TODAY is the last day to pre-order tickets for the Lunar New Year Banquet!
Just a quick reminder: Today is the last day to pre-order tickets for the Lunar New Year Banquet! Save up to $10 if you pre-order.
See you then!
Uncategorized
Silent Auction items
I was reviewing our Silent Auction list and I couldn’t help but be so grateful for all of the donations made by local businesses and the AAJA community for our Silent Auction. Here’s a sneak peek of what you can bid on next week:
Be a cheesemaker apprentice for a day, get free samples and be treated to lunch with Beecher’s Seattle‘s Cheesemaker for a Day certificate.
Don’t have a car? Zip around town with gift certificates from Zipcar Seattle!
Dine in style with a gift certificate from Seattle’s famous Canlis Restaurant! Thanks to some KING 5 employees for donating this tasty item.
A one-night stay in Deluxe Accommodations at Pan Pacific Seattle.
A one-night stay with complimentary parking at Hotel Max in the heart of downtown Seattle.
Wine from Guardian Cellars in Woodinville.
An evening with Jennifer Egan: Two tickets to a Seattle Arts and Lectures Series talk.
Get picked up in style with a gift certificate from Uber, Seattle’s private towncar company.
A “New Year, New You” package filled with goodies such as personal training sessions, and gift certificates to PCC Natural Market, Starbucks and an American Express Gift Card.
Ever wanted to go mushroom hunting? Matt Ironside of The Seattle Times will take you and a group of friends on a private mushroom hunting trip!
A portrait session with Ava Van of Ava Van Photography.
… and much more! Proceeds from the Silent Auction will benefit the Northwest Journalists of Color Scholarship.
Tickets on sale for the 2012 Lunar New Year Banquet & Silent Auction
Get your tickets now for AAJA Seattle’s biggest fundraiser of the year! This year’s banquet will be held on Jan. 28 at 6 p.m. at Acquabar in Belltown. Silent auction proceeds will go toward the Northwest Journalists of Color scholarship, which has supported more than 100 college students since the mid-1980s.
Highlights of this year’s banquet include:
- Up-and-coming Taiwanese American comedian Yola Lu
- Photo booth by Ava Van of Ava Van Photography
- Full 8-item dinner
- Performance by Trackademics
- Dancing after 10 p.m.
Our emcee for the evening will be Elizabeth Dinh, reporter, KOMO 4 News.
Ticket prices will go up, so get yours soon: http://lunarnewyear2012.eventbrite.com/
All ages welcome.
AAJA Seattle in 2011
Chapter President’s Report
Dear friends,
Your AAJA Seattle chapter ends 2011 with noteworthy accomplishments, a strong community presence and new leaders.
Just this year, AAJA Seattle played an important leadership role in calling for the release of detained Al Jazeera reporter Dorothy Parvaz, a former AAJA Seattle member. The chapter also hosted a memorable Northwest Journalists of Color scholarship reception emceed by AAJA Seattle VP Owen Lei, with great support from KING TV, Safeco Foundation and The Seattle Times.
Former NJC scholarship recipient Thanh Tan, a multimedia reporter for The Texas Tribune, delivered the keynote speech to this year’s scholarship recipients. If you want to be inspired, watch her outstanding speech:
Our chapter and the Seattle Association of Black Journalists presented a leadership plaque to Seattle Times Publisher Frank Blethen for his consistent support of diversity nationally and locally. And we cut a red velvet cake to mark the 25th anniversary of the NJC scholarship, which has helped more than 100 aspiring journalists of color from Washington state with college expenses.
Chapter VP Owen Lei also brought together our board and other active members for a video shoot at Seattle Center. The video was incorporated in the LA chapter’s AAJA Trivia Bowl video.
The Seattle chapter had an impressive showing at the AAJA National Convention in Detroit. Three of our members – Caroline Li, Sarah Wallace, and Sunny Wu – were awarded Ford Foundation fellowships to attend the conference. The chapter also sponsored University of Washington student Peter Sessum with a Founders scholarship. Whitworth University graduate Kyle Kim joined the team at this year’s VOICES convention newsroom project, which was led by the able Marian Liu (now community manager at Storify.com). Athima Chansanchai represented the Seattle chapter on the convention programming committee co-chair and on the Governing Board as National Secretary.
Former AAJA National President Sharon Chan received the Outstanding Leadership Award from AAJA’s Executive Leadership Program. Yours truly was humbled to receive the Chapter President of the Year award and the Gannett Foundation’s Digital Innovation in Watchdog Journalism award. Seattle Times Publisher Frank Blethen received the AAJA Special Recognition Award. Congratulations to all!
