Filipino American press

DEFINITION: Newspapers, magazines, and other printed materials published within the United States (US) for Filipino American and Filipino immigrant readers

SIGNIFICANCE: Filipino American newspapers and magazines play a crucial role in preserving cultural heritage. They feature stories not only about Filipinos living in the US but also about events of interest in the Philippines, demonstrating the desire among many Filipino Americans to stay connected with their ancestral homeland. These publications help foster a sense of community empowerment and collective identity among Americans of Filipino descent.

Since the 1920s, numerous periodicals have been produced by and for the Filipino American community, providing news of particular interest to Filipino immigrants, while fostering a sense of collective identity and cultural pride. One of the first Filipino American publications, the Philippine Mail, circulated among the immigrant community in California during the 1920s and 1930s, providing stories of interest in Filipinos living in the US and elsewhere. In 1988, the Philippine American Press Club (PAPC) was formed in California as a professional organization for reporters working for Filipino American publications and broadcasters. The PAPC gives out the Gawad Plaridel Awards yearly to recognize exceptional reporting on topics of Filipino American interest.

Newspapers

From his San Francisco garage, Alex Esclamado began publishing the Manila Chronicle, named after a publication banned by dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines in 1961. His weekly publication later became the Philippine News and developed into one of the most widely read Filipino American newspapers in the US. It provided a broad array of original content dealing with such issues as immigration, health, and culture, as well as news from the Philippines. However, due to financial troubles and political pressures, the newspaper is no longer published.

In 1972, Libertito Pelayo, a former reporter for the Manila Times, founded the Filipino Reporter, a weekly based in New York City. This paper has provided news and editorials on various subjects, including politics, immigration, sports, and entertainment. The Filipino Reporter is the only ethnic newspaper that is a regular New York Press Club member. The Philippine News and the Filipino Reporter were the most widely known and distributed Filipino American newspapers for a long time. Still, numerous smaller publications have also served the Filipino American community. Due to California’s large number of Filipino immigrants, the state has been home to most of these publications, which at various times have included the Filipino Guardian, the Asian American People’s Journal, and Manila Mail. Newspapers in other regions have included the Filipino-American Bulletin in Washington, DC, the Hawaii-Filipino Chronicle in Hawaii, The Filipino Express in New Jersey, and Basta Pinoy in Florida. Most Filipino American newspapers also provide online editions, and many have become online-only in the twenty-first century.

Magazines

Although not as numerous as newspapers, several magazines also cater to the Filipino American community. Early examples have included The Republic, published in California between 1924 and 1933, and the Seattle-based The Filipino Forum. During the twenty-first century's first decade, the most widely known and distributed Filipino American magazine was Filipinas, a monthly based in California that began publication in 1992. Mona Lisa Yuchengco, the magazine’s founder and a prominent activist in the Filipino American community, claimed during a 2003 interview in the San Francisco Chronicle that she founded the magazine not only because she “wanted Filipinos to have pride in who they were as a people, where they came from, their culture and heritage” but also to “pass on that pride to non-Filipinos who wanted to know more about us.” Filipinas offered a wide range of articles dealing with many aspects of Filipino American life, including history, business, entertainment, food, travel, and immigration issues. The magazine ceased publication in 2010 and, for a brief time afterward, received sporadic updates online, but it had folded entirely by 2014. Yuchengco founded the online-only magazine Positively Filipino. Another notable magazine was Poptimes, an online-only publication covering Filipino American music, with articles, artist bios, album reviews, and concert schedules. Poptimes ceased publication in 2014.

Although the newspaper and magazine industry has struggled overall in the twenty-first century, there are several Filipino American press publications that have endured, if only on the Internet. New York’s Filipino Reporter remains the most respected with the longest legacy. The FilAm, also based in New York, is an online magazine addressing issues pertinent to the lives of Filipino Americans living in the northeast section of the US. Fil-Am Voice, based in Hawaii, offers print and online versions. Pinoy Newsmagazine covers the Chicago area, and One Philippines News Magazine addresses topics relevant to the lives of Filipino Americans living in Texas.

Bibliography

Bautista, Veltisezar. The Filipino Americans from 1763 to the Present: Their History, Culture, and Traditions. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Bookhaus, 1998.

Library of Congress. "Web Archive Filipino Reporter." Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/lcwaN0019599. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024.

Philippine American Press Club. www.papcusa.org. Accessed 22 May 2019.

"Philippine Newspapers: Filipino News Online." W3Newspapers, www.w3newspapers.com/philippines. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024.

Pinoy Newsmagazine: Home, pinoynewsmagazine.com. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024.

Root, Maria P. P., editor. Filipino Americans: Transformation and Identity. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1997.

Sterngrass, Jon. Filipino Americans (The New Immigrants Series). New York: Chelsea House, 2007.