This a great opportunity for a newspaper journalist to have his/her tuition, housing and transportation costs covered at our ELP Introductory Session, March 10-14, 2010in New York City.

Additionally, 22 other newspaper fellowships are available via NAA between January – June 2010.

Please pass this information on to your colleagues. Please note that applications MUST BE RECEIVED BY December 4.

The NAA application is located here:

http://www.aaja.org/programs/professional/fellowships/#naamf

http://www.aaja.org/programs/professional/executive_leadership/sessions/

More information on ELP is located here:

http://www.aaja.org/programs/professional/executive_leadership/

Read about Marian Liu’s experiences in the 2009 ELP program as a NAA Minority Fellowship here:

http://www.aaja.org/news/Headliners/2009_10_30_01

The 2010 ELP Introductory Session is supported by a grant from the McCormick Foundation. The Introductory Session is hosted by People, with additional support from NY1 News and The New York Times.

It’s time for the 2010 chapter election! This is an especially exciting year to be a leader with AAJA Los Angeles as the National Convention is coming to our city Aug. 4-7, 2010.

We always looking for – and very much welcome members who can “step up” and give back to AAJA. It’s your chapter. So please help us make a difference!

If you would like to run for a board position (we can have an unlimited number of regular board members) or nominate someone, please email Chapter Secretary

Grace Lim with the candidate’s name, brief bio, and why they/you should be president/vp/ etc.

DEADLINE IS: October 31st, 2009

Positions open:

1. President (1)

2. Vice Presidents (2)

3. Secretary (1)

4. Treasurer (1 – does not have to be a journalist)

5. National Advisory Board Representative (1)

6. Board member (Unlimited)

Thanks!

Grace Lim

gelim@cbs.com

AAJA-LA Secretary

We’ll show you the essential tools and skills you need to become a multimedia journalist at AAJA-LA’s Audio/Video Basics Workshop.

Date: Saturday, June 20

Time: 12:30-3 p.m.

Where: KoreAm Journal, 17000 Vermont Ave., Suite A, Gardena 90247

Who should attend: Reporters, photojournalists, bloggers – anyone interested in enhancing their multimedia skills.

In this practical workshop, you’ll learn how to …

- Navigate your way around a basic video camera
- Create a simple video news clip
- Upload and file videos to the Web
- Find and use the right sound
- Enhance your voicing skills
- Translate your print skills into an audio production

RSVP to Melissa Mecija at m.mecija@gmail.com. This workshop will be limited to 20 participants, so please RSVP early. You are welcome to bring a digital camera with video capturing abilities to help yourself follow along.

The instructors:

Darryl Kim is a videographer, editor and engineer at FOX 11 News in Los Angeles. He is also co-owner of WorldWise Productions (www.worldwiseproductions.com), a full-service video production company. He began his TV news career at a cable news station in Santa Monica, moved onto videography work at KCOP Channel 13 in Los Angeles,
then to KSBW the number one NBC affiliate in Salinas, California. He was the chief videographer at KSWB, the WB affiliate in San Diego, for five years. He briefly worked at KNBC in Los Angeles before moving to KTTV/KCOP three years ago.

Phillip Ige is a photojournalist for KTLA Channel 5. Phil’s first job as a news photographer came in 1998 at KERO, the ABC affiliate in Bakersfield. As the years moved forward, Phil has worked in markets like Santa Barbara, CA and Norfolk, VA. After 5 years in the San Diego market(KSWB, KNSD), he packed his bags and moved back home to L.A to
work for KTLA. He’s been there for 8 months now. In July of this year, Phil earned his very first Emmy Award for his achievement in News Photography. Phil is a member and Board Member for the Los Angeles Chapter of the Asian American Journalist Association.

Corey Takahashi is a freelance journalist and audio producer. He started his career in the newspaper industry, then moved into magazines and public radio. He was a contributor to the program “Pacific Time,” which covered Asia and Asian America, airing in the U.S. and Hong Kong. His subsequent radio stories have been distributed by National Public Radio, Public Radio International, American Public Media, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and other broadcast outlets. He was a staffer at New York Public Radio, Newsday, Entertainment Weekly, Vibe, and a founding editor at the 1990s hip-hop magazine, Blaze. As a freelancer, he has filed stories from international stops, including Venice, Mumbai, and Phnom Penh.

