2009
ASIAN AMERICAN JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION • ANNUAL REPORT
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AAJA NATIONAL OFFICE 1182 MARKET STREET, SUITE 320 SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94102 T: 415.346.2051 | F: 415.346.6343 E: NATIONAL@AAJA.ORG
AAJA’S MISSION IS TO PROVIDE A MEANS OF ASSOCIATION AND SUPPORT AMONG ASIAN
WWW.AAJA.ORG EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Kathy Chow INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Maya Blackmun (July through December 2009) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Ellen Endo (through May 2009)
AMERICAN AND PACIFIC
DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Janice Lee
ISLANDER (AAPI) JOURNALISTS;
MEMBERSHIP & CHAPTER DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Antonio M. Salas, MDIV, MA
PROVIDE ENCOURAGEMENT, INFORMATION, ADVICE AND
PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS COORDINATOR Albert Lee STUDENT PROGRAMS COORDINATOR Nao Vang EVENTS & FUNDRAISING COORDINATOR Annabelle Udo-O’Malley
SCHOLARSHIP ASSISTANCE TO
ACCOUNTANT (CONSULTANT) Glenn Sugihara
AAPI STUDENTS WHO ASPIRE
BOOKKEEPER (CONSULTANT) Karen Sugihara
TO PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISM CAREERS; PROVIDE TO THE AAPI
NATIONAL OFFICERS NATIONAL PRESIDENT Sharon Pian Chan Staff Reporter, The Seattle Times *
COMMUNITY AN AWARENESS
NATIONAL VICE PRESIDENT FOR BROADCAST George Kiriyama News Reporter, NBC Bay Area News *
OF NEWS MEDIA AND AN
NATIONAL VICE PRESIDENT FOR PRINT Janet H. Cho Business Reporter, The Plain Dealer *
UNDERSTANDING OF HOW TO GAIN FAIR ACCESS; AND,
NATIONAL SECRETARY Doris Truong Copy Editor, The Washington Post * NATIONAL TREASURER Candace Heckman Freelance Journalist*
RESEARCH AND POINT OUT WHEN
NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD
NEWS MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS
ARIZONA Abe Kwok Director, News Now Center, azcentral/The Arizona Republic*
STRAY FROM ACCURACY AND FAIRNESS IN THE COVERAGE OF AAPI’S.
ASIA Tomoko A. Hosaka Reporter, The Associated Press ATLANTA Kim Bui Executive Producer, CNN CHICAGO Lorene Yue Crain’s Chicago Business FLORIDA Paul Cheung Deputy Multimedia Presentation Editor, The Miami Herald* HAWAI’I Stanley Lee High School Sports Reporter, The Honolulu Advertiser LOS ANGELES Leezel Tanglao Online News Producer, CBS2/KCAL9
2009 Total Membership: 1568 67% Professionals 26% Students 7% Other Gender 67% Women 33% Men Ethnicity 37% Chinese 13% Korean 13% Japanese 11% Filipino 10% Southeast Asian 5% South Asian 1% Middle Eastern 2% Multiracial 2% Caucasian/White 1% Pacific Islander 1% African American/Black 0* Hispanic/Latino 5% Unknown/Other (*less than one percent)
MICHIGAN Frank Witsil Copy Editor, Detroit Free Press* MINNESOTA Nancy Ngo, Features Reporter, St. Paul Pioneer Press NEW ENGLAND Tara Arden-Smith Principal, AspicioMedia NEW YORK Bob Der Managing Editor, Sports Ilustrated Kids* / Cheryl Tan, Freelance Journalist* NORTH CAROLINA Ellen Sung Freelance Editor PHILADELPHIA Steve Bien-Aime Staff Editor, FOXSports.com PORTLAND Jason Lim Community Outreach Coordinator, The Asian Reporter Newspaper SACRAMENTO Bobby Caina Calvan Staff Writer, The Sacramento Bee SAN DIEGO Don Chareunsy Editor, Vegas Deluxe.com* SAN FRANCISO Ellen Lee Freelance Journalist / Matt Dunn Freelance Television Director* SEATTLE Chris Nishikawa Freelance Journalist / Athima Chansanchai Freelance Writer and Consultant TEXAS Tom Huang Sunday & Enterprise Editor, The Dallas Morning News WASHINGTON DC Sherri Ly Reporter, WTTG/ FOX5 REPRESENTING AT-LARGE MEMBERS Lu’isa Mataele Freelance Media Professional * GOVERNING BOARD OFFICERS
The Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) was founded in 1981 by a few Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) journalists who felt a need to support one another and to encourage more Asian American and Pacific Islanders to pursue journalism at a time when there were few Asian American and Pacific Islander faces in the media. AAJA owes its founding to the vision of a small group of Los Angeles journalists. They included Tritia Toyota and Frank Kwan of KNBC-TV News; Bill Sing, Nancy Yoshihara and David Kishiyama of the Los Angeles Times; and, Dwight Chuman of Rafu Shimpo, a local Japanese American Newspaper. AAJA’s expansion into a truly national organization took off in 1985 with the formation of additional chapters. As a non-profit educational organization with approximately 1,600 members in 20 chapters across the U.S. and Asia, AAJA’s largest membership bases are generally concentrated in metropolitan areas on the West Coast (Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle), East Coast (New York City and Washington, D.C.) and Mid-West (Chicago). Members are also organized in other areas throughout the U.S. (Arizona, Atlanta, Florida, Hawaii, Michigan, Minnesota, New England, North Carolina, Philadelphia, Portland, Sacramento, Texas, and San Diego). In addition, AAJA has a growing number of members working throughout Asia -- in Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing, and Bangladesh, which underscores the rapid growth of media properties in Asia and points the way to future expansion of the organization. Close to one-quarter of AAJA’s members are students, attesting to the organization’s emphasis on bringing young people into the news business. AAJA has also relied on leadership in the community and Asian-language media. AAJA is proud to include among its members some of the top journalists in the country, from network news anchors and reporters to Pulitzer Prize-winning writers, editors and photographers, to national radio show producers and major magazine editors.
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2009 ANNUAL REPORT • ASIAN AMERICAN JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
This past year was the most challenging the Asian American Journalists Association has ever faced. Our historically strong support base of media sponsors struggled to stay in business and, in some cases, closed their doors. Our members lost their jobs amid budget cuts sweeping the industry. We faced the same financial challenges as our media partners and ended 2009 with a deficit of $207,000. We cut expenses dramatically, but we reached a point where we could not cut more deeply and maintain our commitments to you, our supporters. We borrowed from our national endowment to cover our cash positions, with the commitment to pay back the borrowed amounts in 2010. We also reached out to you. We built a new base of individual donors, raising $30,000 for our Power of One campaign to support our operations. Thanks to your support, we have survived this extraordinary downturn. In 2010, AAJA’s top priority is to build a sustainable financial future so we can continue to lead this industry. Our mission of encouraging Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to enter the ranks of journalism and ensuring fair and accurate coverage of our community has never been more important. We were leaders in advocating for Asian American journalists and coverage of our community. We pushed for the release of detained journalists Laura Ling, Euna Lee and Roxana Saberi. We ensured fair and accurate coverage of the Asian American community through Media Watch. We worked with Asian American community members on getting their stories told through a media access workshop. As newsrooms made deep cuts, AAJA advocated for journalists of color and strategized with newsrooms on how to retain and grow diversity. We also invested in the future by building a strong pipeline of Asian American journalists. Forty-two students graduated from J Camp, our multicultural high school journalism boot camp, and 12 college students were trained through Voices, a multiplatform newsroom covering our convention. Twenty-one mid-career journalists graduated from the Executive Leadership Program with the skills to lead future newsrooms of the country. Close to 700 members gathered at our national convention to get the most innovative training in digital storytelling and leadership. In a time of massive change, our members drew strength from the training, inspiration and support of the AAJA family. Thank you for being a member of that family. With your support, the AAJA family will only grow stronger.
