The ''Pacific Citizen (P.C.)'' is a national, award-winning semi-monthly newspaper based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The ''P.C.'' has been providing the leading Asian Pacific American (APA) news to the community since its inception in 1929. The newspaper is published by the

Japanese American Citizens League The is an Asian American civil rights charity, headquartered in San Francisco, with regional chapters across the United States. The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) describes itself as the oldest and largest Asian American civil right ...

, JACL, which is the nation’s oldest and largest APA civil rights organization.

World War II coverage

Founded over 80 years ago, the ''P.C.'' was initially called {{Nihongo, Nikkei Shimin, 日系市民, Nikkei Shimin, meaning Japanese American Citizen. The publication was based in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. The publication’s name was officially changed to ''Pacific Citizen'' in 1931, chosen in a national contest. When

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

broke out, 120,000 Japanese Americans were interned. To keep the publication running smoothly, the newspaper was moved to

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. In Utah, editor Larry Tajiri was hired to run the then-weekly newspaper. The print newspaper evolved into a reputable news source under the leadership of Tajiri. Coverage during World War II included the chronicling of everyday life at the camps and the heroism of the Nisei (second generation Japanese American) soldiers. The Friends of the American Way nominated the ''P.C.'' for a

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

in 1946 for its journalism coverage. At war’s end in the early 1950s the ''P.C.'' returned to the West Coast to Los Angeles, California. On September 27, 1952 Tajiri put together his last ''P.C.'' newspaper as editor.

Redress coverage

Former ''Shin Nichibei'' staffer Harry K. Honda became editor when the newspaper moved to Los Angeles. Since its inception, the ''P.C.'' has been the meeting place for many well-known Japanese American journalists and community leaders like

Bill Hosokawa William Kunpei Hosokawa (January 30, 1915 – November 9, 2007) was an American writer and journalist. Of Japanese descent, while internment of Japanese Americans, interned at the Heart Mountain Relocation Center, he was the editor of the i ...

, Togo Tanaka,

Mike Masaoka Mike Masaru Masaoka ( ja, 正岡優, October 15, 1915 – June 26, 1991) was a Japanese-American lobbyist, author, and spokesman. He worked with the Japanese American Citizens League for over 30 years. He was a key player in encouraging cooperati ...

, Bill Marutani and Saburo Kido. The ''P.C''. also covered the Redress Movement, which sought to give reparations to

Japanese Americans are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...

, who were interned during World War II. The ''P.C.'' was there in the room when President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

signed the

Civil Liberties Act of 1988 The Civil Liberties Act of 1988 (, title I, August 10, 1988, , et seq.) is a United States federal law that granted reparations to Japanese Americans who had been wrongly interned by the United States government during World War II. The act was ...

granting Japanese Americans who were affected by the World War II internment an official apology letter and monetary compensation.

Today’s coverage

Today, the ''P.C.'' covers national news affecting the Asian Pacific American community. Coverage in the past years included exclusive interviews with 1st Lt.

Ehren Watada Ehren Keoni Watada (born 1978) is a former first lieutenant of the United States Army, best known as the first commissioned officer in the US armed forces to refuse to deploy to Iraq.

, who in June 2006, refused to deploy to Iraq for his unit's assigned rotation to

Operation Iraqi Freedom {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

citing the legality of the war. The newspaper has also focused on civil rights issues, including same-sex marriages in California and beyond. The ''P.C.'' Web site has generated over 450,000 hits per month since its launch in 2005. The ''P.C.’s'' Web site provides exclusive content and articles that are not found in the print edition. Currently, ''P.C.'' subscribers and JACL members can access an exclusive section of the PacificCitizen.org through the “MyP.C.” section. Today, the P.C. staff consists of: Caroline Aoyagi-Stom, executive editor; Lynda Lin, assistant editor; Staci Hisayasu, business manager; and Eva Lau-Ting, circulation manager. In 2005 Aoyagi-Stom won the New America Media Awards along with Lin, who also won the

New America Media New America Media (NAM) was a multimedia ethnic news agency and a coalition of ethnic media. Founded in 1996 by the nonprofit Pacific News Service, NAM was headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in Los Angeles, New York and Washington, ...

first place award in arts, sports and entertainment reporting in 2009. The ''P.C.'' celebrated its 80th anniversary in early 2009.

External links

Official websiteOfficial digital archives
* Robinson, Greg
"Pacific Citizen."
''

Densho Encyclopedia Densho is a nonprofit organization based in Seattle, Washington whose mission is “to preserve and share history of the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans to promote equity and justice today.” Densho collects video oral histories, photos, ...

''. Asian-American mass media Newspapers published in Greater Los Angeles Japanese-American press Japanese-American culture in Los Angeles Asian-American press Pacific Islands American culture in California Transitional justice