Jeff Yang Collection on A. Magazine
Call Number
Date
Creator
Extent
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
A. Magazine: Inside Asian America was an East-Coast-based magazine that reported on issues geared towards a young, Asian American audience. During the height of circulation, A. Magazine was the largest magazine dedicated to Asian American pop-culture, politics, traditions, and achievements. Through 1998-1999 A. Magazine sales and profitability reached a market-competitive level with an increase in circulation and advertising. At the height of publication, A. Magazine reached a circulation high of 200,000, becoming the best selling Asian American serial in the country. The Jeff Yang Collection on A. Magazine (dated 1974-2024) consists of materials created and collected by Yang documenting A. Magazine's creation, publication, management, and impact, as well as other projects from Metro East Publications/aMedia. Materials include press coverage, business records, event programs, issues of A. Magazine, and issues of Chinese language newspapers and magazines. The collection also includes administrative records and correspondence regarding Metro East Publications and aMedia, including litigation, financial records, accounting reports, and business summaries, as well as meeting notes and correspondence regarding the Board of Directors and shareholders. Also included is a electronic recording of an interview of Yang conducted by the Asian/Pacific/American Institute at New York University, in which Yang discusses his life and the creation of A. Magazine.
Biographical Note
Jeff Yang is a writer, journalist, and business consultant. He was a co-creator and publisher of A. Magazine, an East-Coast-based magazine geared towards a young, Asian American audience.
Historical Note
A. Magazine was an East-Coast-based magazine geared towards a young, Asian American audience. During the height of circulation, A. Magazine was the largest magazine dedicated to Asian American pop-culture, politics, traditions, and achievements in the United States. In 1989, Jeff Yang, William Yao, Sandra Kim, and Amy Chu met in Cambridge, Massachusetts to discuss the need for a national publication that would speak to, for, and about Asian Americans, and launched Metro East Publications (MEP). In 1990, MEP released the first official issue of A. Magazine, produced by a small team of volunteer staff led by Yang. At its initial launch, A. Magazine was a community-based publication with limited national circulation. There were no paid advertisements and all funding for the project was secured through community fundraising events. In 1993, the company relaunched A. Magazine as a commercial publication; they opened their first permanent office space in New York City and hired new full-time staff, including advertising salespersons and administrative assistants. Through 1998-1999 A. Magazine sales and profitability reached a market-competitive level with an increase in circulation and advertising. At the height of publication, A. Magazine reached a circulation high of 200,000, becoming the best selling Asian American serial in the country. After a name change to aMagazine and a new parent company in aMedia, the publication ceased in 2002.
Scope and Contents
The Jeff Yang Collection on A. Magazine (dated 1974-2024) consists of materials created and collected by Yang documenting A. Magazine's creation, publication, management, and impact, as well as other projects from Metro East Publications/aMedia. Materials include press coverage, business records, event programs, issues of A. Magazine, and issues of Chinese language newspapers and magazines. The collection also includes administrative records and correspondence regarding Metro East Publications and aMedia, including litigation, financial records, accounting reports, and business summaries, as well as meeting notes and correspondence regarding the Board of Directors and shareholders. Also included is a electronic recording of an interview of Yang conducted by the Asian/Pacific/American Institute at New York University, in which Yang discusses his life and the creation of A. Magazine.
Subjects
Genres
People
Donors
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
This collection is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use materials in the collection in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Jeff Yang Collection on A Magazine; TAM 858; box number; folder number or item identifier; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Jeff Yang in September 2025; the accession number associated with this gift is 2025.083. Two issues of A Magazine were set aside at the A/P/A offices for photography, and were transferred to the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives in February 2026; the accession number associated with this transfer is 2026.034.
Born-Digital Access Policies and Procedures
Advance notice is required for the use of computer records. Original physical digital media is restricted. An access terminal for born-digital materials in the collection is available by appointment for reading room viewing and listening only. Researchers may view an item's original container and/or carrier, but the physical carriers themselves are not available for use because of preservation concerns.
Appraisal
The following items were appraised out the collection: a flash drive with a duplicate copy of an interview with Yang, a removable media card with commercial Asian comics, and floppy disks with a photograph and biography of Yang already in the physical collection.
About this Guide
Processing Information
At the time of accessioning, materials were rehoused in archival boxes and folders, maintaining the original order and file groupings established by the donor. New York University Libraries follow professional standards and best practices when imaging, ingesting, and processing born-digital material in order to maintain the integrity and authenticity of the content. Significant portions of the archival description in this guide were modified from a survey report completed by Daniella Occhineri in their capacity as a Graduate Archives Scholar with the A/P/A Institute. Two issues of A Magazine were set aside at the A/P/A offices for photography, and were transferred to the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives in February 2026; these materials were intellectually incorporated into the collection's existing alphabetical arrangement and physically housed in Box Shared Tamiment 211 Folder 5.
