Ann Lee, a member of AAJA-LA and a reporter at The Korea Daily, offers an inside look into The Korea Daily business operations.  Executive leaders at the media company have made changes with the understanding that they will not be forever immune to the struggles taking place within the large newspaper industry.

By ANN LEE/ AAJA-LA

THE KOREA DAILY (JOONGANG ILBO) – They made their last calls, typed their last words, adjusted their last headlines, and carpooled past burned sections of the Los Angeles Forest to a secluded campground. It would be a long night of team-building and re-visioning for the newspaper and radio staff of The Korea Daily (known in Korean as Joong-ang Ilbo).

Leaders of the company expect that harnessing multi-platform storytelling is the way to go in the near future, especially in uniting the Asian American community. The Korean newspaper plans to bridge communities through coverage, content, and collaboration.

Many of the news staff have been at The Korea Daily for decades. Some have just joined the newsroom. Everyone was contemplating ahead to the next decade, wondering what the future was for their newspaper and for journalism.

In the midst of a discouraging economic time for journalism, ethnic media companies are not immune to the economic downturn and questions of journalism’s future, especially in print. So far, The Korea Daily’s 260,000 US-based print subscribers hold loyal to both the company and the newspaper, but leaders of the company expect that harnessing multi-platform storytelling is the way to go in the near future, especially in uniting the Asian American community. The Korean newspaper plans to bridge communities through coverage, content, and collaboration.

Affiliated with Samsung, The Korea Daily has grown as part of a mega-media company called, Joongang Media Network, and started in Korea in 1965. Nearly ten years later, the company established a U.S. presence in Los Angeles and is currently also in New York, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Chicago, and San Francisco. In total, JMnet consists of five newspapers, three cable channels, three internet sites, and twelve magazines with a media reaching power of 28 million people.

In Los Angeles, where The Korea Daily has its largest base outside of Korea, refreshed teamwork and re-visioning are the foundation for “killer content” – “informative, interesting, and touching.” With lofty plans to continue delivering news and content on as many platforms as possible, the biggest Korean media network in America sees no signs of a downturn. They’re revving up for the next decade.