South Asian Community Journalism
A Legacy of Community Media, Journalism and Storytelling
Celebrating the journalists who gave voice to a growing community
From print presses in living rooms to radio studios, newsrooms, and digital platforms, South Asian journalists have chronicled the pulse of Silicon Valley for more than five decades. South Asians in Silicon Valley: A Legacy of Community Media, Journalism and Storytelling celebrates the voices that shaped community identity, bridged cultures, and expanded representation in American media. As you scroll, discover the stories, publications, and people who turned journalism into a home for connection, reflection, and change.
Featuring
Exhibit Statement
South Asian community journalism in the United States has played a vital role in documenting immigrant life, shaping collective memory, and informing public understanding. Built within communities, these outlets emerged to report stories grounded in lived experience, civic engagement, and cultural life, often long before such narratives appeared consistently in mainstream media.
This exhibit traces the development of South Asian community media in the Bay Area and Silicon Valley across print, radio, television, and digital platforms. These outlets provided sustained, place-based coverage of local issues, labor, politics, arts, and identity. At the same time, they have existed in conversation with mainstream journalism, influencing how broader news institutions understand, source, and report on South Asian communities.
Central to the exhibit are the journalists, editors, broadcasters, and founders who built and sustained these platforms. Community media has served as both a lifelong practice and a launching ground, shaping reporting values that many journalists carry into mainstream newsrooms. In turn, mainstream journalism has amplified community stories, expanded their reach, and situated local South Asian experiences within wider regional and national contexts. Together, these media spheres form a mutually reinforcing ecosystem rather than separate or opposing domains.
The exhibit also looks forward, examining how South Asian journalism continues to evolve amid technological change, economic pressures, and shifting audience expectations. Through experimentation, collaboration, and renewed attention to trust and accountability, both community-based and mainstream outlets remain essential to a healthy media landscape.
Taken together, the stories presented here position South Asian journalism as a continuum, demonstrating how community media and mainstream institutions strengthen one another and why both are critical to public life.
Explore the Exhibit
Credits and Acknowledgments
This exhibit is the result of collaborative research, curation, and storytelling developed through the South Asians in Silicon Valley Initiative at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library, San José State University.
Exhibit Curators
Chandni Rathod, MLIS ‘27
Dr. Mantra Roy, Lead, ‘South Asians in Silicon Valley’ initiative
Exhibit Design and Technical Lead
Nick Szydlowski
Exhibit Marketing and Communications
Lesley Seacrist, ’18 MA Communication Studies
Mariah Ramsour, ’20 MLIS, ’18 English
All artwork and written material in this exhibit represent the independent expression of the artists and curators. The opinions and messages conveyed are solely those of the creators and should not be understood as endorsed by SJSU.