PREZ RACE: Obama gets 'Little India' endorsement; editor gets 5 Questions

[See SAJAforum coverage, sources and resources about the 2008 elections]

An unusual message landed in my the other day. An endorsement of a presidential candidate from a South Asian publication. "Little India Endorses Barack Obama," said the subject line (see our earlier cover of the mag's list of the top Indian-American bundlers). Here's part of the endorsement (which you can see in full here):

Little India has decided to break from its tradition of staying out of the primary selections by endorsing Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic Party nomination for president. We take this unusual step as we have come to share his inspiring message and his call for the "fierce urgency of now."

We value the Clintons' long association with the Indian American community and with India, so the decision to endorse her opponent has not been easy. But there is something magical and transcendental in this moment about Sen. Obama both for the country and the Indian American community.

His life story is in so many ways ours. In his political pursuits, he has defied both traditional paths pursued by minority politicians: identity politics built on narrow affiliations, typical of most ethnic leaders, as well as that of right wing politicians (like our own Bobby Jindal in Louisiana) who run from their history and identity. Obama, by contrast, has transcended boundaries. The Obama phenomenon, even if it does not get him the ultimate prize, offers something unique and it is important that we embrace this moment, for, as the Nobel Prize writer Toni Morrison wrote in her endorsement of Obama, "this is one of those singular moments that nations ignore at their peril."

We reject the proposition that Sen. Hillary Clinton's experience trumps the promise that Obama has to offer. As Sen. Obama has retorted: "One of my opponents says a vote for me would be a gamble. But the real gamble would be to do the same old things with the same old people over and over again and hope that the next time the results will somehow be different."

I asked Achal Mehra, the editor the magazine (founded in 1991 and bills itself as the largest Asian circulation publication in the U.S.) five questions about the endorsement, the political race and the magazine business.

My questions:

• Why endorse so early in the process, without waiting for the two-person race?
• What issues should the SA community be the most concerned about going forward?
• What is the history of SA pubs endorsing politicians in the U.S.?
• How's Little India doing? I see you say it's the largest ASIAN publication in the U.S., not just Indian or South Asian. When did that happen? I missed that milestone.
• What advice do you have for SAs thinking of starting their own magazines/newspapers?

See his answers, sent from Little India headquarters in the Empire State Building, and post your comments below.

FIVE QUESTIONS FOR ACHAL MEHRA OF LITTLE INDIA:

SAJAforum: Why endorse so early in the process, without waiting for the two-person race?
A: As we say in our endorsement, we have steered clear of expressing editorial preferences in the primaries in the past. It was unusual for us to step forward with an endorsement this time and it is for the reasons we state: we can feel, as Sen Barack Obama says, that something is stirring in the winds. The possibility that for once, America could rise above its racial divisons is an extraordinary opportunity -- one that has transforming implications for minorities, such as Indian Americans. We share Toni Morrison’s admonition that this opportunity may not come again soon, “that this is one of those singular moments that nations ignore at their peril.” Now, we have expressed a preference for Obama over Hillary. However, should Clinton win the Democratic Party nomination, we will certainly select from among the choices available in the general election.

SAJAforum: What issues should the SA community be the most concerned about going forward?
A: Different Indian American constituencies have varied interests. Broadly speaking, the first generation is more interested in India related issues and I sense is more enthusiastic about Hillary Clinton, who has cultivated the community over many years. The younger, second generation, again broadly speaking, is more involved in mainstream politics, including minority issues. New America Media recently released a study that indicated that minority groups have better relations with Whites than they do with other minority groups. What attracts us about Sen. Obama is that he is able to transcend those dynamics. That is transformative. Indian Americans, who constitute under 1% of the U.S. population and even a smaller proportion of the electorate, because nearly half are not US citizens, play at the margins of the margins that is minority politics in this country. Were Sen. Obama to succeed, we can participate on our own terms, neither scrambling for a toehold in some racially advantageous district, which is often the case, nor run from our identity and history, as, I think, Bobby Jindal, has done.

