October 2, 2025
Newsletter

The U.S. government shut down at midnight on Wednesday, Oct. 1 for the first time since 2018. The last government shutdown lasted 35 days and was the longest in over 40 years. Hundreds of thousands of federal employees will be furloughed or asked to work without pay. It is unclear when Congress will reach an agreement.
(Photo by: Eric Lee / Getty Images)

ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS

 

From AAJA-HQ: Read AAJA's statement in support of Karen Attiah, share your ELP memories with us

Statement AAJA joined the Washington Association of Black Journalists (WABJ) and the AAJA-D.C. chapter in condemning The Washington Post’s unjust firing of Karen Attiah. Read the full statement.

Executive Leadership Program Help us celebrate 30 years of ELP! We're collecting photos and testimonials from past cohorts to highlight the people and experiences that have shaped the program for the past three decades.

Chapter elections It’s time for Chapter Elections! In accordance with our bylaws, every year, all chapter board elections must be completed by Nov. 1 and the full board list must be submitted to the National Office by Nov. 5. Timely submission is crucial! View our suggested timeline here. Detailed instructions will be sent to your chapter emails.

VOICES Throughout the summer, our VOICES 2025 fellows published multimedia projects exloring complex issues like mental health, anti-DEI policies, and misinformation across borders. Read their work:

  • “NIH probe and lab closure preceded Northwestern University professor’s death, lawsuit says” by William Tong, featured in AsAmNews
  • “As California community colleges brace for DEI rollbacks, queer Asian students worry what’s next” by Diamy Wang, featured in AsAmNews
  • “From X to WeChat: How misinformation spreads across social media and into Chinese-language spaces” by Ava Hu, featured in AsAmNews and Technical.ly

Check out all our VOICES 2025 stories!

Resources AAJA provides resources to journalists affected by recent layoffs. Some of our resources include consideration for waived membership fees and our career center that allows journalists to find job postings and connect with recruiters. Read the full statement here.

 

AAJA mourns the loss of Ken Mochizuki

A longtime member of the AAJA-Seattle chapter and recipient of our 2025 recipient of our Lifetime Achievement Award, Ken Mochizuki was a beloved author, journalist, educator, and actor. His talent, generosity, and passion for storytelling have left a lasting impact, inspiring generations of AAPI journalists and storytellers to follow in his footsteps.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests gifts be made to Wing Luke Asian Museum or the International Examiner.

 

🗓 AAJA Events

Visit our events calendar on AAJA's website for more chapter events.

(L-R) AAJA-Asia's Singapore subchapter held their first Youth Camp on Saturday, September 13. AAJA's San Diego University Student Group toured the KPBS Studio in San Diego on Monday, September 22. AAJA-New York held a cocktail reception at the Metropolitan Museum's Astor Chinese Garden Court on Tuesday, September 23. AAJA-New York had a conversation with the cast of NBC's new sitcom, The Paper, on Wednesday, September 24. AAJA-San Francisco Bay Area celebrated their 40th anniversary in San Francisco's Japantown on Saturday, September 27.

October 3 | AAJA-Los Angeles’ Sports Task Force Affinity Group Meetup | Join AAJA-Los Angeles’ Sports Task Force Affinity Group for a meetup of members and interested journalists in the Los Angeles area. Email for more details.

October 4 | AAJA-Seoul’s Chuseok Picnic | Join AAJA-Seoul for a Chuseok Picnic at Han River Yanghwa Park from 3-6 p.m. KST.

October 4 | AAJA's George Washington University Student Group's 2025 Fall Conference | Join AAJA's George Washington University Student Group for the annual fall conference at the University Student Center Amphitheater at 11 a.m. ET.

October 8 | AAJA-Asia's Covering Nepal's Gen Z Uprising Session | Join AAJA-Asia for a conversation exploring the latest developments in the world's first country to elect an interim Prime Minister via Discord from 8-9 p.m. HKT.

October 17 | AAJA-Los Angeles’ Trivia Bowl | Join AAJA-Los Angeles for their annual Trivia Bowl at Nishi Hongwanji.

October 18 | 2025 Build a Better Journalist Conference | Join AAJA-Portland, the Society of Professional Journalists Oregon Pro Chapter, the Pacific Northwest Association of Journalism Educators, and the University of Oregon for their journalism conference at Allen Hall, University of Oregon from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. PT.

💼 October 21 | AAJA’s Financial Planning Webinar | Join AAJA-HQ for a webinar with financial experts on the tools you need to set yourself up for success at 6 p.m. ET.

