Visibility is an issue concerning Asian American
anchors in major U.S. Markets. This is relevant today, as many
Americans rely on television for most of their news. Sheree
R. Curry covered this issue in the 2005 special for Television
Week entitled “AAJA Asks: Are We Being Ghettoized? Mi-
nority Journalists Say They’re Missing From Top Newscasts
(TelevisionWeek 24.33 Aug. 15, 2005). The article debates the
notion of Asian American anchors being ready for prime time
and discusses concerns regarding journalists of color being as-
signed to less desirable time slots. These time slots include the
weekend, overnight, afternoon and 5:30-7:00 a.m. According
to Curry, Asian American journalists account for 1.9 percent
of local television newsroom staff compared to 78.8 percent
Caucasian, 10.3 percent African American and 8.7 percent
Latino. She also points out that Asians were not anchoring the
evening news on ABC, NBC or CBS in the Chicago market.
Although, there were several Asians appearing on morning,
afternoon and weekend broadcasts.
In the Chicago market Linda Yu co-anchored the 11
a.m. and 4 p.m. newscasts for ABC’s WLS-TV 11 a.m. and 4
p.m. newscasts for ABC’s WLS-TV and Judy Hsu co-anchored
its morning news. Elee Pai Hong anchored the morning news
at NBC’s WMAQ-TV and Judy Hsu co-anchored its
morning news. Elee Pai Hong anchored the morning news at
NBC’s WMAQ-TV in Chicago and Nesita Kwan anchored the
4:30 p.m. time slot. However, CBS’s WBBM-TV had no Asian
anchors, only Joanie Lum, former president of the Chicago
chapter of the Asian American Journalist Association as a
general assignment reporter (TelevisionWeek 24.33 Aug. 15,
2005).
Curry reported, minority visibility in prime positions
was usually contingent upon the market according to Lloyd
LaCuesta, South Bay bureau chief for Fox affiliate KTVU-TV,
Oakland, Calif. and AAJA’s first president. Lloyd stated Cali-
fornia’s large minority population was generally reflected in its
news staffs. For instance, in San Francisco, a city with a 30-plus
percent Asian American population, Kristen Sze anchored
the world news updates and co-anchored the midday news at
ABC’s KGO-TV. Moreover, Sandhya Patel anchored week-
end weather. Eyewitness News Early Edition on CBS affiliate
KPIX was anchored by Sydnie Kohara and Lisa Kim anchored
prime-time news for NBC’s KNTV from 6 to 11 p.m. (Televi-
sionWeek 24.33 Aug. 15, 2005).
When analyzing the prevalence of Asian American an-
chors from 50 years ago until today, there has been an increase
in their visibility. For example, the Los Angeles Bay area now
has at least one or two Asian American anchors in every local
news station (Matsumoto, Jon. Los Angeles Times). Moreover,
Asianweek estimates that there are five notable Asian Ameri-
can broadcasters, including Lloyd LaCuesta, Robert Handa,
Alan Wang, Kristen Sze and Janelle Wang (Wong, Gerrye.
Asianweek).
Although all of these people have achieved tremen-
dous accomplishments and experience in broadcast, news
anchor Alan Wang, really expresses his reservations about the
diversity of the industry. Wang states, “Being the odd man out
strengthened my objective mind, which enables a journalist to
look at both sides of an issue with fairness. Being subjected to
racial slurs from early years living in the Midwest forced me
to ask why things are the way they are at an early age, which
sharpened my analytical mind for news broadcasting (Wong,
Gerrye. Asianweek).” Wang also expressed that the lack of
Asian American male role models on TV lead him to not even
consider a life in front of the camera. Wang believes that many
news stations are not actively searching for Asian male anchors
because many anchor positions are filled by people who repre-
sent the identity of the station.
This trend seems to be a recurring theme regarding
low visibility of Asian male anchors. It also adds insight as to
why Asian men do not pursue careers in this industry. Pres-
sure from older Asian American generations to attain more
prestigious careers is another contributing factor. Many Asian
parents believe that the field of Broadcast does not produce
adequate salaries. Therefore, Asian parents tend to lead their
sons toward other professions with a higher earning potential.
