September 14, 2023
Newsletter

(L-R) AAJA-New York debriefed on #AAJA23, AAJA-Portland hosted a coffee and cocktail social on Saturday, Sept. 9; AAJA-Washington, D.C. gathered for a BBQ on Saturday, Sept. 9; Darren Lyn, a TV and social media journalist, met with members of UT Austin’s AAJA student group on Thursday, Sept. 1.

ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS:

 

From AAJA-HQ: Join your chapter or affinity group leadership, submit photos to our book project

AAJA Elections Interested in paying it forward to AAJA and being on a chapter or affinity group board? Let your local leaders know! For guidance on chapter/affinity group elections, view our suggested timeline.

Call for Photos Have you covered major events in AAPI history? We’d love to see your photos for use in our book project in collaboration with the UCLA Asian American Studies Center. To submit, add to this spreadsheet or contact Yi-Shen at AAJA-HQ for more information.

Attention current AAJA members: If you’re not yet part of AAJA's Slack, expect an email invitation soon. Once received, promptly click the ‘Join Now’ button, as the link will expire in 24 hrs. AAJA Slack is an exclusive current member benefit. Log in here to check your membership status and renew, ensuring you don’t miss out on job postings, affinity groups, and local chapter events and communications. If you have any questions, please email support@aaja.org. We value your participation and can’t wait to see you on Slack!

 

 🗓 AAJA Events

Contact us to list your event on our events calendar.

 

On Tuesday, Sept. 26, AAJA will co-host a free event with The News Leaders Association on the importance of mentoring. Paul Cheung, former AAJA president and national board member, will moderate the panel. RSVP here. 

September 16 | AAJA-Asia’s Convo Sessions | On Saturday, Sept. 16 at 7 p.m. HKT, join AAJA-Asia for a student-led talk with Sarah Wong, a journalist at Reuters. RSVP here.

September 17 | AAJA-Sacramento’s Dim Sum Mixer | Join AAJA-Sacramento for a dim sum mixer on Sunday, Sept. 17 at 11 a.m. to reconnect, enjoy great food and good company. RSVP here.

September 17 | AAJA-New York’s Coffee Social | On Sunday, Sept. 17, join AAJA-NY for coffee at Grace Street Coffee in Ktown for a casual discussion about fall programming and board elections. Learn more here.

September 20 | AAJA-Hawai‘i and AAJA Mental Health Space | On Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 6 p.m. HST, AAJA-Hawai‘i will host an off-the-record group conversation for journalists affected by or processing the Maui wildfires. It will be facilitated by Dr. Emily Hugo, a psychologist trained by the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma. | RSVP here.

September 27 | AAJA-San Francisco Bay Area’s Bridging Generations | Mingle with AAPI Bay Area veterans and up-and-coming journalists on Wednesday, Sept. 27 at 6 p.m. The event is presented by AAJA-SF Bay Area and the Very Asian Foundation. RSVP here. 

*Rescheduled* October 7 | AAJA-New York’s Back to School Picnic | Join AAJA-NY for a back to school picnic on Saturday, Oct. 7 at 11 a.m. at Central Park. RSVP here. 

 
 

🌠 AAJA Community Awards Spotlight: Sophia Cai, Emerging Journalist of the Year

"In addition to driving the news agenda on Capitol Hill, Sophia Cai is one of the youngest reporters covering the White House—regularly breaking news on administration policy and personnel changes. 'With a stroke of luck and the blessing of editors who took a chance on a wide-eyed 21-year-old, I’ve developed a knack for breaking news across key beats in Washington, relying on a network of sources across the White House and Congress that I developed over the two and half years I’ve been reporting in D.C.,' Sophia said." 

Read about all the AAJA Community Award winners.

 

📓 News & Resources

journalism news Two dozen foundations led by MacArthur announced they would invest an initial $500 million to support local news over the next five years, a number they hope produces a multiplier effect. That’s good news for the nonprofit news leaders who attended the AAJA roundtable in July. Advocates for diversity in media urged the fund not to overlook non-traditional, hyperlocal outlets that many people of color trust for their news.

report Workplace diversity reports released by news organizations this year show only incremental improvements, though reporting is a good first step.

partner orgs A piece in Poynter by Yvette Cabrera, NAHJ's president, shows how reporters of color can lift investigative journalism to new levels. 

