By Koustubh “K.J.” Bagchi
As technology continues to be a necessity, it is more vital than ever that communities have digital access. Asian American, Pacific Islander and Native Hawaiian (AANHPI) communities significantly depend on over-the-air television to provide the news, community information and entertainment they seek. Broadcast television is meeting the needs of diverse audiences by offering community-focused programming in a variety of languages. For example, San Francisco’s KTSF-TV reaches more than 1.4 million Asian Americans, providing programs that include nightly live news, weather, sports and public affairs programming in English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Hindi, Farsi and more.
Because many Asian Americans rely on over-the-air TV for cultural in-language programming and emergency updates, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC (Advancing Justice | AAJC) is making sure AANHPI communities are prepared when nearly 1,000 local television stations move frequencies now through 2020.
We are encouraging AANHPI communities to visit the National Association of Broadcasters’ (NAB) TVAnswers.org website, where viewers can look up their stations and find out if they are moving frequencies and when. The website also provides rescanning instructions – critical information that ensures viewers can continue to receive their stations.
Advancing Justice | AAJC knows that our communities must not get left behind. That’s why we frequently engage advocacy on the legislative and administrative levels, and we have regular conversations with Congress on telecommunications and technology issues that affect our communities.
We have partnered with NAB to help spread the word about these changes coming to local television stations. We encourage others to also join this effort. Working together, we can ensure our country’s diverse communities do not lose access to a critical lifeline and the content and services they rely on every day.
About the Author
Koustubh “K.J.” Bagchi is Senior Staff Attorney for Telecommunications, Technology, and Media at Advancing Justice | AAJC
About Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC
The mission of Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC is to advance the civil and human rights for Asian Americans and to build and promote a fair and equitable society for all. To learn more about and participate in the work of Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC, visit us on our website, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.