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AAJA member William Kim reflects on his UNITY experience

In March I agreed to serve on a mentor board organized by Jerry Baldasty, chair of the University of Washington’s Department of Communication. Jerry paired me with William Kim, who graduated from the UW’s journalism program this year and attended the UNITY conference on a scholarship. I asked William to share his thoughts on his first national journalism conference with the chapter. Here’s what William has to say. If you would like to mentor a student or are looking for a mentor, please e-mail AAJA Seattle at info@aajaseattle.org.

— Sanjay Bhatt, AAJA Seattle Chapter Co-President

By WILLIAM KIM

I didn’t know what to expect going to my first journalism conference, the UNITY: Journalists of Color Convention in Chicago. Nothing I heard or read about UNITY could prepare me for the overwhelming experience of a gathering of thousands of journalists. It was exciting to see so many notable names and faces gathered in one place, such as ESPN columnist J.A. Adande in a panel about broadcast sports journalism and Martin Bashir from ABC News giving a keynote speech at an AAJA banquet.

The overwhelming part was initially not knowing anyone when everyone else around me seemed to be catching up with each other. But that’s what conventions like these are for. The UNITY Convention in one word: networking. Every moment of the conference, whether it was at the convention center, on shuttle buses, or during dinners and parties, was an opportunity to make and update connections. Over four days, I met other journalists, from students to professionals, and learned from their experiences about what it takes to be a journalist in today’s society.

This opportunity to socialize and share experiences with other journalists from all around the country was a way to get a feeling for the state of journalism. Of course there was an overall gloomy disposition about the diminishing advertising revenue and newsroom cutbacks, especially for print. One reporter I talked to was very bitter that her 15 years of print experience was not going to count for much in an era of journalism where multimedia skills are becoming more crucial. This is why much of the focus of the workshops and panel discussions was geared towards developing digital media skills. I had a great opportunity to learn some basics of recording and editing video while following my mentor, Sanjay Bhatt, Seattle Times reporter, as he worked on a multimedia project for UNITY.

We worked on making an audio slideshow about the changing demographics of the south side of Chicago. In a predominately African American neighborhood called Bronzeville that’s steeped in culture and history, new condominium developments are bringing in strangers and some residents are worried the change will dilute the cultural value in the area. Exploring Bronzeville was the highlight of my UNITY experience because it was a chance to see a side of Chicago’s true face. It’s hard to absorb the unique culture of a place from only staying in the downtown area.

If there is one thing I take away from this conference, it’s that the adage, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” is very true. In that sense, I am glad to have attended this convention for the networking opportunities it gave me.

What did you think of UNITY? Add your comments and photos

So you’ve had a chance to get more than 3 hours of sleep. Maybe you’ve even had a chance to review the photos you took at UNITY. Please let the rest of us know what you thought of UNITY.

Upload your photos from UNITY to our AAJASEATTLE Flickr account or our Facebook page. PLEASE compress your pictures for the Web (less than 100 KB) and write captions telling us what we’re looking at. One word of caution: These accounts are public, so don’t post anything you wouldn’t want the entire world to see.

– Sanjay Bhatt, AAJA Seattle Co-President

AAJA Seattle named Chapter of the Year!

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BREAKING NEWS

AAJA Seattle wins Chapter of the Year award

AAJA Seattle wins Chapter of the Year award

CHICAGO — The Seattle chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) has been named the 2008 Chapter of the Year, recognizing its success in establishing a $100,000 endowment for minority journalism scholarships.

Sanjay Bhatt, AAJA Seattle Chapter Co-President, accepted the award on behalf of the chapter. Bhatt co-chaired the past two years’ endowment campaigns, which culminated last year with a record-setting $45,000 in donations. The typical individual donation was $100, but people gave as little as $10 and as much as $7,500.

“I’m honored to accept this award on behalf of all AAJA Seattle members, who have demonstrated their commitment to encouraging tomorrow’s journalists of color,” Bhatt said. “I also want to thank all of our donors, whose generosity allowed us to achieve our vision.”

The endowment supports AAJA Seattle’s Northwest Journalists of Color (NJC) program. The NJC scholarship was started in 1986 by local leaders like Lori Matsukawa (KING TV), who raised $5,000 each year to fund the scholarships. NJC has awarded scholarships to more than 100 student journalists. NJC alumni have gone on to work at major news organizations, such as The Seattle Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Associated Press, CBS News and Sony Pictures.

The endowment drive kicked off four years ago under the leadership of then-AAJA Seattle Chapter President Sharon Chan, who is running for AAJA National President. Seattle’s success story can be replicated, says Chan, who will lead a national AAJA endowment campaign dubbed “The Power of One.”

“What Seattle’s success simply shows,” Bhatt said, “is that individuals — co-workers, friends and family — support diversity in our profession. It’s our job to give them a concrete way to express that belief in our mission.”

Opportunities for AAJA Seattle members to meet up at UNITY

1) WEDNESDAY at 2 pm at AAJA’s Fundraising meeting. Go to top floor of the hotel and look for the AAJA President’s suite.

2) WEDNESDAY at 4:30 pm before the UNITY CEREMONY, which starts at 5 p.m. in the Skyline Ballroom at McCormick Place West. Look for Chapter Secretary Venice Buhain, who will be outside the ballroom. Other chapter officers will be reserving a bank of seats inside.

