Launch HN: The Juggernaut (YC W19) – A Publication for the South Asian Diaspora
Hi HN! I’m Snigdha, founder of The Juggernaut (<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.thejuggernaut.com" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.thejuggernaut.com</a>), a subscription publication for the South Asian diaspora. We charge &lt;$5&#x2F;month for original stories on South Asia and its people. I’d love your feedback — new subscribers get a free week trial :)<p>I’m Indian-American and grew up in New York. Being Indian wasn&#x27;t cool growing up. Western media mostly focused on South Asia&#x27;s poverty (Slumdog Millionaire) or stereotypes (Apu, taxi drivers). That started to change as I grew older. I saw more South Asians in the news — from those in spelling bees, which I used to participate in, to presidential candidate Kamala Harris, to tech CEOs like Sundar Pichai and Satya Nadella. I realized I didn’t know what was going on in the region or with South Asians nationally, let alone in my own city. My mom would forward me news on WhatsApp and I couldn’t talk to her about it meaningfully. I also found that journalism was becoming targeted: The Athletic for Sports, The Infatuation for food, Blavity for black millennials. And I noticed that as China grew, publications started China sections and readers loved Bill Bishop’s Sinocism, a newsletter with sharp China analysis. But there was no national, inclusive, well-reported publication for South Asians, the fastest growing demographic in the US and the largest diaspora in the world.<p>So, every weekend, I’d write a email newsletter (<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.inkmango.com" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.inkmango.com</a>) linking to the best articles on South Asia(ns) with my thoughts on a pressing issue, from the Harvard affirmative action lawsuit to South Asian representation in Crazy Rich Asians. The newsletter grew to the thousands. After doing this for a few months, I realized linking to other publications wasn&#x27;t enough. I was craving coverage I wasn&#x27;t seeing. That’s why I decided to figure out what it would take to start a new publication with our own reported stories. We called it The Juggernaut.<p>We are starting with one new story a weekday. Our stories have included profiles on South Asian founders, an interview with comedian Hari Kondabolu, an essay on the erasure of Freddie Mercury&#x27;s brownness, and an exploration of the rise of the Subtle Curry Traits Facebook group.<p>Media is difficult. People like free content. We launched behind a paywall because it allows us to pay journalists well and quickly, and invest in better journalism. And paid doesn’t mean exorbitant. I’d love to know — what publications do you read and why? What makes you want to pay for something? What pitfalls should we watch out for? Happy to answer any questions&#x2F;comments; you can also email me at snigdha@thejuggernaut.com.