SHARON CHAN Staff Reporter, The Seattle Times
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2009 ANNUAL REPORT • ASIAN AMERICAN JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION
STUDENT PROGRAMS
J CAMP FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AAJA has been a leading force in developing a multicultural journalism training environment for top high school students across the country. Since 2001, AAJA has offered an annual six-day program that brings together a multicultural group of high school juniors, sophomores and freshmen to sharpen their journalism skills and explore newsroom diversity. Students from throughout the
‘
WHO KNOWS WHERE THE WIND WILL TAKE ME, BUT THE THINGS YOU HAVE
country get hands-on training by writing stories, practicing
DONE FOR OTHERS, AND ME, ARE INDESCRIBABLE. THANK YOU. Christreau Aumer, 2008 CNN Scholarship Winner
photojournalism, and reporting television news. Mentors, teachers and speakers are top print and broadcast journalists. In 2009, J Camp was held at Emerson College
’
in Boston. To date, AAJA’s J Camp has graduated 377 students, many of whom are pursuing journalism and communications in college and starting careers in the industry. J CAMP 2009 WAS MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH A GRANT FROM THE ANNIE E. CASEY FOUNDATION. ADDITIONAL SUPPORT WAS PROVIDED BY BLOOMBERG; ESPN; THE MCCLATCHY COMPANY; THE PHILLIP L. GRAHAM FUND; JENNIFER 8 LEE, REPORTER, THE NEW YORK TIMES; THE AAJA NATIONAL ENDOWMENT; AND INDIVIDUAL DONORS AND PARENTS OF ALUMNI. SPECIAL THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING AAJA CHAPTERS FOR THEIR SPONSORSHIPS OF STUDENTS: AAJA CHICAGO, AAJA LOS ANGELES, AAJA MINNESOTA, AAJA NEW ENGLAND, AAJA SACRAMENTO, AAJA TEXAS, AND AAJA WASHINGTON D.C.
CONVENTION NEWS PROJECT Just as newsrooms across the country are adjusting to operate with smaller staffing and new technology, the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) redesigned its student convention project to simulate the convergence newsroom of today. This unique program offers 12 promising journalism students an all-expenses paid opportunity for building skills and developing their portfolios and participate in pre-convention training that will include interactive online courses in interviewing, multimedia, ethics, and an option of visual and audio techniques. Students are also given preconvention assignments covering issues related to the journalism industry today and/or the Asian American/Pacific Islander community. Students work with a variety of seasoned media professionals who mentor students and teach their experiences in news editing, production and design. The students’ works were featured and updated around-the-clock on the convention website and in a magazine-style publication distributed to convention attendees on the final day of convention. The 2009 Convention News Project was directed by Marian Liu, a Seattle Times reporter who practices mobile journalism.
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2009 ANNUAL REPORT • ASIAN AMERICAN JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION
SCHOLARSHIPS/INTERNSHIPS
Since its inception, AAJA has awarded more than $1.5 million in scholarship and internship grants to more than 500 students nationally and through AAJA’s local chapters. During 2009, the following were recipients of national scholarships, internship grants and media internships: Journalism Scholarships
Media Internships
CNN: TOTALLING $25,000 OVER FOUR YEARS TO GRADUATING HIGH SCHOOL
NBC SUMMER PARTNERSHIP: NBC UNIVERSAL OFFERS TWO STUDENTS THE
STUDENTS TO DEVELOP A CAREER IN TELEVISION NEWS:JACKELYN HO, UNION
OPPORTUNITY TO BECOME NBC FELLOWS AND JOIN AN NBC PROGRAM AS INTERNS
CITY, CALIFORNIA, JAMES LOGAN HIGH SCHOOL.
RECEIVING $5,000 EACH: MARIA HECHANOVA OF GLENDALE, ARIZONA, A SENIOR ATTENDING NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY, AND LAURA J. FONG OF SAN
COX FOUNDATION: ANNA KIM,CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA, UNIVERSITY
FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, A JUNIOR ATTENDING THE UNIVERSITY OF OREGON.
OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL, AND KEVIN SHIN OF NEW YORK, NEW YORK,COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, RECEIVED $1,250 TO PURSUE CAREERS IN PRINT,
SPORTS JOURNALISM INSTITUTE: SJI OFFERS THIS EIGHT-WEEK TRAINING AND
BROADCAST OR PHOTO JOURNALISM.
$500 INTERNSHIP AT A SPORTS DEPARTMENT OF A DAILY NEWSPAPER. THIS YEAR’S INTERN IS ANNA KIM OF CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA, A SENIOR ATTENDING THE
S.I. NEWHOUSE FOUNDATION: FIVE STUDENTS RECEIVED $5,000 SCHOLARSHIPS
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL.
