Ethnic Nepalese Media in the USA
Looking into the Rise and Growth of a Community's Voice
Compared to their neighbors in India, China and Bangladesh, Nepalese are late entrants in the growing trend of immigrating to the United States. Years of isolationism practiced by the country’s ruling elite kept the people unaware about the changes happening around them. After the authoritative rule of the King was forced out by popular uprising in 1990, the country opened itself to the world and people got a chance to explore.
In the beginning, those who immigrated to the United States from Nepal were doctors, engineers and other professionals with strong financial background. In Nepal, then a country with more than half of its population living in poverty, there were very few people who could afford a trip to America, even if it meant access to opportunities and facilities nonexistent in their homeland.
By mid 1990s however, there was a shift in attitude. Coming to America was not just for the rich and powerful. Parents were willing to sell their home, mothers parted with family heirloom gold to send their children to American universities. They believed that an American degree will bring better job and a chance to live a good life in the land of dreams and opportunities.
Information Technology boom further fueled the desire among Nepali youngsters to come to America. Now every year about 7,000-9,000 Nepali students come to America. The number of doctors, engineers and entrepreneurs moving to the United States has also grown over years.
Ethnic Nepali Media
Nepali ethnic media in the United States is still very much in its infancy, compared to the ethnic Spanish, Chinese, Korean and Indian media in the country. But looking at the growing list of websites, newsletters, broadcast programming targeting the Nepalese community in America, the future does seem promising.
Sajha.com, a web forum run by Greater Boston Nepali Community is probably one of the most popular venues to find information on upcoming community events and happening across the country, immigration matters, charities and social services serving Nepalese community and also has a section on employment and business opportunities. The site is also known for its lively discussions on various issues-from European soccer league to American politics and anything in between.
New York Nepali Times is an online newspaper which focuses on Nepalese community in New York and surrounding states. Its news section is updated less frequently, the section with information to help new arrivals to city adjust and find help serves its purpose. Readers can send articles in Nepali and English to be published at the website.
Nepal Aboard and Nepali Post like New York Nepali Times are also based online. Nepal Abroad regularly publishes articles in Nepali and English whereas Nepali Post’s English section is bit leaner.
The absence of strong print newspaper for Nepalese community in America inspired the publication of Nepali Awaaz. The weekly bi-lingual newspaper published out of New York hoped to be the voice of Nepalese across the United States. But business needs more than ideals, two years after its launch, Nepali Awaaz was folded.
Vishwa Sandesh, a tabloid, and Vishwa Parikrama aim to fill the vacuum in print Nepalese media after the failure of Nepali Awaaz. Although both the publications are far away from practicing serious journalism-Vishaw Sandesh is firmly on tabloid staples like entertainment, gossip-nevertheless their success could inspire launch of other ethnic Nepalese print publications.
