Hyphen (magazine)

"Hyphen" is a nationally-distributed, independent Asian American magazine aimed at 20 and 30-somethings. The name of the magazine comes from a debate over the use of hyphens in denoting ethnic Americans. (Contrary to its name, "Hyphen" does not use the hyphen in this manner.)

"Hyphen" is produced tri-annually by a volunteer staff and is a not-for-profit organization. It was founded in 2002 by a group of San Francisco Bay Area journalists, activists, and artists including Melissa Hung, a former reporter for the "Houston Press" and "East Bay Express"; Claire Light, former program manager for Kearny Street Workshop] ; Yuki Tessitore, of "Mother Jones", and filmmaker Jennifer Huang. Stefanie Liang, a graphic designer from "Red Herring magazine" joined the staff as artistic director before the publication of the first issue. Its advisory board includes notable Asian American journalists such as Helen Zia and Nguyen Qui Duc, the host of Pacific Time. The first issue was released in June 2003. [cite news |first=Vanessa |last=Hua |title=Hot fusion: Fresh S.F. wannabe joins publications for Asian Americans |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/06/05/BU299872.DTL |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=2003-06-05 |accessdate=2007-10-31 ] [cite news |url=http://kron4.com/Global/story.asp?S=1311975&nav=5D7lGFye |title=Asian-American Startup Mag Launches |accessdate=2007-10-31 |date=2003-06-06 |work=KRON 4] [cite news |url=http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=dca87d09d9cb494d20469eafc2d5f2d5 |title=Hyphen Magazine Bridges the Gap |accessdate=2007-10-31 |last=Black |first=Catherine |date=2003-12-09 |work=New California Media] "Hyphen" is one of several Asian American media ventures created in the wake of "A Magazine"'s demise. [cite news |url=http://www.asianweek.com/2002_11_29/bay_hyphen.html |title=‘Hyphen’ Magazine to Fill Gap in APA Media |accessdate=2007-10-31 |last=Deshmukh |first=M.S. |date=2002-11-29 |work=Asianweek]

Shortly after its release, the publication was sharply criticized by "AsianWeek" columnist Emil Guillermo who theorized that "Hyphen"'s young editors were arrogant, ashamed of their Asian heritage, and disrespectful of existing ethnic media in his weekly column. [cite news |url=http://news.asianweek.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=3d8cc77c15dd14dc957a546d9d25fc6c |title=Emil Amok: Dissin’ Hyphen |accessdate=2007-10-31 |last=Guillermo |first=Emil |date=2003-06-20 |work=Asianweek] He later said that he had not actually read the magazine. [cite news |url=http://news.asianweek.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=b26d6c24c32d6fc970270b218a532587 |title=Emil Amok: My Cousins ‘Tis of Thee and More Dissin’ on ‘Hyphen’ |accessdate=2007-10-31 |last=Guillermo |first=Emil |date=2003-07-04 |work=Asianweek]

The magazine's first issue contained a story package on the history of Asian American community activism. Its content is decidedly to the left, feminist, and non-mainstream. Its coverage includes politics, arts, and pop culture.

In 2004, the magazine was nominated for an Utne Independent Press Award for Best New Title. [cite web |url=http://www.utne.com/pub/2004_126/promo/11432-2.html |archiveurl=http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:AP3g99dr860J:www.utne.com/issues/2004_126/promo/11432-2.html+http://www.utne.com/pub/2004_126/promo/11432-2.html |archivedate=2007-10-20 |title=Utne Independent Press Awards Nominees -- 2004 |accessdate=2007-10-31 |date=November/December 2004 |work=Utne] In January 2006, "Hyphen"'s Body Issue won the Independent Press Association's Best Cover award for an image of an Asian American man, Yusuke Miyashita, partially submerged in a bathtub full of edamame. [cite web |url=http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/blog/archives/2006/01/bragging_rights.html |title=Bragging Rights |accessdate=2007-10-31 |first=Melissa |date=2006-01-31 |work=Hyphen Blog |publisher=Hyphen] Mr. Hyphen, a pageant created by the magazine to showcase more positive images of Asian American men, debuted in May 2006. [cite web |url=http://www.naaapsf.org/Events.do?id=3321 |title=Mr. Hyphen Contest |accessdate=2007-10-31 |publisher=National Association of Asian American Professionals - San Francisco ] In the fall of 2007, the magazine received its second nomination for an Utne Independent Press Award, this time for Best Design. [cite web |url=http://www.utne.com/uipa.aspx |title=Nominees for the 19th Annual Utne Independent Press Awards 2007 |accessdate=2007-10-31 |date=2007 |work=Utne Reader]

References

External links

* [http://www.hyphenmagazine.com Hyphen]