On December 4th DIASPORA launched its fundraising campaign as it enters its nonprofit era!
The cocktails and lumpia flowed at Sampa as I made the big announcement that DIASPORA is pivoting and expanding to become a media organization.
In addition to launching a journalism mentorship program for underrepresented voices, DIASPORA is set to launch two new podcasts in 2026. One being a new pop culture podcast YNR: Yamato N Ramos with journalist, Jen Yamato as well as The Diaspora Review, an old-school movie review podcast a la Siskel & Ebert where I will welcome a different, bonafide film critic every week to discuss our opinions about the films hitting theaters. No influencers. No PR strings attached. No filter. It’s just two journalists discussing the week’s films and keeping it 100.
DIASPORA has also added a local calendar of events, a pop culture “DIASPORA Dossier” section, and a “DIASPORA Library” to the flagship site.
Download the special hard copy “re-launch edition” of DIASPORA which includes our plans for 2026.
Click here to view more photos. (Please post on socials and tag @realdiaspora and @dinoray. Photo credit goes to Bia Catbagan – @bcatbagan) Video courtesy of Andrea Walter (@andreaxwalter) .
As we continue raising funds to launch DIASPORA’s 2026 initiatives and programs, we deeply appreciate any additional support you can offer. Donations for our first round of fundraising will be accepted through December 31 as we try to reach our goal of $25,000 for Q1. For donations please contribute via GoFundMe.
Your contributions—big or small—help us cultivate and bolster a more inclusive, equitable media landscape and empower untold stories and underrepresented voices. Any kind of contribution is a good contribution! And any and all help is greatly appreciated!
ICYMI: DIASPORA was originally launched as a Hollywood trade publication to focus on underrepresented voices in the film and TV industry. In the DIASPORA re-launch, we keep the spirit of the original mission but broaden the scope as the media landscape and the world change.
DIASPORA is expanding its lens and is dedicated to amplifying untold stories and underrepresented voices in arts and culture through insightful journalism, education, and community engagement and advocacy.
Media should inform, challenge the status quo, and inspire mine — and DIASPORA is all about that. Media should also be governed and democratized by the readers and those who build culture from the ground up rather than corporate entities that are limited in vision and are constrained by commerce.
While entertainment publications and media platforms chase trends to serve the manufactured moments of fleeting gratification, DIASPORA looks to thoughtfully mine art and untold stories to help drive our culture.
Through art and culture, we connect stories to the human spirit, building bridges across experiences and bolstering dialogue that sparks change. DIASPORA sees film, TV, books, music, art, and other forms of media as both a mirror and a catalyst – a reflection of an array of realities and a force for a more just, inclusive, and imaginative future.
DIASPORA is where journalism inspires art, truth shapes culture, and voices fuel power.
It’s a media organization for us, by us.
C’MON FUBU!
… and one more time: here’s that link to GoFundMe for donations. Your support is greatly appreciated!
