(continued)

Community and Industry Controversy

     In the spring and summer of 1970, after President Nixon had approved the invasion of Cambodia and the nation looked toward another long, hot summer of unrest in the ghettos, Chinese for Affirmative Action (which had been formed by Alice Barkley, Buddy Choy, L. Ling-chi Wang, and George Woo) released a study that showed Bay Area broadcasters were virtually "lily-white" in their hiring and employment practices, with only Belva Davis, Mel Knox, Mike Mills, and Ben Williams on the air, and Al Caldron, George Chong, Loni Ding, Willie Kee, Gimmy Park Li, Sam Lopez, George Lum, Bill Moore, Howard Yuen, and a few other non-Caucasians behind the scenes.

     This sparked controversy in the community and the industry.

     George Lum put his job on the line at KTVU. He helped to organize the community around the issue of hiring and sent a pointed letter to the East-West Chinese American newspaper, questioning the local stations' sincerity in eliminating discrimination in their hiring practices (July 15, 1970):

     "KRON and KCBS denied that they have in any way discriminated against hiring Chinese Americans?Mr. Jim Simon of KCBS was quoted in the Chronicle article as saying he 'has actively tried to recruit a Chinese American broadcaster' and he speaks of one in Phoenix. I know whom he speaks, for this young Chinese, Mr. Sam Chu Lin, called upon me a few years ago?

     The "gist of what I told him was that even as cosmopolitan as the San Francisco Bay Area seems to be, no radio or television station is going to hire an Oriental for on-the-air in Phoenix. Sam has now been quite successful on CBS radio feeds and on KOOL-TV on-air work in Phoenix. For your information, Mr. Simon and Mr. See [KRON], only a couple of months ago I spoke to Sam Chu Lin in regard to the news personnel changes here at KTVU, and I know that a phone call from either of you would bring him running.

     "The phrase 'Equal Opportunity Employer' used by Mr. See and Mr. Simon are nice words to hear, but for the Chinese American, it still means behind the scenes work in broadcasting. One picture would truly be worth a thousand of your words."

     The battle was joined, to open up the public's airwaves.

     The Chinese and other ethnic American communities began to pressure the stations to adhere to new federal equal opportunity guidelines. There was added pressure from the government because the stations' licenses to broadcast and operate were up for renewal before the Federal Communications Commission. They also had to show they were serving the interests of the community in their programming.

     Suddenly job applications from Chinese Americans appeared from out of nowhere, especially from those already in the business like Christopher Chow, Connie Chung, Suzanne Joe, Sam Chu Lin, and David Louie. Before this, many an applicant was openly laughed at for even thinking of applying for an on-air job. But in San Francisco, the historical capital of our community, once a Chinese American hit the commercial airwaves, the concept of an Asian American on-air person gained currency.

     Christopher Chow quickly established himself as a capable, insightful reporter, distinguished for his writing and his enterprising investigations into Chinatown youth gangs, land reforms and California agribusiness, and other social issues. When he let his hair grow long he tested the industry's tolerance for diversity and its limits of non-conformity. By the age of twenty-two he had earned the Northern California Associated Press Award of Merit for his Chinatown documentary. The next year he became the first Asian American reporter to win a local Emmy Award for Best Documentary. His work established the credibility of Asian Americans as on-air reporters in the San Francisco Bay Area.

     Chow was so successful that other stations tried to woo him away from Channel 5. When he decided to stay at what was then the top station in the market, it didn't take long for other stations to begin looking around for their own Asian tokens, as long as they didn't have an accent or look like chop suey. And especially when, even as tokens, they didn't need much training or development.

     The stations wanted on-air personalities fully formed.  KGO brought in David Louie from ABC Chicago. Suzanne Joe was supposedly "lured away" from Oakland's KTVU by KRON. In actuality, she had assiduously positioned herself to be in the right place at the right time by banging on doors and taking "token" positions at KCBS radio, KGO-TV, and KTVU-TV. When KRON went looking for a token, Suzanne Joe was ready, willing, and able when the call came. She proved herself with two Emmy nominations and coverage of major stories like the Patty Hearst kidnapping and the attempted assassination of President Ford.

     While Asian Americans were trying to penetrate the ranks of broadcast journalists, others were trying to break into the business side, including account executive (commercial time salesman) Don Yamate and Vic Lai, who would eventually become KPIX-TV's business manager. But these power centers of the business, like the club atmosphere of corporate boardrooms and top management, did not welcome minorities.

     One Chinese American understood that power lay in ownership (whoever controlled the purse strings calls the tune). Known as the "Father of Chinese television" in America, Leo Chen had the ambition, talent, and guts to pull all his personal resources and start the first Chinese language television in San Francisco, Am-Asia TV in 1973. He bought blocks of air time in KEMO-TV, Channel 20, and served as his own producer, interviewer, and newscaster. People cried with joy at seeing a Chinese program on television. Eventually, he was the first Chinese American to be granted a federal broadcast license (restricted to U.S. citizens).

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