DIRECTORY SPOTLIGHT: Hyphen Magazine New print magazine dares to go deeper. By Lynda Lin for AIA, May 2003 Core staff: (l-r) Stefanie Liang (Art Director), Chris Fan (Technology Director & Historian), Sarah Lee (Associate Publisher & Director of Marketing), Melissa Hung (Editor-in-Chief), Yuki Tessitore (Publisher), and Titania Inglis (Executive Editor). A small demarcation between ethnicity and nationality can cause fragmentation, dissonance and in this case, the passion to bridge the schism with a publication that focuses on those who negotiate between two or more identities. Anyone who sat through an introductory Asian American or Ethnic Studies course has come across the discourse of the grammatical tool representing division or two halved identities and a whole of nothing. With the touch of a pen to paper, the ink smudge on its blank canvas, despite its empowering epistemology of self-naming, has caused angst and movement for reform. This summer, Hyphen Magazine, a national Asian American publication with an emphasis on up-and-coming pop and alternative culture as well as in-depth investigative reporting, will reappropriate the use of the grammatical tool as a buffer between two identities by investigating the "depth and breadth of Asian America." "I don't know about you, but at a newsstand, I can't find a magazine that I feel included in," said editor in chief, Melissa Hung. "I'm a magazine junkie, so [starting up a magazine] was really a selfish thing. [We did it] so that I could have something to read." Hitting newsstands primarily around the Bay Area in June 2003, Hyphen promises to look beyond the handful of Asian American personalities folded within the layers of popular consciousness. If there were an `Asian American' button to push and access metonymic images in the mind, more than likely, Lucy Liu's stern mien would appear or Jackie Chan would kick his way out of the collective unconscious. Regaled as break-through artists who have managed to gain visibility within a society that prefers to decorate the backdrop with Asian-inspired images than represent someone of color with an actual character arc, the Jackie Chans of the world are indeed sojourners within the cultural mainframe. However, when one of the most prominent representatives of Asian Americans begins to express angsty sentiments about being typecast in Hollywood, it becomes imperative that a forum for alternative cultural dissemination is desperately needed. While doing publicity for his watered-down 2002 film The Tuxedo, Jackie Chan continually articulated, in several interviews, his desire to stretch his legs into more substantial roles other than ones solely based on martial arts moves. In Hong Kong, Chan was a dramatic and comedic star as well as an acclaimed singer. In America, he finds himself rattling against his own gilded cage. "I feel like the same five people get publicity over and over again," opined Hung gives copy space to lesser-known Asian American artists like Director Justin Lin and his ground-breaking film, Better Luck Tomorrow than to Kelly Hu's non-speaking role in X-Men 2. In other words, the publicity machine will engineer itself for marketable Asian American stars. Hyphen seeks to provide a medium to showcase less exploitative individuals to add layers to the one-dimensional views of Asian America. The first issue hits stands June 7. "On a societal level, we seek to combat complacency and change what it means to be Asian American," said Tuki Tessitore publisher of Hyphen. "On an industrial level, we aspire to be a thought-leader magazine in the mainstream media. On a product level, we aim to produce revelatory journalism that profiles/explores/illuminates the lives, culture and politics of Asian America." It seems successful individuals always have stories of how their calling in life manifested as early as in the fluids of the womb. For Hung, the call of the wild world of journalism can be traced back to the formative age of 11 when she and her sister banged out copies of The Weekly Weekly News on the typewriter and espoused little known truths on the accompanying radio show. Her ascent to becoming editor in chief of her own publication is an impressive track record that weaves from her home in Texas through the hallowed halls of Northwestern University and the print pages of the Houston Press, A.Magazine and AsianAvenue. When A.Magazine was dismantled, Hung and a few of her journalism friends joked about the possibility of starting up their own culturally orientated magazine that references pop culture with editorial content. The laughter turned into chuckles and the chuckles evolved into pensive silence and rapid mobility. Despite her numerous achievements, Hung charts her upward mobility in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. In fact, over the roaring silence of a phone connection, Hung's voice is a combination of mellifluous vowels and decisive vocabulary. She does not run off into tangents while answering questions and always buffers the end of her statements with pointed silence. Perhaps it is this leadership that cultivated so much support from staff and community members. Everyone on staff, including the writers and photographers, work for free. In addition to being a volunteer-run organization, one hundred percent of the money goes towards printing and promoting expenses. "Hyphen is a nonprofit magazine fiscally sponsored by Mother Jones Magazine. We decided to become a non-profit in order to keep our editorial pure and rely on an additional source of revenue from philanthropy," said Tessitore. Hyphen also boasts well-respected members of the Asian American community on their advisory board. Helen Zia, an award-winning journalist and author of the Asian American Dreams, a book that is quickly becoming seminal in Asian American Studies classes throughout the nation, is counted as an advisory board member. According to Hung, board members provide invaluable opinions and input into the magazine's content. The rest of the Hyphen gang. Wander down the magazine display aisle in any bookstore and it becomes painfully evident that some ethnic publications base its entire existence on reacting against the mainstream - political journalists seem to crouch in the corner ready to pounce at any indiscretion made by key mainstream figures. Case in point of the outrage expressed by the ethnic communities when Senator Trent Lott fingered former racist Dixiecrat Strom Thurman as a good candidate for presidency. Headlines and articles aptly screamed for Lott's resignation as majority leader. Although it is an important purpose to call out social injustices and leaks in political correctness, can ethnic literature stand on its own and represent its own without having to react against the norm? "We will do some of those reactive writing, but that's not our primary goal. We want to do interesting stories about interesting people you may otherwise not hear about. We hope not to just cover stories, but break them," said Hung. These days, Hung spends most of her time orchestrating the inaugural issue of Hyphen, which hits primarily Bay Area newsstands in June 2003. With other Asian American publications such as Yolk, that function more as a men's rag magazine than anything substantive, and the introduction of the solely fashion orientated Audrey Magazine, Hyphen's emphasis on editorial and investigative articles will be a welcomed addition to the burgeoning Asian American magazine milieu. The first issue of Hyphen Magazine is scheduled to hit newstands on June 7, 2003 Hyphen Magazine P.O. Box 192002 San Francisco, CA 94119-2002 hyphen@hyphenmagazine.com www.hyphenmagazine.com		DIRECTORY: Organizations Geographically based organizations, institutions, associations, projects, agencies, educational programs, etc: - New York - California - Washington, DC - Hawai'i - Illinois - Massachussets - Texas - Washington State Media Resources Print periodicals, electronic media, online communities, internet publications, books, films, plays, videos, etc. Notable Persons Activists, politicians, entertainers, artists, authors, experts, journalists, business leaders, etc. By State Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachussetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Wyoming By Ethnicity Bangladeshi, Burmese, Cambodian, Chinese, Fiji, Filipino, Guamanian/Chamorro, Hmong, Hawai'ian, Indian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Malaysian, Mongolian, Multi-racial, Nepalese, Pacific Islander, Pakistani, Samoan, Singaporean, South Asian, South East Asian, Sri Lankan, Tahitian, Taiwanese, Thai, Tibetan, Tongan, Vietnamese MORE SPOTLIGHTS From previous issues of AIA. APRIL 2003 The Asian Art Museum A lovely new face for San Francisco's old Main Library MARCH 2003 Asian Family Services Helping Asian Immigrants in Connecticut BACK TO TOP SUBMIT AN ITEM