What’s next for Sahan Journal? Our new leader wants to hear from you

At 8 a.m, this morning, I helped shepherd my kids out the door for their first full week of school, and then steered my way into St. Paul for my first official day as the Executive Director of Sahan Journal. The experience filled me with pride, excitement, and (like my kids) maybe a few first-day jitters.

For five years now, these letters have come to you from Mukhtar Ibrahim, Sahan’s founder and CEO. And while I’m eager to introduce myself to you all — the readers, members, and supporters who’ve been such essential partners in Sahan’s success — I want to start by expressing my deep appreciation for the work Mukhtar has done. Under his leadership, Sahan Journal has grown from a bold vision into a unique and vital institution, serving our community with dedication, integrity, and a commitment to telling stories that matter.

So who is this Vanan guy, you ask? Maybe I can start by sharing a few words about where I come from and how that experience led me to Sahan Journal.

I grew up in Malaysia, a multiracial society with a rich tapestry of cultures. There, I was exposed to a variety of newspapers in different languages. Each community had its own stories, told by reporters who were part of those communities and could represent the unique perspectives and issues they faced.

This diversity in storytelling was invaluable, but one thing remained notably absent: the ability of the press to hold power accountable. In the United States, the best journalists published stories that challenged the most powerful players in government and business and exposed their misdeeds;  in Malaysia, a state and a society with limited freedoms, that kind of muckraking journalism proved rare and often impossible.

With that context, you can only imagine the awe I felt when I first  watched “All the President’s Men.” This was more than 20 years ago, when I moved to Madison, Wisconsin, to get a university degree in mechanical engineering. While that field struck me as interesting enough,  I was blown away to discover the power journalists wielded to bring about change.

But that’s not the end of the story. Not long after moving to the U.S., I began to see a more complicated picture. While the press is indeed powerful here, that power has not been accessible to all communities. I learned that lesson every day during my deeply rewarding tenure at Pillsbury United Communities (PUC), a nonprofit that serves diverse communities in Minneapolis with health care, education, professional training, and community resources.

As PUC’s head of transformation, I led successful projects in innovation and entrepreneurialism. These initiatives exposed me to the steep challenges and inequalities faced by immigrant and diverse communities in Minneapolis — and also to the deep well of talent, passion, and resilience these communities possess.

Two of the Pillsbury enterprises that excited me most were North News and KRSM radio: news and information sources that grew out of the Black and brown communities of north Minneapolis. My task in leading these projects was to help them achieve financial sustainability. But what I loved about the work was the opportunity to help these community media voices share untold stories — and to see the enthusiastic response of large, eager audiences.

That’s what drew me to Sahan Journal. Even as a young newsroom, Sahan embodies that same mission: telling the “All the President’s Men” stories, but from the perspective of communities of color, for communities of color.

Enough about me. The question you must have is, What’s next for Sahan Journal ? There are a couple of answers here. Groundbreaking journalism that informs and serves immigrant communities in the Twin Cities and across Minnesota? You can count on it. Community engagement that uncovers the stories that need to be told? Another yes. An organization that puts equity first and develops strong revenue and support from advertising, membership, and philanthropy? Call me a management dweeb: This is genuinely the kind of work I love to do.

Above all, though, I want to share the trait I value most as a leader: the act of listening and including everyone at Sahan in fulfilling a shared mission and offering service to the community.

And that act of listening includes you.

My first goal for the next six months is to hear from our readers, members, advertisers, and supporters. How can Sahan Journal become the resource that communities of color want, need, and deserve? What do you love about Sahan’s news coverage? What do you want to know about how our newsroom works and the values behind our news choices?

Before I sign off (for now), thank you for your continued support and belief in Sahan Journal. I’m so grateful for the amazing and dedicated Sahan team that brought us this far, and I’m thrilled to come to the table and help write Sahan’s next chapter. Thanks for reading.

Warm regards,

Vanan Murugesan
Executive Director of Sahan Journal
vanan@sahanjournal.com

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