EACH TO PURSUE CAREERS IN PRINT OR ONLINE JOURNALISM: EVA DOU, GROSSE POINTE, MICHIGAN, UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI; ELIZABETH GYORI, WARREN,
SIANI LEE BROADCAST INTERNSHIP: NAMED IN HONOR OF THE LATE TELEVISION
NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY; PATRICK LEE, SOUTH BARRINGTON,
NEWS ANCHOR WHO WAS CONSIDERED THE FIRST ASIAN AMERICAN ANCHOR IN
ILLINOIS, YALE UNIVERSITY; ALEXANDER LIU, SARATOGA, CALIFORNIA, COLUMBIA
PHILADELPHIA, THIS INTERNSHIP IS HELD DURING THE SUMMER AT CBS AFFILIATE
UNIVERSITY; AND GRACE SUN, HOUSTON, TEXAS, HARVARD UNIVERSITY.
KYW-TV. DEBORY LI OF CHINO, CALIFORNIA, A FIRST-YEAR GRADUATE STUDENT ATTENDING THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, IS THIS YEAR’S INTERN
MARY MOY QUAN ING MEMORIAL: THIS $2,000 SCHOLARSHIP WAS ESTABLISHED
AND WILL RECEIVE A STIPEND OF $2,500.
IN MEMORY OF THE MOTHER OF A RETIRED WASHINGTON POST EDITOR: ANNIE CHANG, NORMAN, OKLAHOMA, NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY.
AAJA THANKS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FOR THEIR OUTREACH FOR INTERNS FROM THE ASIAN AMERICAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER COMMUNITY.
AAJA THANKS THE WALL STREET JOURNAL/DOW JONES FOUNDATION FOR THEIR
Student Programs Judges
SUPPORT FOR THIS YEAR’S SCHOLARSHIPS.
AAJA NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS AAJA HAS ESTABLISHED A JOE GRIMM SCHOLARSHIP FUND, IN HONOR OF THE
SHERRI LY, REPORTER, WTTG/FOX 5
MICHIGAN MEMBER WHO HAS RECRUITED AND MENTORED COUNTLESS YOUNG
HANAH CHO, BUSINESS WRITER, THE BALTIMORE SUN
JOURNALISTS.
ALEX WONG, PHOTOJOURNALIST, GETTY IMAGES
Journalism Internship Grants
S.I. NEWHOUSE FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIPS
PRINT AND ONLINE NEWS GRANTS: THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE FOUNDATION MADE
DEBORAH HOWELL, CONSULTANT, ADVANCE PUBLICATIONS, INC.
IT POSSIBLE FOR AAJA TO AWARD $1,500 EACH TO SARIM NGO OF ELKIN’S PARK, PENNSYLVANIA, A SENIOR AT PENN STATE UNIVERSITY; ERIKA-DOROTHY
BROADCAST SCHOLARSHIPS, INTERNSHIPS/GRANTS
STREBEL OF HANOVER PARK, ILLINOIS, A JUNIOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
MARY-ROSE ABRAHAM, PLANNING EDITOR, ABC NETWORK NEWS
AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN; AND ELISA MALA OF NEW YORK, NEW YORK, A JUNIOR
RICHARD LUI, ANCHOR, HLN
ATTENDING QUEENS COLLEGE. NAMED IN HONOR OF THE FIRST ASIAN AMERICAN
LONNIE WONG, REPORTER, HOST FOR FOX 40 INFOCUS, KTXL-TV
EDITOR OF A MAJOR METROPOLITAN NEWSPAPER IN THE U.S., THE WILLIAM WOO INTERNSHIP FUND AWARDS $1,000 TO JUSTINE DRENNAN OF SAN MATEO,
PRINT AND ONLINE NEWS GRANTS
CALIFORNIA, A SOPHOMORE ATTENDING PRINCETON UNIVERSITY.
SANJAY BHATT, REPORTER, THE SEATTLE TIMES FLORANGELA DAVILA, FREELANCE JOURNALIST, KPLU-FM PUBLIC RADIO,
BROADCAST NEWS GRANTS: TWO GRANTS ARE NAMED IN HONOR OF
LECTURER, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION
ASIAN AMERICAN BROADCAST PIONEERS. THROUGH THE LLOYD LACUESTA
GREGORY HUANG, SEATTLE EDITOR, XCONOMY.COM
SCHOLARSHIP FUND, WENCONG CHEN OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA, A JUNIOR
KAREN RATHE, EDITOR, UW NEWS LAB, AND LECTURER, UNIVERSITY OF
ATTENDING EMORY COLLEGE, WILL RECEIVE $2,000. THROUGH THE SAM CHU
WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION
LIN BROADCAST GRANT FUND, KRISTINE WONG OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, A FIRST-YEAR GRADUATE STUDENT ATTENDING THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA,
STANFORD CHEN INTERNSHIP GRANTS
BERKELEY, WILL RECEIVE $2,500.