Naomi Tacuyan Underwood, executive director of AAJA, joined Tracie Powell, CEO of the Pivot Fund, and Fernando Soto, editor in chief of Pasa La Voz Noticias, for a Sept. 13 webinar moderated by Andrew Sherry, principal of Communications Partners. They discussed how cultural competency is a vital journalistic skill as America grows more diverse. “Being intersectional can only lead to better journalism,” Naomi commented.

 

👏 AAJA Kudos to...

 

On Our List 🌟📺📸📰🎧

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

  • “How Can You Save What’s Already Gone?” by Martha Cheng, The Atlantic
  • “After the Maui fires took Carole, her people honored her on the water” by Elahe Izadi, The Washington Post
  • "Naka Nathaniel: Here’s A Better Way To Help Hawaii" by Naka Nathaniel, Honolulu Civil Beat
  • “Filipinos in Lahaina say they’ve been overlooked in wildfire response” by Sakshi Venkatraman and Kimmy Yam, NBC News
  • “The Goal: Tourism That Regenerates Hawai‘i, Not Degrades It” by Noelle Fujii-Oride, Hawaii Business Magazine
  • “Smithsonian returns woman’s brain to family 90 years after it was taken” by Nicole Dungca and Claire Healy, The Washington Post
  • “In Koreatown, a lack of bus shelters makes a hot summer even hotter” by Jeong Park, The Los Angeles Times
  • “Betty Ong, hero of 9/11, unsung no longer” by Fae Myenne Ng, The Seattle Times
  • “How big-name concerts became an unlikely place for immigrant parents and kids to bond” by Kimmy Yam and Sakshi Venkatraman, NBC News
  • “Mahjong Mistress taps into nostalgia to throw L.A. parties that just hit different” by Jireh Deng, The Los Angeles Times
 

Opportunities  
Visit AAJA Careers or follow @AAJACareers on X to post jobs or internships and stay up-to-date on available positions. Check in with your AAJA chapters for more opportunities. 

AAJA Opportunities:

  • Team AAJA | Learn more about the team representing AAJA at the 2023 TCS New York City Marathon and donate here.
  • AAJA Studio Submissions | Become an expert and join here.
  • AAJA Style Guide | Join us in reshaping AAPI coverage and news standards.
  • AAJA-Chicago Volunteer | Fill out the form to learn more about how to participate as a volunteer "mentor" for AAJA-Chicago's "Coffee with a Journalist" program.

  • AAJA-New England's Pilot Mentorship Program | Fill out a short questionnaire for the opportunity to build relationships, give back to the next generation of journalists, and grow as a professional and a member of the AAJA community. | Deadline: Monday, Oct. 9.

External Opportunities: 

  • Star Tribune Internship & Early Career Job Fair 2023 | Find out about opportunities at Star Tribune while receiving one-on-one career advice from staff journalists. The event will be virtual on Tuesday, Oct. 3 and in-person on Wednesday, Oct. 11. | Deadline to sign up: Monday, Sept. 25. | Learn more here.
  • City Bureau Seeks Executive Director | City Bureau, a journalism lab reimagining local media is seeking their first ever executive director. | Deadline: mid-October. | Learn more here. 
  • POLITICO Fellows Program | POLITICO's 12-month program offers emerging journalists or aspiring professionals training in covering the White House, Congress and policy areas such as health care, trade, technology and finance. Upon successful completion of the program, participants are offered a full-time reporting role in the POLITICO newsroom. | Deadline: Sunday, Oct. 15. | Learn more here. 
  • Dow Jones News Fund Internships | DJNF offers paid summer internships for college students in audience engagement, business reporting, data journalism, digital media and multiplatform editing. | Deadline: Thursday, Nov. 16. | Learn more here.
 

Did someone forward you this email? Join AAJA to subscribe to our newsletter.

Did you produce some great journalism recently, or see good work from others? 
Put work on our radar to feature in our next member highlights.

Collectively, we can celebrate 40 years of impact and contribute towards 40 more years of AAJA's mission of supporting and uplifting AAPI journalists. Donate today.

Asian American Journalists Association

Having trouble viewing this email? View it in your web browser

You are receiving this email because you are an AAJA member or supporter. We recently moved to a different email server. If you previously unsubscribed, you can update your subscription preferences below.

Unsubscribe or Manage Your Preferences