The Los Angeles Chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association

Hannah Bae and Matthew Crowley Honored With Henry Fuhrmann Mentor Award

Los Angeles, CA. — The Asian American Journalists Association, Los Angeles chapter, and ACES: The Society for Editing have named two winners of the third annual Henry Fuhrmann Mentor Award. The award honors working journalists who actively mentor other journalists. This year saw the most nominations ever, and the committee decided to name two worthy mentors: Hannah Bae and Matthew Crowley. Each winner is honored with a certificate and a $1,000 prize.

Hannah Bae is a journalist, nonfiction writer, and illustrator. She started her journalism career in Seoul on a Princeton-in-Asia fellowship that led to editor positions at some of South Korea’s largest news organizations. For the next decade, she worked in newsrooms at CNN Business, Newsday, and the U.S. State Department.

Bae said that in mid-career, she is devoting more time to mentoring fellow journalists. She said she operates under the idea that “there is only one you. And no job is worth sacrificing your emotional or physical well-being.”

One mentee, Kami Rieck, wrote of Bae: “She challenged me to center my health and mind, to accept that work-life balance is necessary to be able to sustain a career in media.” Rieck, New York Times Opinion staff editor for audience and fact-checking based in Seoul, Korea, went on to say, “Hannah always empowered me to tap into various life experiences and use them as tools of empathy in my career. Most importantly, I have a renewed appreciation for community because of Hannah.”

Another mentee, Chris Karnadi, a culture writer and editor, wrote, “Walking with Hannah through a journalism event is like walking with the mayor. She has rapport with so many people, and rather than gatekeeping her network, she is always introducing people to one another. She’s beloved by her community and consistently shows up for other people, whether big or small in the industry. She inspires me to be a better writer, and a better human.”

Bae was the nonfiction winner of the Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award (2020), a Peter Taylor Fellow for the Kenyon Review Writers Workshops (2021, 2022), a fellow at the Asian American Writers’ Workshop (2019), and a nominee for the Pushcart Prize for her essays (2019). Now as a freelance journalist, she covers arts and culture, including books, for the San Francisco Chronicle, the Boston Globe, and Kirkus Reviews. Her freelance work has appeared in the Washington Post, CNN, Monocle, and Eater. An active member of AAJA, she codirected the organization’s national mentoring program from 2017 to 2021.

Matthew Crowley’s journalism career spans more than three decades and includes stints at newspapers in Nevada, Arizona, and New York. Most recently, he served as PolitiFact’s copy chief from 2022 to this year. He has supervised, edited, and written for all four major newsroom desks — city, business, features, and sports.

Nominators said they can trust Crowley to respond no matter what. Mentee Jenna Barackman, of the Denver Business Journal, wrote that although she and Crowley had never met in person, “that has not stopped him from doing everything in his power to help me grow professionally and personally.”

Barackman added: “Perhaps the most helpful thing he did for me was read each and every one of my cover letters (and provide notes and edits), review my resumes, help select which clips I would submit. With that help, I began landing second interviews. Then offers — none of which had happened before.” She said Crowley is “always wanting and willing to help others, especially young journalists, cheering on others’ accomplishments.”

Mentee Madison Czopek, a staff writer at PolitiFact, called Crowley “a meticulous and dedicated editor who deeply loves helping writers’ work shine. Matthew motivates writers to improve by consistently providing thoughtful, detailed and positive feedback.”

Crowley has won national, regional, and state awards for reporting and headline writing, and he mentors journalists through the Syracuse University Alumni Partnership and Arizona State Journalism Mentoring programs. He is an active member of ACES and Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE).

“Entering journalism can be brutal and lonely,” Crowley said of his motivation to mentor. “Physical newsrooms that once brought people together are dwindling. Even when they thrived, finding guidance in them was hard. Workloads were heavy, deadlines were short, people were harried. I remember feeling lost when I got in. I promised myself I’d make things better.”

This award honors former Los Angeles Times editor Henry Fuhrmann, a longtime leader and mentor in both ACES and AAJA-Los Angeles, who gave generously of his time and expertise to help shape the careers of many journalists at all career stages. Both organizations thank this year’s judges, Mark Allen and Jay Wang from ACES and Samantha Masunaga and Julie Patel Liss from AAJA-LA. To support this award, tax-deductible donations can be made to the ACES Education Fund or AAJA-LA (please specify the donation is for the Fuhrmann Award). Questions about the award can be sent to ACES Education Board Member Ellen Kuwana (info@ellenkuwana.com).