We have some fantastic talent leading the chapter in 2012:
VP-Programs: Lauren Rabaino, associate web producer, seattletimes.com (term expires in 2013)
VP-Events: Caroline Li, web entrepreneur (term expires in 2012)
Treasurer: Mai Hoang, business reporter, The Yakima Herald-Republic (term expires in 2012)
Secretary: Samantha Pak, reporter, The Redmond Reporter (term expires in 2013)
National Board Representative: Sanjay Bhatt, business reporter, The Seattle Times (term expires in 2013)
The new board already has stepped up to the plate, and it’s not even Jan. 1! Sona Patel helped organize Holiday Scoop 2011, an unaffiliated event, with AAJA members Sharon Chan and Candace Heckman and Online News Association member Tiffany Campbell. The event raised $2,000 for the Northwest Journalists of Color Scholarship!
The new board has begun planning for our 2012 Lunar New Year Banquet & Silent Auction, which will be held Jan. 28 at Acquabar in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood.
You may have noticed that AAJA Seattle’s website has a new look and feel. The site has served mainly as a bulletin board for chapter news and job listings as well as an archive of photos, videos and stories about past chapter events. Thanks to incoming chapter VP Lauren Rabaino, as well as AAJA members Sarah Wallace, Furhana Afrid and Sunny Wu, the site now is integrated with our @aajaseattle Twitter account and designed to offer a better user experience and engagement. If you’d like to contribute stories to the site, please contact Lauren, whose Twitter handle is @laurenrabaino.
As we close out 2011, you still have a few days to make a tax-deductible donation to AAJA! You can make an online donation to AAJA National’s Power of One campaign or its scholarships. The Seattle chapter also welcomes donations by check to its P.O. Box. The chapter will have a PayPal option in 2012.
Don’t forget to renew your AAJA membership! I encourage you to renew at the Gold or Platinum level, each of which include perks and special mention on the chapter and national websites. Platinum level membership includes your registration fee for UNITY 2012 in Las Vegas!
For the past four years, I have been honored to serve the chapter during a period of turbulence for our employers and our occupation. Working together, we finished the campaign to establish a $100,000 endowment for the NJC scholarships, grew membership despite the closure of The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and increased our reach through workshops, partnerships, field trips and digital media.
We are blessed in Seattle with a cadre of leaders who have an ethic of giving and paying it forward. I’d like to thank several people who supported me in ways large and small during my term: my fellow board members Nicole Tsong, Mai Hoang, Athima Chansanchai, Venice Buhain, Caroline Li, Owen Lei; AAJA Executive Director Kathy Chow; Karen Johnson of Hacks & Hackers; former AAJA chapter officers Sharon Chan and Lori Matsukawa; and the leadership of The Seattle Times, especially Publisher Frank Blethen, Executive Editor David Boardman and former Executive Editor Mike Fancher.
Being a journalist today is more challenging and entrepreneurial than ever before. Journalists must sharpen their skills, cultivate their network and have a community to stand behind them. You and your fellow members are AAJA. Together, we are charting a new course for journalism in the 21st century.
Happy New Year!
Sanjay Bhatt
Seattle Chapter President
The Holiday Scoop journo party will be free!
Update Dec. 7: The City of Seattle has decided to enforce an admission-fee policy against us, requiring us to pay taxes on this nonprofit scholarship fundraiser. So, instead of giving the city a cut of the Northwest Journalists of Color scholarships, we are opening the party to all invitees for free. Donations are welcome online and at the event. To trim costs, we have eliminated the karaoke throwdown.
Join your friends and colleagues for Seattle’s biggest journalist party of the year: The Holiday Scoop 2011. Let’s celebrate the holidays, great journalism and the successes of our local news organizations. Our 2nd annual all-media holiday party will bring together television, radio, online and print journalists. All Puget Sound-based newsroom staffers and former staffers invited. Nosh on hors d’oeuvres and drink at our no-host bar. Lori Matsukawa of KING TV will emcee again! (See photos of last year’s event)
Event Details:
The Holiday Scoop 2011
Friday Dec. 9, 2011
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
The Last Supper Club
124 S. Washington Street, Pioneer Square, Seattle
Advance tickets $20
Tickets at the door $30
Buy your tickets at http://holidayscoop2011.eventbrite.com
This event is 21 and over
Defending press freedom for student journalists at WWU
By Gina Cole
To use a metaphor that sports writers may jibe me for: some of my peers at Western Washington University seem to view college not as the season opener to adult life, but as merely a scrimmage. “Sure, we’re doing the same things, but they don’t affect our record right now.â€
It sounds implausible that members of the digital generation who document their lives on social networks would delude themselves that way. But let’s forget about Facebook’s bottomless memory and humor them for a moment, because they almost had a major impact on our school’s interpretation of the First Amendment.
