January 20, 2022
Newsletter

Corky Lee poses with some of his photographs on display. January 27 will mark the one-year anniversary of the legendary Asian American photographer and beloved AAJA member's passing, Photo courtesy of the New York Times.

• HQ Updates: Shape #AAJA22!
• Apply for the National Press Foundation's diversity fellowship
• Upcoming Events: Pasifika Journalists meet and greet
• Receive a fellowship and financial support from American University
• #AAJAKudos & Resources: Rest in peace Jeff Chan
• Member Bylines & Opportunities

From AAJA-HQ:

Yung AAJA announces new leadership
#AAJAKudos and thank you, Beena, for all of your work and successes. And congrats to incoming co-directors, Rachel, Gwen and Grace! From outgoing director, Beena Raghavendran:

Three new co-directors are stepping up to helm the next chapter of Yung AAJA — Rachel Ramirez, Gwendolyn Wu and Grace Moon. If you know them already, you know they are already bedrocks and leaders in our AAJA community. If you haven’t met them yet, I can’t wait to introduce them to you.

Thank you to this community for helping me grow, and thank you to Ben Pu for graciously passing the leadership baton to me in 2019. Leading Yung was the most transformative leadership experience I’ve had to date. I can’t wait to see what Gwen, Grace and Rachel do!

The National Press Foundation is recruiting up to 25 young journalists of color for a 12-month fellowship in leadership, in-depth reporting, data and multimedia skills needed hold governments and corporations accountable and to advance in their newsrooms. Beginning in March 2022, the once-monthly training sessions will include two in-person gatherings in Washington, D.C. This fellowship is particularly suited to those who have more than one but fewer than seven years of journalism experience.

NPF’s “Widening the Pipeline” fellowship is designed to boost the numbers of diverse journalists who’ll rise to positions of influence in newsrooms. NPF will leverage years of training and mentoring experience for the program, which confronts the ongoing severe and systemic diversity crisis in America’s newsrooms. There simply aren’t enough reporters and editors of color to inform, engage and accurately and fairly reflect society.

Get more information about the “Widening the Pipeline” Fellowship here.

Sponsored Content

For Students:

• AAJA Scholarships | The deadlines for 2022-23 scholarships are fast approaching. Don't miss out on the opportunities closing on Jan. 31.
• Spring 2022 AAJA-HQ Internship | Apply by Feb. 1.
• *new* JCamp 2022 | Our flagship summer training program for high school students will be in Los Angeles this year. Apply by March 31. Learn more and view an FAQ here.
• *new* VOICES 2022 | Our journalism program for college students is now accepting applications until March 31.

For Professionals:

• *new* Digital Skills Reporting Intensives | The intensive, led by AAJA-New York president Frank Bi, will run February 7-23. Registration opens January 24 and is first come, first serve, and capped at 20 participants.
• Mentor Match | Apply to be a mentor for the 2022-2023 Mentor Match cohort by Jan. 29. Find an FAQ on the Mentor Match page.
• Catalyst Co-Leads | Catalyst is searching for new co-leads. Apply now.
• AAJA Awards | We’re recruiting judges for the AAJA Journalism Excellence Awards. Judges will select finalists for works published in 2020 and 2021.

For #AAJAFamily:

• Mental Health Funding | Request funding here.
• Photo Submissions for AAJA's 40th Anniversary | Submit photos from past AAJA events for our 40th anniversary here!

American University School of Communication Journalism Division and top media and non-profit partners are accepting applications for five paid fellowships. Earn your MA in Journalism and Public Affairs while working with top reporters. Stipends range from $8,000 to $30,000 per year plus tuition support from American University.

Start here and apply by February 1 for priority consideration.  

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🗓 Upcoming Events

January 28 | Pacific Islander Task Force
Meet and Greet with Pasifika Journalists AAJA's Pacific Islander Task Force and the Pulitzer Center will host a virtual coffee chat for Pacific Islander journalists on Jan. 28! Hear from Pulitzer Center grantee Anita Hofschneider and senior editor Boyoung Lim about writing successful grant proposals. Register here.

