MediaWatch: Ohtani Takes Tokyo and more
By Romen Basu Borsellino | 21 Mar, 2025

The latest in Sports, Journalism, Politics, and Outer-space

It’s Sho time!

The Los Angeles Dodgers kicked off the 2025 baseball season in Tokyo, Japan. The games, which pitted the defending World Series Champions against the Chicago Cubs, served the purpose of honoring Japanese-born Shohei Ohtani, debuting the Dodgers’ newest pitcher, Japanese-born Roki Sasaki, and attempting to win over an entire new generation of Japanese baseball fans. The success of the series was a win for all involved…except for the Chicago Cubs who lost both games. 

K.W. Lee, who was known as “The Godfather of Asian American Journalism” died this past week at age 96. His work was known for giving a voice to his fellow Korean-American immigrants, especially during the 1992 Rodney King-related riots, which led to the destruction of 2,000 Korean owned businesses. Lee sought to dispel a narrative that pitted Black and Korean communities against one another and instead shined a light on how both communities had been let down. Perhaps Lee’s most notable work was a series of over 100 articles on Chol Soo Lee, a Korean immigrant who had been found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. K.W. Lee’s work ultimately led to the inmate’s acquittal and release.

Rep Riley Moore, a Republican from West Virginia, has introduced a bill that bans any native Chinese students from coming to study in the United States. The bill was co-sponsored by another five members of the US House, all Republicans, and has been denounced by numerous Asian American organizations. In a statement accompanying the bill, Rep Moore said “It’s time we turn off the spigot and immediately ban all student visas going to Chinese nationals.” Turn off the spigot? I’d rather turn off this bigot.

And astronaut Jonny Kim will become the first Korean-American to travel into space. On April 8, he’ll launch to the International Space Station as Part of NASA’s Expedition 73. He’s set to be up there for 8 months which means he'll return just shy of getting to celebrate the most literal Lunar New Year ever. Kim, age 41, who joined NASA in 2017, is a physician, a US Navy Seal, a Harvard graduate, and an Iraq veteran, and Silver and Bronze Star Medal recipient. Hopefully he can finally feel accomplished after this.