On Oct. 26, the Student Senate at Western introduced a resolution that would have allowed sources to back-edit Western publications’ content. It proposed that students or alumni featured in a publication could, one to 10 years later, tell the publication to delete the content and wipe it from the online archives.
I’m guessing most people reading this are journalists. While you folks pick your jaws up off the floor or try to control your incredulous laughter, I’ll explain the reasoning behind the proposal. More
Writing the next chapter of AAJASeattle.org
A group of chapter members is working on making improvements to AAJASeattle.org so that it serves your needs even better. The site was launched in 2008 during the UNITY conference in Chicago. It runs on the WordPress platform and is hosted by DreamHost.
We’d love to get your feedback on the site and what you would most like to see in Version 2.0.
Please fill out this survey and send it to your friends who come to the site!
Chapter board elections approaching
Hey AAJA Seattle,
It’s time for the chapter to elect board members for 2012!
There are four seats up for election, all of which are two-year terms, effective Jan. 1, 2012:
- President
Vice president, Programs
Secretary
National Board representative
Serving on the chapter board is an important way for you to demonstrate your leadership (a key skill many employers look for), give back to this organization and support your fellow members.
Chapter secretary Venice Buhain will oversee our elections, which will occur in mid-October. Our national office will receive the names of our 2012 chapter board members by Nov. 1.
FAQ
Who’s eligible to run and vote?
Anyone whose 2011 membership dues are current as of Sept. 30, and is a Full Member. This means those who receive the majority of their income from or spend the majority of their work time in journalistic work (including freelance), those unemployed members between journalism jobs, or those who have left journalism but were AAJA members and journalists for five or more consecutive years. Associate, Student and Retired members are NOT eligible to run or vote.
What is the time commitment?
The board meets at least six times a year to discuss chapter business and plan our two marquee events: Northwest Journalists of Color Scholarship Reception (early June) and the Lunar New Year Banquet & Silent Auction (late January/early February). Board members are expected to participate in these meetings (generally an hour or two) and these two events.
What are you looking for in board members?
Each board seat has distinct responsibilities, which makes it easier for the group to delegate tasks and for individuals to figure out what fits their skills and talents. Of course, the board can decide to change these duties to fit the needs of the group and the chapter.
- President: This person is responsible for the overall health of the chapter and represents the chapter at the National Convention and in the Seattle community. Typical duties: Facilitating board meetings, managing relationships with other organizations, and speaking on AAJA Seattle’s behalf in the community.
Vice president, Programs: This person is responsible for the Northwest Journalists of Color Scholarship outreach efforts, judging and reception.
Vice president, Events (seat open in 2013): This person is responsible for the Lunar New Year Banquet & Silent Auction. This person also could organize the summer BBQ, social outings and happy-hour mixers.
Secretary: This person is responsible for the chapter board’s official minutes and elections. This person also could be the group’s social media manager.
Treasurer (seat open in 2013): This person is responsible for managing the chapter’s finances and complying with National’s rules on bookkeeping. This is the only board position that can be held by someone other than a Full Member, i.e. Associate or Retired Members.
National Board Representative: This person is responsible for soliciting input from the local board on issues coming to a vote before the National board and reporting back to the local board. This person is required to represent the chapter at the National Convention.
We will be holding a chapter mixer sometime in the next month. Board members will be there if you want to ask them questions about serving on the board or the elections process.
Oct. 12 is the filing deadline to register your interest in running for a chapter board seat. Send an email to chapter Secretary Venice Buhain, including your name, job title, company and a brief statement (no more than 250 words) on why you’re running.
Oct. 27 is the deadline for casting your ballots. As in previous elections, you’ll most likely receive a ballot electronically.
If you have any questions, send an email to aajaseattle@gmail.com with “2012 chapter elections” in the subject line. Or you can contact one of the board officers directly. Thanks!
Help wanted: Editor for AAJASeattle.org
Three years ago, AAJASeattle.org was re-launched on the WordPress platform. Happy birthday, AAJASeattle.org!
AAJA should be proud of this little website. It’s an important community resource in the online landscape of Pacific Northwest journalism sites. Don’t believe me? I too was shocked when a research study that came out at the 2010 Journalism That Matters conference put aajaseattle.org on the map – literally. Use the Zoom (+) button below and look at the center of the map.