BETH ERICKSON, RIDGEFIELD, WASH.
STANFORD CHEN INTERNSHIP GRANTS: THESE GRANTS ARE AWARDED IN HONOR
MAYA BLACKMUN, FREELANCE JOURNALIST
JOANN NG, EDITOR, LISTINGS DESK, THE OREGONIAN OF A RESPECTED AAJA MEMBER WHO SPENT MUCH OF HIS CAREER IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST AS A NEWSPAPER REPORTER, EDITOR AND PHOTOGRAPHER.
SPORTS JOURNALISM INSTITUTE INTERNSHIP
GRANTS OF $3,000 EACH GO TO THE FOLLOWING STUDENTS WHO ARE INTERNS
OHM YOUNGMISUK, SPORTS REPORTER, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
AT SMALL- TO MEDIUM-SIZE MEDIA: ADELAIDE CHEN OF BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA,
ALBERT KIM, FREELANCER
A FIRST-YEAR GRADUATE STUDENT ATTENDING THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY, AND JUDY VUE OF SEATAC, WASHINGTON, A SENIOR ATTENDING THE
ASSOCIATED PRESS INTERNSHIP
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON.
TERRY CHEA, REPORTER, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS JUDY LIN, STAFF WRITER, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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2009 ANNUAL REPORT • ASIAN AMERICAN JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION
PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS
AAJA’s Executive Leadership Program (ELP) offers the opportunity for mid-career journalists to explore the challenges that face them as AAPIs in the media and learn leadership skills to help them move forward in their careers. The program explores the responsibilities and challenges of the workplace and examines how cultural values come into play in newsroom dynamics. The intensive, five-day Introductory Session occurs in the spring and the two-day Advanced Session occurs prior to the convention in the summer. The ELP Mentor Program matches management-level editors who have graduated from ELP with high-level executives for a year-long program including a meeting at the convention. Since the program started in 1995, 381 mid-career AAPI journalists have graduated from the Executive Leadership Program. Approximately half have received promotions or advanced to bigger and better opportunities in their newsrooms or companies. ELP IS MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH A GRANT FROM THE MCCORMICK FOUNDATION. ADVANCED SESSION SUPPORT IS PROVIDED BY THE NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY, THE NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA FOUNDATION, AND THE AAJA NATIONAL ENDOWMENT.
‘
THE EXPERIENCE HAS CHALLENGED ME TO STEP OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE AND TAUGHT ME
THE IMPORTANCE OF ARTICULATING MY IDEAS IN AN EFFECTIVE WAY. (IT’S) A VERY INVIGORATING EXPERIENCE!
’
Chelsea Phua, Staff Writer, The Sacramento Bee, 2009 ELP graduate
THE FOLLOWING JOURNALISTS ATTENDED THE FEBRUARY 25-MARCH 1 ELP INTRODUCTORY SESSION IN MCLEAN, VIRGINIA: RAHUL BALI, REPORTER/EDITOR, WTOP RADIO CAROLYN CHANG, AUDIENCE RESEARCH MANAGER, GANNETT CO., INC. KENNETH CHANG, SCIENCE REPORTER, THE NEW YORK TIMES ALEXIS CHIU, SENIOR WRITER, PEOPLE MAGAZINE HANAH CHO, BUSINESS REPORTER, THE BALTIMORE SUN EDWARD DE LA FUENTE, SPORTS COPY DESK CHIEF, THE SACRAMENTO BEE ELIZABETH JIA, MULTIMEDIA COORDINATOR, WUSA 9-TV/GANNETT CECILIA KANG, STAFF WRITER, THE WASHINGTON POST EUN KIM, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, GANNETT NEWS SERVICE THOMAS LIN, SENIOR PRODUCER, THE NEW YORK TIMES MARIAN LIU, ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER, THE SEATTLE TIMES SHERRI LY, REPORTER, WTTG/FOX5 JULIE PATEL, STAFF WRITER, SUN SENTINEL SITAL PATEL, PRODUCER, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK CHELSEA PHUA, STAFF WRITER, THE SACRAMENTO BEE JAMES QUINTONG, GENERAL EDITOR, ESPN.COM TARA SMITH, MANAGING DIRECTOR, ASPICIOMEDIA JUSTIN TEJADA, ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED KIDS WILLIAM WAN, STAFF WRITER, THE WASHINGTON POST VINO WONG, PHOTOJOURNALIST, THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION ANDREA WOO, SENIOR EDITOR, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED KIDS
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2009 ANNUAL REPORT • ASIAN AMERICAN JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION
PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS
Fellowships AAJA supports and encourages the advancement of mid-career
CAREER FAIR
journalists in the newsroom. In our aim to further these goals, we offer
The AAJA National Convention features a Career Fair and Expo for
the following fellowships to provide our members the opportunity to
media professionals and journalism students to meet with recruiters
attend career-building programs. The 2009 recipients of fellowships
and exhibitors from the news industry. Interviews are “walk-in” and
with partnering media organizations are as follows:
are on a first-come, first-served basis.
NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA FOUNDATION MINORITY FELLOWSHIP:
CAREER COUNSELING & CRITIQUES
MARIAN LIU, ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER,
Professional journalists, career counselors, and recruiters conduct
THE SEATTLE TIMES
counseling and one-to-one critique sessions for newspaper, magazine, television and radio for professional and student members
POYNTER FELLOWSHIP: SUE KWON, REPORTER, CBS5/SAN
during the Career Fair and Expo. Career Counseling provided by The
FRANCISCO AND SUZANNE PHAN, MULTIMEDIA JOURNALIST FOR
Poynter Institute. Broadcast Critiques provided by RTNDA.
NEWS 10/SACRAMENTO
National Journalism Awards
KNOWLEDGE@WHARTON SCHOLARSHIP FOR BUSINESS
AAJA National Journalism Awards, established in 1989, recognize
JOURNALISTS: SANJAY BHATT, REPORTER, THE SEATTLE TIMES
and encourage excellence among journalists and outstanding
Broadcast Mentor Program
coverage of Asian American and Pacific Islander Issues. For a complete list of recipients contact national@aaja.org.
To encourage, support and retain television and radio members, AAJA entered its seventh year of offering the AAJA Broadcast Mentor Program which matches AAJA members with broadcast mentors.
Special Awards LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
AAJA Radio Network
Established in 1989, the Lifetime Achievement Award is given to an
This electronic discussion group was formed in January 2005 to allow AAJA’s public radio and commercial radio members an opportunity to share career and personal news, advice and ideas with one another.
Mentor Programs
individual who has demonstrated courage and commitment to the principles of journalism over the course of a life’s work. 2009 AWARDEE: DINAH ENG, COLUMNIST AND FREELANCE WRITER, FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR, EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP PROGRAM
LEADERSHIP IN DIVERSITY AWARD
AAJA offers mentorships to encourage members to share their
The AAJA Leadership in Diversity Award honors an individual or
expertise by becoming a mentor or develop professional skills by
corporation that has made strides in promoting and demonstrating
requesting a mentor.
diversity in the news media industry. 2009 AWARDEE: JEANNIE PARK, FORMER EDITOR, TIME INC.
Camp AAJA This three-day program provides chapter leaders the skills to build
SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD
themselves, their team, their chapter and their local networks and
This award honors an individual who has helped to advance AAJA’s
coalitions. The program is designed to hone participants’ leadership
goals over the past year or over the course of a life’s work.
skills and provide a venue to discuss effective national and local
2009 AWARDEE: STEVE PAULUS, REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT, NY1
strategies to help achieve the organization’s goals.
NEWS/TIME WARNER CABLE
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP PROGRAM (ELP) OUTSTANDING
Professional Programs at AAJA Conventions
LEADERSHIP AWARD
WORKSHOPS
This award celebrates and promotes our own growing ranks of Asian
Covering the latest issues affecting Asian American and Pacific
American leaders in the newsroom.
Islander journalists, more than 50 workshops are available to
2009 AWARDEE: KIM MOY, MANAGING EDITOR, FRONT PAGE,
convention participants. Just prior to the opening of convention,
YAHOO!
free workshops presented by media organizations are offered to convention registrants who can arrive early and wish to dedicate a little more time to their professional development.