February 2 | AAJA+ and AAJA Sacramento
Caregivers Support Group Meeting As the Lunar New Year period starts for many Asian American communities – which is a celebratory, but also a stressful point for many families – AAJA+ and AAJA Sacramento’s Caregivers Support Group will have its first meeting for 2022. The group is open to all AAJA members. Register here.

📓 News About News
AKA, our resources section.

#VeryAsian Michelle Li appeared on The Ellen Show on Wednesday! Watch the interview here. Gia Vang was featured in a Star Tribune article about #VeryAsian and May Lee featured Michelle Li and Gia Vang on The May Lee Show.

member interview Los Angeles Times environmental reporter Rosanna Xia discussed her investigative reporting on a decades-old DDT dump off California’s coast.

Q&A Dallas Morning News’ Tom Huang spoke on the past, present and future of AAPI journalists with The Daily Campus at Southern Methodist University. 

member highlight Julia B. Chan discussed her position as editor-in-chief of The 19th with The Takeaway at WNYC Studios. 

statement The Committee to Protect Journalists called on the Kazakhstan government to protect journalists covering the current nationwide protests.

obituary We're saddened to hear of the passing of Jeff Chan, a co-founder of the Asian American Studies Department, College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University who uplifted so many Asian American voices. Rest in peace ❤️ Read his obituary in AsAmNews here.

👏 #AAJAKudos to...
Celebrate your achievements with us—tag @aaja on Twitter or let us know on Slack.

• Kaizar Campwala, who is the new CEO of the Center for Investigative Reporting. 
• Sumi Aggarwal, who is the new editor-in-chief of the Center for Investigative Reporting after serving as interim editor-in-chief since March 2021. 
• Helen Zia, who will be co-teaching as the Dan and Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair in Democratic Ideals at the University of Hawaii. 
• Eun Yang, who recently celebrated her 20th anniversary at NBC Washington as an anchor.
• Stefanie Loh, who was promoted to Assistant Managing Editor at the Seattle Times, is writing a book on Chloe Kim, AND is expecting her first child later this month!
• Justin Lum, AAJA Arizona's chapter vice president, who is now FOX-10 Phoenix's official Investigative Reporter.
• Phil Yu, Philip Wang and Jeff Yang, whose book "RISE: A Pop History of Asian America from the Nineties to Now" is forthcoming in March. Pre-order it here. 
• Nabil Karim, who began a new position as studio host and reporter for basketball and hockey programming, covering the NHL and NBA at Turner Sports.
• Pradnya Joshi, who joined The Washington Post as National Weekend Editor.
• Kimmi Chex and Mike Yam, who began expanded roles at NFL Network. 
• Zulekha Nathoo, who joined USA Today as a producer and host for Humankind.
• Emily Wu Pearson, who joined WABE News as a General Assignment Reporter with a focus on Immigration and Communities.
• Eric Lau, who will be a spring 2022 student fellow with the Texas Tribune. 
• Ellen Lee, AAJA Media Institute's co-lead, who created Lunar New Year Mad Libs.
• The 2022 Sports Journalism Institute class, including Roshan Fernandez, Nathan Han and Varun Shankar.

On Our List 📺📸📰🎧

Follow us on Twitter @aaja for more works on our radar from the AAJA community.

• “Outpouring after former KING-5 anchor sparked ‘Very Asian’ movement gives 2022 a heartening start” by Naomi Ishisaka, The Seattle Times – ft. Michelle Li and Gia Vang
• “Ep. 14: They Call Us Very Asian” by Jeff Yang and Phil Yu, They Call Us Bruce – ft. Michelle Li and Gia Vang
• “NYC subway station death of Michelle Go leaves Asian Americans reeling” by Kimmy Yam, NBC News/NBC Asian America 
• “The Movie That Understands the Secret Shame of Motherhood” by Shirley Li, The Atlantic
• “'Spider-Man: No Way Home': Why the Unsubtitled Tagalog Scene Matters” by Patrick Caoile, Collider
• “COMMENTARY: Getting asked, “Where are you really from?” is all too common in the AAPI community. It’s time to flip the script” by Jo-Ann Yoo and Curtis Chin, Northwest Asian Weekly
• “Sneaker-salesman-turned-TV-anchor, and now a leader for NJ's Korean community” by Mary Chao, NorthJersey.com
• “Mitski in 9 Acts” by E. Alex Jung, Vulture

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