KQED cancels Pacific Time

September 26, 2007

SFGate has a story, but we first heard about it through Keith Kamisugi's Facebook page.

I always thought Pacific Time's mix of news from Asia and stories about Asian Americans didn't always mesh. At Hyphen, our focus is Asian American subjects because that is the audience that is under served by the mainstream media. While there obviously is interest in Asia among Asian Americans, it always seemed to me that Pacific Time covered Asia to make the program more marketable to a non-Asian American audience.

KQED says finances are to blame for Pacific Time's demise, and that some of the stories it covered will be aired in other programs. That may be a good thing, as one of the goals of diversifying the media is also to "mainstream" stories about under covered subjects rather than marginalizing them.

On the other hand, some stories Pacific Time would have covered may not get aired. Pacific Time was one of the few news programs around with an Asian American focus, so it is a loss. Pacific Time's last show will air Oct. 11.

Contributor: 

Harry Mok

Editor in chief

Editor in Chief Harry Mok wrote about growing up on a Chinese vegetable farm for the second issue of Hyphen and has been a volunteer editor since 2004. As a board member of the San Francisco and New York chapters of the Asian American Journalists Association, Harry has recruited and organized events for student members. He holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of California, Berkeley, where he was also a graduate student instructor in the Asian American Studies Department.

Comments

Comments

This is so disappointing. I podcast Pacific Time even in China.
God help me, i tried to listen to Pacific Time, but it was BO-ring! hey guys how about starting a Hyphen podcast? could be a great opportunity for all.
ha ha, i'd have to agree. i was glad it was there, but yeah, it was often boring. i second a hyphen podcast.
I liked Pacific Time specifically for it's mix of Asian and Asian American stories. I think the trend amongst younger Asian Americans to forge stronger cultural connections with their ancestral homelands and I don't think Hyphen should discount this trend.