Coincidentally, those who are interested in broadcast careers
are more alluring to Asian American women than Asian
American men (Matsumoto, Jon. Los Angeles Times). Despite
Wang’s views, many news executives say that there is lack
of qualified talent from Asian American males which is the
reason why they are not represented comparably. As a result,
Asian American females impact the United States market more
effectively.
While there is a shortage of Asian American females
represented in the field of broadcast, Asian women are the
dominating gender in comparison to Asian American males.
A study for the Asian American Journalist Association found
that out of 104 Asian Americans who are on air in the top
25 markets, only 20 are male. In other words 815 are women
while 195 percent are men. The top journalism schools in the
country have the highest number of Asian women out num-
bering the Asian males. According to Victor Panichkul, presi-
dent of the Asian American Journalist Association states that
“When our numbers are compared to the numbers of male
and female African American, Native American, or Hispanic
broadcast journalist what we see is a problem that impacts our
members more significantly than other people of color.” Due
to language and cultural barriers negative stereotypes persist
around Asian men and their contributions to American society.
Connie Chung has been etched into the minds of
Asian Americans around the world. Connie Chung was one of
the first women to battle the stereotype of Asian Americans in
the U.S broadcast market. Connie Chung is known for being
an award winning investigative reporter and also becoming
one of the most recognizable faces on American television.
Connie Chung was the first Asian American and the second
female to serve as a nightly news anchor on the CBS nightly
news, her contribution to the Asian American community is
undeniable.
Standing on the shoulders of Connie Chung is Victo-
ria Lim, an award-winning journalist who has set herself apart
by working across media platforms. She currently works as a
reporter/anchor for Bright House Sports Network in Central
Florida. She is described as a prototype 21st century story-
teller stretching across media platforms to reach viewers. On
March 16, 2012 she spoke directly with Colloquium regarding
her personal and professional experience.
Victoria shared her personal story of overcoming is-
sues of race, gender and cultural insensitivity in the workplace,
as well as her Emmy nominated multi-platform project, “A
Goal for Haiti: Pascal Millien’s story.” She detailed the impor-
tance of a multicultural, perspective when discussing the Jere-
my Lin “Chink in the Armor” controversy and talked candidly
about her experience of being called a “Chink” by her supervi-
sor while working in Grand Rapids, Mich., an overwhelmingly
Caucasian demographic. She displayed outrage about the use
of these types of racial slurs whether it is the N-word, C-word,
K-word if one is Jewish, etc. These are non-negotiable for Vic-
toria that should never be taken lightly or overlooked. She also
discussed gender biases surrounding female sports anchors
in the locker room, and the importance of clearly displaying a
professional image in demeanor as well as attire.
On March 20, 2012, our group spoke with Victoria
directly about her experience of being asked to act or appear
more Asian by stations attempting to promote cultural diver-
sity as she is clearly an American and speaks with an Ameri-
can accent, although she is of Chinese descent. According to
Victoria these issues of appearing more Asian were not preva-
lent when she worked in radio. She shared that being bullied
while growing up, helped prepare her to stand up for what she
wanted to do, and to face challenging inappropriate industry
norms. When asked directly about her experience over the
years of working as a reporter/anchor, how has your attitude
changed towards your co-workers and bosses regarding your
response to negative comments or ignorance in the market-
place? Victoria had this to say “As I established myself more
in the industry, and developed a better sense of self, I came to
realize what are “non-negotiables” for me when it comes to
co-workers and bosses. There is, unfortunately, some sense of
“you can’t change a person. They have to want to change.” And
that’s when I decide if or how I can work with or for someone
who may make the same “mistakes” whether based on igno-
rance, negativity, or straight-up hate.”
As with any minority, Asian American journalists face
challenging issues in establishing and maintaining a presence
in major U.S. markets. As to cultural sensitivity and how is-
sues of gender play out, that is still an uphill battle. However,
professional journalists like Connie Chung, Lucy Liu, Lloyd
LaCuesta and Victoria Lim, are establishing a standard of
excellence and truly making a difference. They are challeng-
ing and overcoming stereotypes and cultural norms, positively
impacting broadcast with unique perspective and strong work
ethics. With Asia being one of the fasting growing populations
in the U.S., it is only a matter of time before newsrooms are
expected to catch up.