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2009 ANNUAL REPORT • ASIAN AMERICAN JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION
FINANCIAL REPORT
AU D I TO R ’ S S TAT E M E N T AAJA conducts regular external audits of its National Office every other year. Each year, AAJA also conducts external audits of its 20 chapters on a rotation basis.
March 22, 2010 Board of Directors of Asian American Journalists Association San Francisco, California We made a study and evaluation of the reasonableness of the balance sheets as of December 31, 2009 and the income statements for the year then ended, for the following five entities of Asian American Journalists Association: 1. The San Francisco National Office 2. The Arizona Chapter 3. The Atlanta Chapter 4. The Michigan Chapter 5. The Minnesota Chapter The financial statements for the above five entities of Asian American Journalists Association are the representation of management of these entities. Our procedures are limited to footing and tracing transactions on the financial statements to supporting accounting records provided. Because of inherent limitations in any accounting system and procedures, errors or irregularities may nevertheless occur and not be detected. Therefore, our study and evaluation cannot be relied upon to discover and disclose such errors or irregularities that may exist. Based on our study and evaluation, we believe that the financial statements for the San Francisco National Office, the Arizona Chapter, the Atlanta Chapter, the Michigan Chapter and the Minnesota Chapter appear reasonable in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. RICHARD K. LEE, CPA Certified Public Accountant A Professional Corporation 2227 Harbor Bay Parkway Alameda, CA 94502
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2009 ANNUAL REPORT • ASIAN AMERICAN JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION
2009 FUNDERS/SUPPORTERS
AAJA is grateful to its many funders, supporters and
MAJOR 2009 DONORS
partners. They have shared financial resources and
ABC, INC.
expertise as individuals and through corporations,
ANHEUSER-BUSCH
non-profit organizations and foundations. They have donated to support overall operations, specific programs and to AAJA’s national endowment
ANNIE E. CASEY FOUNDATION BELO BETH ERICKSON BLOOMBERG LLP
campaign that was launched in 2004 and continues
THE BOSTON GLOBE
today.
BRISTOL-MEYERS SQUIBB CBS CNN CHICAGO TRIBUNE FOUNDATION
AAJA
members
support
the
organization through dues and donations. But AAJA could not do all it does without the volunteer efforts of so many members
COCA COLA NORTH AMERICA DETROIT MEDIA PARTNERSHIP DOLORES KONG ELI LILLY AND COMPANY ESPN FORD FOUNDATION GANNETT FOUNDATION GILEAD SCIENCES
and supporters. We count on
volunteers for our leadership, to
JOE GRIMM
administer key programs, serve on convention panels, judge award and scholarship applications, hold community outreach events at the chapter and national level and help with countless other activities.
GREATER BOSTON CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU
THE MCCLATCHY COMPANY MCCORMICK FOUNDATION NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA FOUNDATION THE NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY PEOPLE MAGAZINE PHILLIP L. GRAHAM FUND SAMUEL I. NEWHOUSE FOUNDATION SCHWAB CHARITABLE FUND SIMON LI THE WASHINGTON POST TOYOTA MOTOR SALES U.S. CENSUS BUREAU UNITY: JOURNALISTS OF COLOR WELLS FARGO FOUNDATION
AAJA APOLOGIZES FOR ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS. PLEASE NOTIFY NATIONAL@AAJA.ORG. FOR A COMPLETE LIST OF 2009 AAJA SUPPORTERS INCLUDING POWER OF ONE AND ENDOWMENT DONORS, VISIT WWW.AAJA.ORG/DONATE/HOW/
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2009 ANNUAL REPORT • ASIAN AMERICAN JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
MEDIA ACCESS
WGBH / AAJA
AAJA, through its chapters and national organization,
In community partnership with WGBH in
reaches out to help equip Asian American Pacific
Boston, AAJA offered a community panel
Islander community groups and others in getting their
focused on “Public Broadcasting: Yesterday,
news into the news. In 2009, the Boston Media Access
Today, and Tomorrow.” Open to the public and
workshop was held at The Boston Globe and was
AAJA convention attendees this first-time ever
sponsored by the Massachusetts Convention Center
community partnership with one of the leading
Authority. A collaborative effort coordinated by the San
public television stations based in Boston also
Francisco, New England and Atlanta AAJA chapters,
followed up the panel with a tour of their new
this one-day workshop brought in approximately 70
state-of-the-art facility. Some of the topics
participants attendees. Instrumental to the success of
discussed included a focus on considering a
this workshop was AAJA’s partnership with United Way
career in public broadcasting, switching from
and the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center. The
commercial to non-profit journalism, freelance
free session offered local community organizations to
opportunities, as well as an engaging discussion
learn how to pitch their stories to media, how to write a
on the state of public broadcasting with top
press release and other tips on how to get their news
panelists which included an array of top executive
covered.
producers and reporters in the field.
