Documenting immigrant experiences: A study of the Chinese-language newspapers published in North America

Yang, Tao Documenting immigrant experiences: A study of the Chinese-language newspapers published in North America., 2009 . In World Library and Information Congress: 74th IFLA General Conference and Council, Québec, Canada, 10-14 August 2008. [Conference paper]

WarningThere is a more recent version of this item available.
[img]
Preview
PDF
097-TaoYang-en.pdf

Download (117kB) | Preview

English abstract

The intensifying competition among Chinese-language newspapers in North America was recently brought to spotlight by mainstream media. For well over a century, North America based Chinese newspapers have been informing generations of immigrants and documenting their collective and personal experiences. The steady flow of Chinese speaking population into the U.S. and Canada over the last several decades has created opportunities for this type of publication to expand and proliferate, which in turn poses challenges to library community in respect to collection development and preservation. After giving a brief outline of the history of Chinese-language press in both Canada and U.S., this paper will discuss the identity of this type of press, which is a particularly acute question in the context of U.S. A researcher who conducted two surveys in the U.S. in 1987 and 1997 concludes that it is Chinese American, while a campaign aid for Senator Hilary Clinton reportedly declared that it is “foreign media” when trying to prevent reporters from entering Clinton’s fundraiser in San Francisco in early 2007. By contrast, this author tends to believe that the identity of Chinese press has changed over time and is more fluid today. The next focus of this paper is the current status of Chinese newspapers in North America. Using information from this author's own investigation and media reports, the paper will provide an account of Chinese newspapers in two regions with largest Chinese communities—Toronto and New York-New Jersey. Both the prominent daily newspapers and small weeklies distributed in the supermarkets will be discussed in terms of their editorial policies, circulation numbers, distribution channels, web presences, and availability (or the lack of) in the libraries. For different types of libraries, the challenges for collecting and preserving North America-based Chinese newspapers are somewhat different. A state library may have public mandate to do so, but may lack the language expertise required. Even though an academic library may possess such expertise, it may be restricted by its current curriculum focus. Therefore, a state-wide or even nation-wide collaboration needs to be developed in order to collect these newspapers and ultimately preserve a unique portion of human experience.

Item type: Conference paper
Keywords: ethnic press, Chinese newspapers
Subjects: B. Information use and sociology of information
H. Information sources, supports, channels.
Depositing user: Tao Yang
Date deposited: 10 May 2009
Last modified: 02 Oct 2014 12:14
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10760/13100

Available Versions of this Item

References

Anonymous. (1854, May 27). Chinese Exodus. Golden Hills' News, 1.

Chen, D. W. (1995, April 16). IMMIGRATION; With Affluent Chinese Moving In, A Press War Begins to Heat Up. New York Times. Retrieved January 3, 2008, from

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE4DE103AF935A25757C0A96

3958260.

Chiu, K. (1997). Access to the past of a nation of immigrants: Asian language newspapers in the United States. Journal of East Asian Libraries(112), 1-8.

Guide to the Chung Sai Yat Po Newspaper Collection. Retrieved April 14, 2008, from http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt0g5016h6/.

Hua, V. (2007, February 27). Clinton staff's gaffe with local ethnic papers. San Francisco Chronicle, B-3.

Huntzicker, W. (1995). Chinese-American Newspapers. InOutsiders in 19Th-Century Press History: Multicultural Perspectives (p. 251). Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University Popular Press.

Kwong, P., & Miscevic, D. (2005). Chinese America: The Untold Story of America's Oldest New Community. , 496. New Press.

Lai, H. M. (1977). A short history of Chinese journalism in the U.S. and Canada. In Chinese newspapers published in North America, 1854-1975 (pp. 1-16). Center for Chinese Research Materials, Association of Research Libraries.

Lai, H. M. (1987).In The Ethnic Press in the United States: A Historical Analysis and Handbook. Greenwood Press.

Lai, H. M. (1990). The Chinese Press in the United States and Canada since World War II: A Diversity of Voices. Chinese America: History and Perspectives.

Leung, J. (2007). Sing Tao Daily's Overseas Edition and the Globalization of Chinese Language Newspapers. (Chinese). Chinese America: History & Perspectives, 181-182.

Li. (1854, May 27). Untitled. Golden Hills' News, 1.

Lin, W. Y., & Song, H. (2006). Geo-ethnic storytelling: An examination of ethnic media content in contemporary immigrant communities. Journalism, 7(3), 362.

Lo, K. (1971). Kim Shan Jit San Luk: The First Chinese Paper Published in America. Bulletin of the Chinese Historical Society of America, 6(8).

Lo, K., & Lai, H. M. (Eds.). (1977). Chinese newspapers published in North America, 1854-1975. , 138. Center for Chinese Research Materials, Association of Research Libraries.

Ma, Y. (1989). Chinese American Newspapers and Periodicals in the United States. Ethnic Forum, 9(1-2), 100-121.

Ma, Y. (1999). Chinese-American Newspapers and Periodicals in the United States: An Analysis of a National Survey. The Serials Librarian, 35, 4.

Ma, Y. (2003). Chinese American Newspapers and Periodicals in the United States and Their Web Presence. Serials Review, 29(3), 179-198.

Miller, S. M. (1987). Introduction. InThe Ethnic Press in the United States: A Historical Analysis and Handbook (pp. x-xxii). New York: Greenwood Press.

Minkus, K. (2004, April). History Online. aq: The Magazine of Simon Fraser University. Retrieved May 1, 2008, from

http://www.sfu.ca/aq/archives/april04/features/history.html.

National Digital Newspaper Program. Retrieved May 1, 2008, from

http://www.neh.gov/projects/ndnp.html.

Shao Center. Database for Overseas Chinese Newspapers & Journals, Ohio University. Retrieved May 1, 2008, from

http://cicdatabank.library.ohiou.edu/opac/newspaper.php.

Sun, Y. (1998). San Francisco's Chung Sai Yat Po and the Transformation of Chinese Consciousness, 1900-1920 / . InPrint Culture in a Diverse America. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.

United States Newspaper Program. Retrieved April 17, 2008, from

http://www.neh.gov/projects/usnp.html.

Wen, X. (2005). Founding of the Chinese Revolutionary League in America. Chinese

America: History & Perspectives, 21-42.

Wilson, C., Gutierrez, F., & Chao, L. M. (2003). Racism, Sexism, and the Media: The Rise of Class Communication in Multicultural America. Thousand Oaks, CA ; London.

Yang, Tao (2005). English-language Serials in Pre-revolution China: Final Report. New Haven, CT: Yale University Library. Retrieved April 14, 2008, from

http://www.library.yale.edu/scopa/grants/2004fin2.htm.

Zhao, X. (2006). Disconnecting transnational ties: the Chinese Pacific Weekly and the transformation of Chinese American community after the Second World War.

InMedia and the Chinese diaspora: community, communications, and commerce (pp.

26-41). London ; New York: Routledge.

Zhou, M., Chen, W., & Cai, G. (2006). Chinese Language Media and Immigrant Life in the United States and Canada. InMedia and the Chinese diaspora: community,

communications, and commerce. Routledge.


Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item