Data visualization of the Pacific Northwest News Ecology, Jan 2010
Over the years, as the site’s founding editor, I’ve watched it grow and become a part of our chapter’s strategy for building community online and reaching out to members hungry for training, mentoring and jobs.
My vision for AAJASeattle.org was and still is a place for our members – especially students and freelancers – to post their profiles, share links to their stories and offer emerging, diverse journalists a platform to display their storytelling in new media (and maybe get constructive comments). I think it could realize that vision with a staff of three to five dedicated volunteers.
The chapter’s costs to keep the site up are minimal – a server hosting account and domain name – but the content our authors contribute is priceless.
The blog post items, which chronicle chapter news and turbulent times of our profession, come from members willing to donate their time. And sometimes we get photos and videos posted of chapter events.
With no advertising, no dedicated staff and sporadic blog posts, the site has attracted nearly 7,000 visits over the past year (yes, we track it using Google Analytics). We set up the site so that @aajaseattle sends out a tweet for every new post.
Now it’s time for a new editor with fresh ideas and energy to assume the duties and nurture the site’s evolution.
This is a great VOLUNTEER opportunity for anyone who hopes to be a web producer, blogger or site manager some day.
Skills you will develop as site editor:
- Blogging about a community.
Recruiting and managing contributing writers.
Tracking and interpreting site analytics.
Managing the WordPress platform.
Skills we’d hope you have or are willing to learn if you want this gig:
- Knowledge of basic HTML tags and how to tag content to improve search.
Knowledge of any blogging platform, i.e. WordPress, TypePad, Tumblr, Blogger.
Proficiency in editing copy.
Editorial judgment and basic understanding of libel, privacy and copyright.
The time commitment is minimal – an hour a week, perhaps – but you could spend more time if you want to create something cool. Definitely something to list on your resume when you apply for jobs at news websites.
If you’re interested in volunteering, please email Sanjay Bhatt, chapter president/aajaseattle.org editor, at sbhatt@seattletimes.com. Please write “AAJASeattle.org – Editor” in the subject line. Thanks!
JOBS: Check out these openings from JournalismJobs.com
It’s summer (finally), and some of you may be looking for jobs. Congratulations to our new graduates! I remember how hard it was to find my first job after college. I applied for jobs at more than 50 news organizations but I wasn’t doing it the smart way. I wasn’t plugged into AAJA’s network.
If you or a friend of yours is hunting for work, here are some job listings recently posted to a leading job site for journalists. If you’ve heard of other job openings that aren’t listed here, please submit a comment with the job lead and we’ll make sure it gets posted.
If the employer asks how you heard about the job, please tell them “AAJA.” And if you GET the job, please consider making a donation to AAJA Seattle this year. Thanks!
Philanthropy Reporter, Puget Sound Business Journal
http://www.journalismjobs.com/Job_Listing.cfm?JobID=1261623
Business Reporter, IntraFish.com
http://www.journalismjobs.com/Job_Listing.cfm?JobID=907082
Reporter, Issaquah Press
http://www.journalismjobs.com/Job_Listing.cfm?JobID=681518
Reporter, Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business
http://www.journalismjobs.com/Job_Listing.cfm?JobID=1258644
Reporter, The Daily (created for digital tablets)
http://www.journalismjobs.com/job_listing.cfm?JobID=1261522
Photo/Video Editor, The Chronicle (Centralia)
http://www.journalismjobs.com/Job_Listing.cfm?JobID=1262236
Editor, Whitman College
http://www.journalismjobs.com/Job_Listing.cfm?JobID=1262976
Writer, Whitman College
http://www.journalismjobs.com/Job_Listing.cfm?JobID=1262977
Visiting Instructor in Journalism, University of Oregon
http://www.journalismjobs.com/Job_Listing.cfm?JobID=1259175
Managing Editor, The World (Coos Bay, Ore.)
http://www.journalismjobs.com/Job_Listing.cfm?JobID=1261596
The Bulletin (Bend, Ore.)
is looking to fill four newsroom jobs:
http://www.journalismjobs.com/Job_Listing.cfm?JobID=1261883
Government reporter:
http://www.journalismjobs.com/Job_Listing.cfm?JobID=1201746
Public Lands Watchdog reporter
http://www.journalismjobs.com/Job_Listing.cfm?JobID=1261855
Editorial Writer
http://www.journalismjobs.com/Job_Listing.cfm?JobID=1232573