MEDIA WATCH
AAJA / ATASK
As part of the mission of the Asian American Journalists
AAJA in partnership with the Asian Task Force
Association, AAJA MediaWatch addresses issues
Against Domestic Violence (ATASK) featured
of unfair and inaccurate news coverage of Asian
Jennifer 8. Lee, New York Times journalist and
Americans and Pacific Islanders, their communities
author of the “Fortune Cookie Chronicles” for this
and issues. AAJA, through its national volunteer
presentation/book-reading which benefitted the
MediaWatch committee, chapters and national awards,
Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence’s
also lauds thoughtful, complete coverage. Complaints
programs to provide hope to survivors and
come in about issues found in newspapers and
prevent domestic violence in Asian families
magazines and on television, radio or online regarding
and communities. Included was an Asian food
news stories, headlines, commentary, photographs,
reception and a presentation by Jennifer 8. Lee,
video, editorial cartoons and other news features.
whose “The Fortune Cookie Chronicles” takes
AAJA, through its national volunteer MediaWatch
readers on a remarkable journey that is both
committee and chapters, responds in a variety of ways
foreign and familiar: penetrating this subculture
including short notes to reporters, letters of concern
by traveling the world (and almost every American
to editors and station managers, meetings with news
state) in her quest to understand Chinese food
executives, alerts to our members about community
and the people who make it.
concerns, media advisories and press releases.
‘
CENSUS 2010 & ETHNIC MEDIA ROUNDTABLE AAJA invited the community in an open dialogue
EVERYONE HAD A UNIQUE ANGLE AND
with AAJA members to discuss issues around
PROVIDED INFORMATION. . .PANEL
the census and the top stories that will impact
WAS DIVERSE—BLOGGERS, LOCAL, TV,
’
NEWSPAPER, RADIO—AND GREAT PANEL! 2009 Media Access Workshop Community Participant
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the Census. Additionally, an informal invitation to various ethnic community media representatives offered a roundtable forum for mainstream and ethnic media to exchange thoughts and ideas.
2009 CONVENTION PHOTO CREDITS: COVER, CLOCKWISE: MEDIA INSTITUTE AT WCVB / SUSAN CHOI; “STATE OF PUBLIC BROADASTING PANEL” AT WGBH / SUSAN CHOI; BOSTON CONVENTION LOGO AT GALA SCHOLARSHIP & AWARDS BANQUET / SHI YING; NEW ENGLAND CHAPTER RECEIVES CHAPTER OF THE YEAR AWARD / KELVIN MA; AAJA NATIONAL PRESIDENT AT OPENING RECEPTION / KELVIN MA; PAGE 1: PHOTO OF SHARON CHAN / PAUL CHEUNG; PAGE 2: (BACKGROUND PHOTO) / KELVIN MA ; (BOTTOM PHOTOS, L-R) CONVENTION STUDENT NEWS PROJECT / ALBERT LEE; PAGE 4: (BACKGROUND PHOTO) EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP PROGRAM / ALBERT LEE
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AAJA’S MISSION TO PROVIDE A MEANS OF ASSOCIATION AND SUPPORT AMONG ASIAN AMERICAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER JOURNALISTS. TO PROVIDE ENCOURAGEMENT, INFORMATION, ADVICE AND SCHOLARSHIP ASSISTANCE TO ASIAN AMERICAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER STUDENTS WHO ASPIRE TO PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISM CAREERS. TO PROVIDE TO THE ASIAN AMERICAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER COMMUNITY AN AWARENESS OF NEWS MEDIA AND AN UNDERSTANDING OF HOW TO GAIN FAIR ACCESS. TO RESEARCH AND POINT OUT WHEN NEWS MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS STRAY FROM ACCURACY AND FAIRNESS IN THE COVERAGE OF ASIAN AMERICANS AND PACIFIC ISLANDERS.
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