The client is DEWAR’S.

Thank you!

For more information:
Carlos Munguia
7510 Sunset Boulevard, #1415
Los Angeles, CA 90046
T 323.845.9836
F 323.883.1821
carlos@thebeckwithcompany.com

AAJA-LA 2008 Peter Imamura Scholarship recipient Elaine Teng interviewed Endo for AAJA-LA’s website.

What are some of your duties as AAJA director?

It’s pretty clear-cut. It’s to oversee the national staff, guide operations, work with the programs and the financial people and report to the national president and the national board on a regular basis.

What is your previous experience with AAJA?

I was a member for a short time in 2001 and I was active for a little bit with the LA chapter [but] I actually got involved with other organizations not related to journalism and couldn’t spend the time that I wanted. But at the time, I was working for the newspaper, The Rafu Shimpo, the Japanese Daily News, so I was actually trying to get everyone on the paper to join.

I know that with the Internet and especially with the financial crisis, a lot of newspapers are under threat. How do you hope to help AAJA deal with this?

First, to provide the tools, including consulting with experts on re-applying skills, making sure that we are able to provide information on job openings that our members might be interested in but also to gauge the industry itself on a regular basis. It’s something that constantly is in a state of flux so I think that we want to be diligent about watching the changes and assessing the changes so that there’s not an overreaction by the people who are in the industry because it is going through a state of flux, which doesn’t mean it’s over, and also to, for those who are directly affected, to make sure they are supported in whatever way that we can determine.

What are some of the other challenges you think AAJA will face?

Fundraising. Just like every other non-profit organization in America, we rely on contributions from private and corporate sources and we want to make sure that our mission really aligns with people who are in a position to donate to us and we want to be thought of as an organization that actually fulfills its promises and is really cognizant of the mission in a practical as well as a philosophical way.

On the press release, the AAJA National President talks about your “fundraising expertise.” Could you tell us about some of your previous experiences?

I actually worked with several organizations including the Go For Broke National Education Center. I worked with them in raising funds. I’ve also received training from Indiana University School of Fundraising and I worked with the USC Asian-American Alumni Association and their fundraising efforts and I guess a number of organizations as a consultant, including the Heart Mountain, Wyoming Foundation. Heart Mountain was the site of one of the Japanese internment sites. I’m working as an advisor to their fundraising effort. A lot of that is volunteer, but I’ve also been a consultant specifically to raise money. [I] identify funding sources and create the materials.

I know AAJA recently issued a statement on the importance of diversity in the newsroom. How does AAJA hope to maintain and even further the progress made in recent years?

I think, number one, we have to be constantly vigilant. We want to make sure that we speak for those, not just for those who are affected, but for those who might be affected. I think one way is to make certain that the decision makers are aware that AAJA exists, that it is going to be very assertive in its efforts to maintain diversity in the newsroom and in the diversity of news coverage. I think, two, we want quality not just quantity. We want people in writing in the ranks, we want diversity in the decision-making levels as well.

What are some of your other goals for AAJA?

One, I want to build the endowment and also expand the membership to include those who have just entered the journalism and communications field. We also want to include the ethnic newspapers and the broadcasts and the radio journalists that we’ve not really been able to attract in large numbers up to now. Certainly, the desire is there but I think we’re going to have a more concerted effort to appeal to the Asian Americans in those media.

I think that one of my goals is to revisit the mission. It’s sort of an ongoing process so I hesitate to be specific, but I think every organization has to revisit its mission every three to four years, so I think it’s time for AAJA to look at its mission and make sure that it’s a mission that encompasses the positive achievements we’re aiming for. For instance, if we’re training young people through J Camp, does this J Camp have to change, because we don’t want to train people for jobs that aren’t there. Let’s look at what we’re actually teaching and how we can expand our reach, but also stay true to what AAJA, on a realistic level, can contribute to our profession and our society.

Elaine Teng is a student at Amherst College.