Profile: Alan Wang
Robert Carey
Issue date: 5/14/09 Last update: 5/6/09 at 2:15 PM PST
Section: Features
I must be honest and admit to breaking one of T.V. anchorman Alan Wang's rules of journalism: "Go into every story with a blank slate; being objective and unbiased." Some TV "newsreaders" appear robotic, almost plastic and that's how I expected the KGO TV reporter to come across. I've never tuned into one of his newscasts before, but most certainly will now, especially if his reporting is half as interesting as he is in person.
Growing up in Lincoln, Nebraska, as an Asian in the Sixties was quite an experience for the award-winning journalist; in general, American feelings towards Asians were negative. World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam were still very much on people's minds. Children often pointed at Wang (pronounced Wong), shouting, "Kill the Jap, kill the Jap."
Most television shows shared a similar view. Wang found it difficult to connect with heroes, like John Wayne, who didn't look like himself. At the time, the only Asians seen on television were dumb Japanese soldiers who would frequently walk into bullets from American guns, or perhaps a servant of a wealthy white family. "But you can't change the way you look," says Wang. "It made me conscious of the way images shape the way you perceive others and others perceive you."
After surviving childhood, Wang studied journalism at the University of Texas, as a print journalist. He liked T.V. and worked the camera at the college station, but never considered appearing in front of the camera; at the time, an Asian male reporter was almost unheard of.
But his future was shaped when asked to fill in for an absent anchorman; he read the teleprompter and has never looked back. Thankfully, the television industry has evolved since viewers performed double takes at the sight of an Asian woman reading the news. Wang recalls screaming, "There's a Chinese person on T.V!" as he theatrically reenacts his dad's reaction to seeing reporter Connie Chung for the first time.
Clearly, narrow thinking in some areas of the country continue to limit markets for minorities in the media. Wang believes that "the anchorman is seen as the identity of the station, someone who reflects the community." But he reveals that Atlanta, a city with a large African American community, is unlikely to employ anyone but a white anchorman.
Growing up in Lincoln, Nebraska, as an Asian in the Sixties was quite an experience for the award-winning journalist; in general, American feelings towards Asians were negative. World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam were still very much on people's minds. Children often pointed at Wang (pronounced Wong), shouting, "Kill the Jap, kill the Jap."
Most television shows shared a similar view. Wang found it difficult to connect with heroes, like John Wayne, who didn't look like himself. At the time, the only Asians seen on television were dumb Japanese soldiers who would frequently walk into bullets from American guns, or perhaps a servant of a wealthy white family. "But you can't change the way you look," says Wang. "It made me conscious of the way images shape the way you perceive others and others perceive you."
After surviving childhood, Wang studied journalism at the University of Texas, as a print journalist. He liked T.V. and worked the camera at the college station, but never considered appearing in front of the camera; at the time, an Asian male reporter was almost unheard of.
But his future was shaped when asked to fill in for an absent anchorman; he read the teleprompter and has never looked back. Thankfully, the television industry has evolved since viewers performed double takes at the sight of an Asian woman reading the news. Wang recalls screaming, "There's a Chinese person on T.V!" as he theatrically reenacts his dad's reaction to seeing reporter Connie Chung for the first time.
Clearly, narrow thinking in some areas of the country continue to limit markets for minorities in the media. Wang believes that "the anchorman is seen as the identity of the station, someone who reflects the community." But he reveals that Atlanta, a city with a large African American community, is unlikely to employ anyone but a white anchorman.
Be the first to comment on this story