True representation in mainstream media

“A really important pillar for me was that stories were told by the people who would live them,” said Keshia Hannam, Editor-in-Chief of 500-backed media platform Eastern Standard Times (EST). “I go to them and say what story do you want to tell? And then we fund it.”
After a brief hiatus from journalism, brought about by a disappointment in the lack of Asian representation in mainstream media, Keshia moved to Australia to take the helm at EST with a renewed sense of vigor.
The goal? To make the East standard — as standard as the West. “I feel like that’s part of our responsibility to make sure that people feel like their stories in these countries — where typically there isn’t a large media industry for humanity-based stories — has legs to kind of be seen,” she explained.
EST aims to be a hybrid of Vice Media and New York Times. Each week the team produces short-form videos for Gen Z Asians created by a group of women who were born and raised in Asia and now work in diaspora markets.
Some of the stories the platform has told are of Kee Moo, a queer group from Northern Thailand who talk about their identity and journey, as well as a mini-documentary about Chinese-Australian sculptor NC Qin, who turns fragile glass into weapons and armor. EST is currently promoting an episode on the billion-dollar hair industry and its exploitation of Asian women.
But Keshia is ambitious yet careful about how she positions EST. “I don’t want to become a special interest company,” she said. “I feel like we need to actually start infiltrating Channel Seven’s, the Channel Nine’s of the world. I don’t think it serves us to keep being like ‘if you like exotic content,’ [come to us].”
Read the full interview here.

Stories you may have missed this week:

GXS Bank, Singapore’s first digital bank by Grab and Singtel, launches savings account with up to 1.58% annual interest rates
Cargobase builds the world’s first Autonomous Transport Management System to help businesses go digital affordably
Nas Academy and YGG launch Web3 Metaversity to teach future skills and uncover new income opportunities
Bukalapak and Standard Chartered launch BukaTabungan, a fully paperless service for the underbanked in Indonesia
Gilmour Space Technologies and Commercial Space Technologies signed an agreement to offer an affordable launch solution to satellite customers.
A consortium including Carsome that won one of five Malaysian digital bank licenses aims to serve small businesses.
Grab and Coca-Cola announced an integrated regional partnership to unlock growth opportunities in a booming digital consumer market.

Eastern Standard Times

Daily Markup #590: Eastern Standard Times wants to make minority voices mainstream, and more from this week