📚 October 22 | The Power of Storytelling and its Intersections | Join AAJA, AAJA-New York, the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism’s New York chapter, and the Asian American Writers’ Workshop for a conversation on storytelling and “Intersections: A Journalistic History of Asian Pacific America” from 6-8 p.m. ET.

📚 October 22 | Celebrating "Intersections: A Journalistic History of Asian Pacific America | Join AAJA, the UCI Center for Storytelling, and the UCLA Asian American Studies Center for a panel discussion about "Intersections" from 5:30-7 p.m. PT.

October 22 | AAJA-Asia's Economics of Asia Session | Join AAJA-Asia for a conversation about what global slowdown and trade tensions mean for Asia's economy. 

October 30 | AAJA-Minnesota’s Trivia Bowl | Join AAJA-Minnesota for their Trivia Bowl at Brit’s Pub at 6:30 p.m. CT.

 

📓 News & Resources: 

statement The National Association of Black Journalists met with The Washington Post to raise concerns about the firing of columnist Karen Attiah and the recent departure of several Black staffers. NABJ urged The Post to commit to concrete steps on accountability, retention, and leadership opportunities for Black journalists.

resource Press Forward released a new toolkit to help newsrooms communicate their value to the communities they support. The messaging guide offers research-backed insights that translate into ready-to-use language for fundraising appeals, grant applications, or simple conversations with readers.

webinar Join AAJA, APIAVote, and AAPI Data, for the next Voices of AAPI Communities briefing, where experts will share the latest survey insights on immigration, capitalism and socialism, and Israel and Palestine.

event Northwestern’s Medill School will host “Press Freedom Under Fire: Threats to Journalism and Democracy” from Oct. 23-24, bringing together journalists and experts to discuss challenges facing the free press. Panelists include AAJA member and former Voice of America correspondent, Chris Casquejo.

 

👏 AAJA Kudos

 

On Our List 🌟📺📸📰🎧

  • “Government shuts down after Trump and Congress fail to reach deal” with contributions from Maureen Chowdhury, Hanna Park, Celina Tebor, Manu Raju, CNN
  • “Live updates: Government shutdown begins as Trump threatens mass layoffs” with contributions from Scott Wong and Candace Kuo, NBC News
  • “How the government shutdown could impact flights, trains, and cruises” by Eve Chen, ELP ‘21, USA Today
  • “The last government shutdown was the longest in more than 40 years. Here are all the recent shutdowns in one chart” by Gillian Roberts and Kaanita Iyer, CNN
  • "A President’s ‘Surreal’ Advice Worries Pregnant Women" by Jacey Fortin and Sonia A. Rao, VOICES '24, The New York Times
  • “Trump administration moves to further strip federal funding from Harvard” by Kimmy Yam, NBC News
  • “As Mamdani Rises, South Asians Emerge as a Political Force in New York” by Maya King, Jeff Adelson, Pranav Baskar, with photography by Shuran Huang, The New York Times
  • “ICE’s tirade leaves no room for Asian American ambivalence” by Angela Zhang, The Daily Californian
  • “Reina Hardesty, Who Grew up in O.C., Makes a Splash with ‘Butterfly’” by Richard Chang, Culture OC
  • “New book ‘Water Mirror Echo’ explores how Bruce Lee’s legacy still shapes Asian America” by Todd Inoue, San Francisco Chronicle
  • “Asian-American businesses are being decimated by Trump tariffs, Democratic lawmakers warn” by Bochen Han and Khushboo Razdan, South China Morning Post
  • “New campaign uses food to share Asian American stories” by Shawna Chen, Axios
 

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:

  • Futures Fund | Donate to AAJA’s Futures Fund, an endowment campaign that will ensure that AAJA can pursue its mission as long as necessary.

External and Partner Opportunities:

Fellowships and Trainings

  • Sports Journalism Institute 2026 | The Sports Journalism Institute is a nine-week training and internship program for college students interested in sports journalism careers. | Deadline: Monday, November 3.

Job Opportunities:

  • The Atlantic seeks an Assistant Editor who can vet and moderate comments and contributions from readers, film, edit, and produce social videos, and promote community initiatives across platforms. | Deadline: Sunday, Oct. 19.
  • Fox 13 Seattle seeks an Assignment Editor who can assign photographers and reporters to news stories, manage logistics, and monitor news wires and social media for breaking news. | Deadline: Thursday, Oct. 30.
  • US News & World Report seeks an SEM Manager who has experience in PPC/SEM with Google and Microsoft search advertising, Google Sheets and Excel skills, and can use data-driven analysis to identify opportunities. | Deadline: Thursday, Oct. 30.
 

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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

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