalism. A newspaper's role as a trail-blazer to the community are reflected by news, views, editorials and letters to editor etc.

In today's competitive media industry, things are changing rapidly. Asian Reporter also should embrace for innovations. The Asian Reporter should be real voice of Asians and Asian Americans in Oregon. Local coverage of Asian events taking place in Portland is very scant in the newspaper. Today, investigative reporting is an important part of the newspaper journalism. I think the editorial team of the newspaper should give a thought about it. The Asian Reporter should be able to run exposes about different issues and problems of various Asian communities.

There is no doubt that The Asian Reporter's presence is already strong and effective among the Asian communities of Portland. But the top priority of the newspaper should be to focus both on good and bad news of the local Asian communities.

(Rabin Man Shakya is a Nepali journalist in America)