SAJAforum: What is the history of SA publications endorsing politicians in the U.S.?
A: Endorsing a candidate (whether in the primaries or the general election) is an unusual, practice, even discomforting for journalists. It is certainly uncommon in India. But it has a long history within the media in this country. I don’t know how many South Asian publications have endorsed candidates in the past. We have done so, off an on, in the general elections, but frankly I don’t think it mattered all that much before. I think this time it does matter for the reasons I alluded to earlier. Just a few minutes ago, Moveon also endorsed a primary candidate for the first time. Obama’s candidacy has come to represent a movement that has the potential to be exhilarating and transforming. This is as much about the moment and the idea as it is about the person. Finally, I also think we, as a community, are more confident of our place in American society, that we are not outsiders or interlopers. South Asian media reflect the community and I suspect will increasingly step forward in making political endorsements and taking political stands.

SAJAforum: How's Little India doing? I see you say it's the largest ASIAN publication in the U.S., not just Indian or South Asian. When did that happen? I missed that milestone.
A: We have been the largest Asian publication in the US for some time, certainly since 2004. Our 2006 BPA Audit report had us at 143,863. We estimate that we penetrate almost 16% of Indian homes. By way of comparison, Time magazine penetrates 4 percent of US households. Our growth is reflective of what is happening in the Asian population. The Indian population has quadrupled since 1980. Asian Indians were the fourth largest Asian group in the 1990 census. The 2006 census estimates have us leapfrogging the Japanese and Filipinos and we are now only behind the Chinese and growing at a much faster clip than them and may well become the largest Asian group in 2010 if current patterns hold. The gravity of the Asian American population has been shifting for some time and will continue to shift toward South Asians by all measures.

SAJAforum: What advice do you have for SAs thinking of starting their own magazines/newspapers?
Q: I personally think the days of newspapers (in at least the form that we presently know them as paper products) are numbered. The Internet offers a better platform for current news and information, so I wouldn’t encourage anyone to go into newspapers if they are starting out, unless they are using the online platform in a major way. In the South Asian space, magazines have stronger prospects, even though they too have to navigate the challenge of the Internet. Many other Asian American communities have a more vigorous magazine industry than South Asians do. The one, sobering advice I would give to anyone planning to start a publication is to recognize that it takes 4 to 5 years for magazine economics to work and 7 in 10 new magazines launched in this country fold within two years and almost 85% in 5 years. It is a very high risk game. At the same time, it is very rewarding intellectually and journalistically and the South Asian community could surely use more magazines.

EARLIER ON SAJAforum:

• Essays on Clinton & Obama by Rajen Anand and Preeta Bansal
• Little India on the Top Indian-American Bundlers

[See SAJAforum coverage, sources and resources about the 2008 elections]

Comments

[shlok]

Good answers. And I can attest to Mehra's response to the last question asked. You can have a fine product out in the market that is recognized by many. But it is more than sobering to find out the ad revenue just isn't there to continue the project further.

[Srinivasa Raghavan]

What?!? After that Hillary Clinton (D Punjab) comment? Give me a break. How did Mr. xenophobia win little india's support?

[Chappaquack]

Wouldn't it be nice for our children to see someone other than a white person in the White House? I like Hillary, and live in the same town as her, but I believe my American-born children(a girl and a boy) will greatly benefit from an Obama presidency. While it would be good for my daughter to see a "girl president," it would be greater for them both to think of the presidency as an attainable aspiration. What can I say, it's a feminist's dilemma...

[exsqueeze me]

chappaqauk:

i appreciate the dreams of you and yours. I would rather have a tried and tested psychoanalyst than one to whom dreams of life are not fully revealed yet. vote hillary. let experience save us against dreams that might come with VINCENT PRICE or Ramsey Brothers.

moral: around election time obama can be depended on never to leave popular rhetoric enough alone. and mccain needs a check up from neck up. vote hillary.