May 24, 2024
In honor of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month broadcast networks and local stations highlighted issues and trailblazing individuals who are making an impact on their communities.
ABC News profiled 88rising, a popular musical platform and record label for Asian American and Asian artists releasing music in the United States, for its business section. Founder and CEO Sean Miyashiro also created the Clouds Festival, a two-day festival held in Queens, New York, that is one of the biggest AAPI Heritage celebrations nationwide. "Just watching 88, I just felt like they were so connected to the culture," Indonesian rapper Warren Hue told ABC News. "Just having like, having them being Asian kind of made me feel like, wow, this is like a really cool thing. I feel like they can give me an opportunity to shine."
Audacy's KCBS radio in San Francisco, Calif., spoke to Dr. Russell Jeung, professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University and co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, about the annual Social Tracking of Asian Americans in the U.S.," study on perceptions and attitudes toward the Asian community. "While the month is a great opportunity to showcase festive fare like food and fashion," the station said, "topics like mental health and social justice are also crucial to the discussion."
Eun Yang and Aimee Cho from NBC owned-and-operated NBC4 in Washington, D.C., hosted a half-hour special celebrating "AANHPI resilience and achievement in the D.C. area." Profiles include Edward Liang, director of the Washington Ballet and the first Asian American to lead a major ballet company in the U.S.; the Cambodian Buddhist Society in Montgomery County, Md.; and trailblazing women in science.
Scripps Local Media's Kris 6 News in Corpus Christi, Texas, interviewed Asian Texans for Justice, a statewide nonpartisan nonprofit that connects Asian Texans to civic power, about Texas' recent strides in representation. "It's that mobilizing aspect to the AAPI community that has never been done before. Because we’ve been left out for so long, we have to do this work even stronger and more thoughtful to represent our communities better," Community Engagement Manager Nicole Ardiente told the station.
As part of its month-long coverage, TEGNA's ABC10 Sacramento profiled District Attorney Thien Ho, the first Asian American to lead the Sacramento County DA’s Office and one of only 10 elected DAs of Asian-Pacific Islander descent in the country. "The more representation that you have, the more that you can then serve the community in a way that is reflective of the community," he told the station.
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