3) THURSDAY at 9:30 p.m. at SHARON’s BIRTHDAY PARTY at Crimson Lounge.

4) FRIDAY at 12:30 p.m. at the AAJA GENERAL MEMBERSHIP meeting. McCormick Convention Center / W192C/McCormick Place West, 2391 South Lake Shore Drive.

5) FRIDAY at 6:30/6:45 p.m. to save tables at the AAJA GALA BANQUET, Hyatt Regency Chicago / Grand Ballroom, 151 East Wacker Drive.

UNITY hotels: Who’s staying where

You want to meet up with fellow AAJA Seattle members. They tell you to meet them at their hotel. But where are they staying? Here’s a map to help you find your way. Once you click on any point, you can move in all directions by clicking and dragging the hand. And if you want a larger map, click on the link below the Google map.
View Larger Map

Shuttle service from the Convention Center to the following hotels:

– Chicago City Centre (side entrance on Fairbanks)
– Hyatt Regency Chicago (curbside on Wacker Drive)
– Inn of Chicago (curbside on St. Clair)
– Sheraton Chicago (curbside on Columbus Drive)

AAJA Seattle awards 2008 Northwest Journalists of Color scholarships

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On June 18, the Asian American Journalists Association Seattle chapter awarded five promising young men and women scholarships to recognize their talent and encourage their journalism aspirations.

AAJA Seattle has been building a pipeline of minority journalists through the Northwest Journalists of Color program since 1986. More than 100 scholarships have been awarded. Previous winners have gone on to work for The Seattle Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Associated Press, CBS News and many, many more news organizations.

The Seattle Times hosted the reception in its auditorium, and sports columnist Jerry Brewer gave a heartfelt speech that inspired and moved us all.

Left to right: KING 5 anchor Lori Matsukawa, Mary Jean Spadafora, Seattle Times columnist Jerry Brewer, Tom Giratikanon's father, Peter Sessum, Michelle Ericksen, Olivia Hernandez.

Left to right: KING 5 anchor Lori Matsukawa, Mary Jean Spadafora, Seattle Times columnist Jerry Brewer, Tom Giratikanon's father, Peter Sessum, Michelle Ericksen, Olivia Hernandez.

Congratulations to this year’s NJC winners!
Michelle Ericksen
Michelle Ericksen, 20, is a senior at the University of Washington, where she is double majoring in political science and communications. Michelle says she discovered her passion in a journalism class at Highline Community College and went on to become editor of The Thunderword, the student newspaper. In addition to her numerous academic honors at Highline Community College, Michelle is the recipient of the Blethen award, which is aimed at UW students and designed to encourage cultural and ethnic diversity in the journalism profession. Born in India, Michelle is multi-racial: Persian, Punjabi and Norwegian. Michelle wrote in her essay, “Being born in a different country has made me appreciative of all the diversity especially in Seattle. Whenever I write a story, I try and get as many different opinions as I can.”

Tom Giratikanon
Tom Giratikanon, 21, is a senior at Northwestern University, where he is majoring in journalism. If there’s one running theme in Tom’s journalism pursuits, it’s blazing his own trail. At Edmonds-Woodway High School, he started The Prophet, an alternative student newspaper, and in college, he founded an award-winning daily online news site, North by Northwestern, that rivals the daily student newspaper. He’s now the lead web developer and designer for Abroad View magazine, a national magazine about study abroad. One of his professors writes, “I have no doubt that his commitment to ethics, high skill set and entrepreneurial spirit will allow him to be a journalist who makes a strong mark on the industry in the future.” Tom is a 2005 recipient of the NJC scholarship.
Olivia Hernandez
Olivia Hernandez, 18, joins Seattle University this fall and is a communications major. She graduated from A.C. Davis High School in Yakima, was a stand-out participant in last year’s summer journalism workshop at Seattle University and has written for four years for the Yakima Herald-Republic’s weekly “Unleashed” section for teens. For two years in a row she won honors for her writing in the national Youth Editorial Alliance awards across all newspaper circulation sizes. Olivia writes, “I have learned that being able to represent others and give them a voice is the most important task carried out by journalists and it is a torch that I cannot wait to bear.” As her editor at the Yakima paper tells us, Olivia is one of the best writers Unleashed has had and is a quiet leader among the teen writers, “the kind that leads by example, by doing and listening and modeling principles, not by being loud or bossy.”
Peter Sessum
Peter Sessum, 36, is a student at Edmonds Community College, where he studies journalism and is an editor at the student newspaper, The Triton Review. A father and husband, Peter returned to school after working for more than a year in Afghanistan on counter-narcotics operations for the State Department. Peter brings a rare perspective to his work, having visited 29 nations during his time in the Army, and intends to report from overseas on “what people in the countries where the military is currently deployed really think.”

Mary Jean Spadafora
Mary Jean Spadafora, 18, starts college this fall at the University of Washington, where she plans to major in communications. Mary graduated from Kentridge High School, where she wrote for its Fleet Street News. A Cherokee by birth, Mary says that she wants to make the news more interesting for teens and young adults without sacrificing objectivity and good writing. Her journalism teacher writes, “Whether through a carefully wrought piece of analysis or a straightforward inverted pyramid news piece, she crafts, edits, reconsiders, and rewrites. Too often do students think one draft is sufficient. Mary Jean is not a typical student.” Mary also has volunteered in a nursing home and the Ronald McDonald House and was a member of her high school’s band and varsity cheer squad.