June 26, 2020
"Demonstrators to send a peaceful message that they will not stand for police brutality, inequality and systemic racism and to commemorate  #Juneteenth ..." © Chang W. Lee/The New York Times (For more, follow @nytchangster on IG)

In this issue:  
  • Updates & Upcoming Events: #AAJA20 Fest, JCamp Alum Summit, Elections
  • Resources
  • Kudos & On Our List
  • Opportunities: Apply for Speakers’ Bureau, Participate in Research
National Updates


  • Summer Intern A warm welcome to Wesley Chen, our summer intern. He is an economics student at CUNY-Baruch College and an AAJA member since February 2019.

  • Board Elections The nomination period for 2021-2022 AAJA Board President, Vice President of Civic Engagement, and Vice President of Finance will begin Friday, July 3. Only active AAJA members are eligible to nominate a candidate; sign in to check your membership status. Stay tuned for more information.

  • Speakers Bureau Nominate yourself or someone else for the AAJA Speakers Bureau, the first-ever AAPI focused listing of subject matter experts. Our hope is to elevate the broad experience of AAJA members and AAPI leaders to the media and greater community.

  • AAJA-New England, as a member of the Unify coalition of the New England chapters of the NABJ, AAJA, NAHJ, and NLGJA, released this statement in solidarity with Black journalists and Black Americans seeking justice in the nation and accuracy in news coverage of their communities.


📅 Upcoming Virtual Events
#AAJA20 is going virtual! Registration coming soon. Learn more here . Help us plan it -- submit your ideas here .
Make sure to find your local chapter or affinity group on social media to stay connected.


  • July 11 & July 18 The JCamp Virtual Alumni Summit...more details to come

  • July 24 AAJA-NY book club, featuring guest poet Eric Tran, who will be discussing his The Gutter Spread Guide to Prayer. Open to all members. 

  • August 9-15 #AAJA20 Virtual Fest 
"About six or seven years in, eager to move up, I started to apply for newsroom jobs on my own, without success. It took a department leader who was willing to take a chance—to foresee a future version of me—and hire me in 1998 for a job I would have to grow into.

That was Bill Sing , editor of LA Times Biz News and, not incidentally, a founder of AAJA , through which we had first met."

- Henry Furhmann
in a Twitter thread reflection , posted on his 30th work anniversary, about the LA Times ’s shortcomings in supporting journalists of color
Resources

  • Style: The AP Stylebook has updated its guidance on race-related coverage to capitalize Black, Aboriginal, and Indigenous when referring to a racial, ethnic, or cultural identity.



  • Trainings: ACES: the Society for Editing is offering all its webcast trainings for free to members and non-members through July 31.



👏 #AAJAKudos to...

Celebrate your achievements with us -- tag @aaja or let us know on the Slack. 


  • Niala Boodhoo, the host of the new Axios Today podcast (Check out this piece in the Washingtonian in which Niala talks about the vision behind this new podcast)



  • Kellie Hwang, who joined the San Francisco Chronicle as an engagement reporter (Read about her cross-country move)

  • Sisi Wei, Director of Programs at OpenNews, who joined the board of the News Revenue Hub

  • Ameer Al-Khatahtbeh, founder of Muslim, who received a grant from the Knight Foundation to support his digital media publication and online community for millennial and Gen-Z Muslims. 

"And sometimes the news delivers a combination of stories that connects the dots for us and illuminates a truth as obvious as any constellation in the night sky.

The pandemic showed us that racial and economic disparities have lethal consequences. Amy Cooper, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd showed us that not only is police brutality against Black people lethal, but that some white people are aware of that disparity and willing and able to use it as a weapon, often without consequences."

- Frank Shyong
On Our List, Member Bylines 
📰 To read












📺  To watch


🎧 To listen 



"It's weird to cheer a political decision as a journalist. It’s weird to think that your life as you know it depends on something that a reporter should be impartial about.

But how can I not feel happy about Thursday’s Supreme Court decision?

DACA has given me my livelihood. It has given me an opportunity to pursue my dream. It has given me a chance to be the best person I can be."
- Jeong Park
Opportunities


  • Submit AAJA Speakers Bureau Nominations here.

  • Check out the AAJA Jobs Board and the #aaja-jobs Slack channel for career opportunities


Participate in Research

  • As a reporter, photographer, or videographer, do sources you interact with sometimes call you “fake news,” refuse to work with you, or make the job more difficult because they don’t trust you or other journalists? Participate in this online study survey by Kelsey Mesmer, doctoral candidate at Wayne State University.

  • What are your experiences as an Asian American in the US ( > 18 years of age) during the COVID-19 pandemic? Participate in this online study survey by Dr. Sherry Wang and graduate student Bianca Santos at Santa Clara University.
Did you produce (or consume) some great journalism recently? Put your work on our radar , so we can feature you in the next member highlights.