Rafu Shimpo will publish for at least, one more year

REPRINTED FROM ASAM NEWS

ONE OF THE NATION'S longest running Japanese/American newspapers will live another year.

Rafu Shimpo announced to its readers that it will stay open at least through the end of 2017.

The paper has lost $750,000 over the last three years and was projected to lose another $350,000 this year.

It had announced earlier this year it would shut down at the end of this year if it could not turn things around.

A circulation drive fell short of its goal pf 10,000 new subscriptions, but definitely helped to keep the paper going.

RELATED: 'Rafu Shimpo' in danger of closing

“With all the changes that we’ve made over the last seven months, with many more coming up in the next two months, the owners of The Rafu Shimpo have agreed to continue with the paper through the year 2017,” said Mark Nakakihara, special consultant.

“Hopefully, the changes that we made and the ones that we are making will keep the paper going for many years after that. This wouldn’t be possible without thanking the publisher, Mickey Komai, and his family for allowing us to make these changes.”

Rafu is moving to beef up its online presence and working on other changes as well.

“The other thing we want to do is give advertisers a reason to advertise, so we’re working on themes or a focus … We have an anime team that came to us and offered to create an anime section, which is going to be very exciting, said Ellen Endo, former editor of Rafu who is donating her time to help save it. “You’re going to be able to sort of a taste of it in the print edition, but you’re going to want to go, if you’re an anime aficionado, to the online to see the anime in high resolution …

“The other source of revenue is the digitization of the archives. The archives go back to the early 1900s … We want people to be able to access those archives for research … and be able to, for a small fee, maybe download or print … also to be able to word-search those files.“We want to put some effort into investigative journalism, so we want to make sure that we’re on top of key issues that are impacting the community, things like the current election.”

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'Rafu Shimpo' in danger of closing

Rafu Shimpo photo

In this 1920 photo, the Rafu Shimpo staff put the finishing touches on the newspaper before deliver.

By Louis Chan
Reprinted from AsAmNews

A NEWSPAPER that has served the Japanese/American community for more than 100 years is in danger of closing.

In an urgent letter to its readers, Rafu Shimpo publisher announced the newspaper has lost $750,000 over three years. This year the deficit is projected to be $350,000.

“If the situation does not improve this year, The Rafu will be forced to close in December of this year,” states the letter to its readers.

“This would mean the end of a tradition that started in 1903, and would mark the extinction of Japanese/American daily vernaculars in the United States.

“The staff and management of The Rafu are passionate about their work. We feel that the Japanese/American community is stronger with an independent news publication. Every story is written with the belief that we make the community stronger by keeping it connected and informed.”

The newspaper has kicked off a subscription drive to pick up 10,000 new subscribers which would bring in approximately $500,000 in new revenue.

The possible closure of the paper is not an idle threat. In 2009, two Japanese/American publications shut down in the same year. Hokubei Mainichi, a bilingual newspaper out of San Francisco closed shop as did the Nichi Bei Times. The daily would reemerge a short time later as the Nichi Bei Weekly. It would no longer publish in Japanese, but continued publishing in English.

In December, the monthly magazine KoreAm Journal printed its final edition. It joined a long line of Asian/American publications that have shuttered including Asian Week, San Francisco Journal, East West, Yolk and A. Magazine.

Rafu Shimpo has been able to survive with help from the Komai family trust which has covered its losses, but the paper's management realizes that is not sustainable for the long run.

Ethnic newspapers report on issues and people that the mainstream media often overlook. It’s important for the community to rally around the Rafu if it would like to see it continue. Subscriptions are just $15 per month or $149 per year. Senior and student discounts are available.

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