India West
Covering the first 100 days of the Trump Adminsitration.
When immigrants from India settled in the U.S. they needed a way to stay connected and up-to-date within their ethnic community and they needed a voice of their own. In 1975, India West was created to do just that and is now the largest Indian newspaper in the United States. It is distributed weekly in the Western U.S and serves as a way for the Indian-American community to connect to their home country but also assimilate themselves within their new one.
Ramesh Murarka, president and co-founder of India West, arrived in the U.S. in 1969 to attend Stanford University. His wife and co-founder, Bina Murarka, arrived in the U.S. at the age of three and also attended Stanford University. Together, they published the print edition and have since earned 43 awards for excellence in journalism. There are other Indian-American outlets within the Los Angeles area such as the India Journal, but because of India West’s impressive reporters and resources they remain an important publication.
With the Indian American population approaching three million in the U.S., readership is expanding and Indiawest.com was created. The online version serves the entire Indian community throughout the country and is a primary source of news and information with global and local news, lifestyle, opinion, events and entertainment.
Gaurav Vashishtha, an Indian-American who resides in La Brea said, “It serves the purpose of informing, since it’s a free newspaper, you can find it at any Indian store. It keeps the South Asian Indian community in the know about politics in India and politics in the U.S. and how they affect the Indian community.”
While following this outlet during the first 100 days of the Trump Administration, I was able to see first hand they way online articles were reported with specific ties to the Indian-American community. While some articles were mainstream they still seemed to have more emphasis on the Indian community. There was a focus on Indian-American congressmen, notable Indian-Americans who spoke out, Indian related hate-crimes and coverage on the executive order of the travel ban that directly affected the Indian community.
They reported on the H1-B visas becoming harder to get but put a focus on the IT related jobs that Indian Americans could miss out on and also had comments from experts with an Indian background. Although this was a piece that was picked up by mainstream media it still had a focus in how it will directly affect the Indian community.
A personal story tied to the travel ban that did not make mainstream headlines was one India West covered on Pankaj Satija and Monika Umma, married neurologists from Texas, who were ordered deported with 24 hours’ notice. They were granted an 11th hour 90 day reprieve from deportation but because of this were unable to go to India to attend Satija’s father funeral.
Arun Venugopal, a reporter for WNYC and the host of Micropolis, was a former reporter for India Abroad and grew up reading India West alongside his family. He explained the importance ethnic outlets play within the community and especially to the older generation.
D.J. Rekha is credited with bringing South Asian music New York, she’s been written about in the New York Times, The Guardian and Huffington Post but it wasn’t until Venugopal wrote about her in India Abroad that her family cared. “They found cultural value, and it was affirmation that I had made it,” she told Venugopal. It was a publication that all of her family and friends read and there’s a cultural value being covered in ethnic press rather than the mainstream.
“The older generation want that affirmation from people,” said Venugopal. Twenty-five to 30 years ago his parents were getting India Abroad and they would point out stories to him on the teenager who was featured because of his SAT scores. “Those were the types of stories you would see but as the community grew and got bigger, a high SAT score was no longer good enough. You had to be getting a scholarship, starting a nonprofit or selling a startup for millions of dollars,” Venugopal said. These publications are a place were value is monitored and reinforced.
While outlets like India Abroad and India West play an important role for the older generation, India West needs to find a way to better connect with millennial readers who were born in this country but want to stay connected with their ethnic backgrounds.
Transitioning to online, creating a Facebook and Twitter account have all been steps in the right direction but need to be worked on. The website itself is easy to navigate but could be updated. Facebook posts are frequent but a majority are Bollywood related making it feel like it is a tabloid outlet, the background picture is irrelevant to the publication and there was little to no interaction on comments. Twitter followers are lacking and more interaction or live tweeting could lead to more engagement with the younger readers.
Vashishtha suggested putting more stories relevant to the Indian American youth who are interested in politics and business and to overall appeal to the younger demographic more. To keep him engaged right now, he said the current events and coverage of religious holidays appeal to him the most.
Jiana Jaber, a third generation Indian American with family from India and Lebanon, is a senior at Sonoma State University and said she does not keep up with outlets other than mainstream. “My family and I make sure to go back to visit and I feel like that’s what keeps me connected with my roots, as well as the food we make during family gatherings. My mom reads it and keeps me updated at times but I do not read it myself.”
India West has built and maintained a reputable reputation within the Indian-American community. Their reporting is thorough and frequent, they have even broken stories and it’s important for their publication to continue connecting Indian-Americans to their culture and remain viable. Adapting to a new style of reporting that includes multimedia is important for them to stay relevant with future generations.
