training

2010 AAJA Convention – Back to the Future

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(L to R): Yakima Herald-Republic reporter Mai Hoang and student members Peter Sessum, Katelin Chow and Mary Pauline Diaz.
(Yakima Herald-Republic reporter Mai Hoang, NJC scholarship winner Peter Sessum and Founder’s Scholarship winners Katelin Chow and Mary Pauline Diaz.)

“Back to the Future” was the motto of this year’s AAJA National Convention in Los Angeles.

Aside from being the title of one of my favorite movies as a kid, “Back to the Future” succinctly captures this year’s milieu: We put the awfulness of 2009 behind us and looked ahead to the opportunities of tomorrow. We gave ourselves the space to dream once again — in Hollywood, a place where humans fail hard and often. But we all know that a few of the persistent ones eventually get a lucky break and make their dreams come true!

AAJA today is a dream realized for the journalists who founded it in 1981. You can’t help but feel moved by this awesome promo video marking the occasion of our organization’s 30th anniversary.

Courage. Pride. Passion.

These are words that come to mind when I think of the people who represented our Seattle chapter.

We can all be proud of our AAJA National President Sharon Chan and AAJA National Treasurer Candace Heckman for steering the organization through one of the most difficult years in its history. They made tough decisions, but today the organization has survived a fiscal crisis and is on steadier ground with a new executive director.

Who else was there from our chapter? KING5 anchor Lori Matuskawa; VOICES project director Marian Liu; and several of your chapter board members (Athima Chansanchai, Venice Buhain, Caroline Li and yours truly).

But there were a lot of other faces too! They include:

  • Seattle Times Executive Editor David Boardman
  • KING-TV reporter Owen Lei
  • Yakima Herald-Republic reporter Mai Hoang
  • AOL FanHouse producer Sunny Wu
  • KBCS news director Joaquin Uy (also recipient of an AAJA National award)
  • KNDO-TV (Yakima) reporter Shawn Chitnis
  • Public relations executive Christine Chen
  • Freelance writer Judy Hsu
  • Founder’s Scholarship recipients Katelin Chow and Mary Pauline Diaz
  • Northwest Journalists of Color scholarship winner Peter Sessum
  • Special appearances by Seattle Times Publisher Frank Blethen and former Executive Editor Mike Fancher

For those of you who didn’t come to the LA convention, I ask you, will we see you in Detroit next year? Should AAJA change the way it holds national conventions?

With only four months left in 2010, our chapter continues to offer great programs and events!

Sept. 11, afternoon: AAJA Seattle annual summer picnic. Golden Gardens. FREE. Bring your spouse, kids and anyone else who’s special.

Sept. 21, 11 am-4:30 pm: AAJA members get the SPJ discount to their Freelancer’s Survival Guide conference at REI. $30 members, $40 non-members.

Oct. 16, all day: Northwest Video Workshop at KING TV. $35 registration. First 10 AAJA members to register get in for $20. (You must send an email to me at sbhatt@seattletimes.com after you register to confirm the stipend is still available.)

Late October: Elections for chapter board. Stay tuned for details.

Early November: Our second Innovation Salon: Monetize Your Digital Content.

December: Holiday social mixer.

Lessons Learned at the 2010 AAJA National Convention

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KatelinandLoriAAJA Seattle student member Katelin Chow with AAJA Seattle founder Lori Matsukawa at the 2010 AAJA National Convention in Los Angeles

The following post was written by Katelin Chow. Katelin will be a junior at the University of Washington this fall. A 2010 recipient of the Northwest Journalists of Color Scholarship, Katelin also earned the Founders’ Scholarship, which provided funding for her to attend the 2010 National Convention of AAJA in Los Angeles.

As the airplane carried me from Seattle to Los Angeles for my first AAJA convention, I could feel the strangest sensation bubbling in my stomach. And it wasn’t from the can of ginger ale that I had knocked back. I was getting nervous about the convention. I thought that because I was a student, I might not have much to contribute to the AAJA conversation. Luckily, I was wrong. These eight tips helped me walk away from the convention feeling more excited about my future with journalism than I had ever felt.

  1. Always have business cards and resumes on hand at a conference. Be sure to have your “resume” site finished, as well. If you’re a multimedia journalist, have a demo-reel edited and accessible online. When I was walking through the career fair, I was shocked at how many cards I was handing out. As Mai Hoang tweeted, “A good sign you met lots of great people at #aaja? You need to reorder your biz cards. I have 12 left.”
  2. When networking, be natural. The point of networking is to form lasting relationships—not to collect or give as many business cards as possible. It’s important to understand that almost everybody feels nervous and a little bit awkward when networking, so smile, breathe and let your passion for journalism shine through.
  3. Always ask questions. You’re a journalist, right? So you might as well let your inquisitive nature take over you at conferences. Asking questions helps show you’re interested, that you care and well, that you’re articulate.
  4. Use social media. Everybody wants to stay connected, so stay in the loop by keeping up with your Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and FourSquare accounts. All these networks might seem intimidating and overwhelming at first, but no fear. Even the least technology-inclined (yours truly) are able to spring into action when it comes to social media. Plus, I learned that journalists can use social media to brainstorm and execute stories.
  5. Repetition. If you’ve found a producer, editor or human resources generalist who you’ve bonded with (at the career fair or around the conference), don’t be afraid to say hi to them again. Repetition builds recognition, which leads to them remembering your face. So that after the conference, when you follow up with all the people who were gracious enough to speak with you, you’re not just another e-mail that floods their already-crammed Inbox.
  6. Follow up within three days. Don’t be a slow-poke when it comes to writing thank-you e-mails (or letters)! My mentor, Owen Lei, insisted I send my e-mails out within three days, otherwise anyone who I had spoken with might not remember me. Which brings me to the next point…
  7. Find good mentors, and don’t be afraid to seek advice from them. Journalism is a scary business, so it’s important to have people who you can trust to give you solid advice. You’re not limited to having just one mentor—the more perspectives on your career, the better.
  8. Don’t forget about meeting other students. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the hoards of adults you meet, so make sure you also hang out with students, too. While you’re most likely at the convention to learn more about the journalism industry, remember that your peers are also the future!

Missed the 2010 AAJA National Convention? Here’s a taste.

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Couldn’t make it to Los Angeles to attend the AAJA Convention? Or didn’t have a chance to attend all the sessions (or all the ones you wanted to attend were at the same time)?

No problem. Thanks to the wonders of technology, you can get a taste of the convention experience long after it’s over.

#AAJA Tweets — What the Hashtag has a transcript of all the tweets made during the convention.

Web tools and Social media — One of the convention highlights were several presentations from Robert Hernandez, a professor at the University of Southern California (and former senior news producer and director of development at The Seattle Times). Check out his handy site for interesting web tools as well as his Intermediate Social Media presentation (done with Justin Osofsky of the Facebook Development Network) .  And here’s a great takeaway made by Hernandez during his presentations: “You are a lazy journalist if you only use social media. You are a lazy journalist if you don’t use social media.”

Presentation bits and pieces. Sacramento-based multimedia journalist Cody Kitaura has a great post that includes a variety of audio, quotes and links from several convention presentations.

AAJA Voices. The student multi-platform project was a great success thanks to great professional mentors and top notch leadership from AAJA Seattle’s own Marian Liu. The site is chock full of video, photos and stories from the convention and around LA. Don’t know where to start? Check out this video by three-time Northwest Journalists of Color scholarship winner Peter Sessum on the convention experience of AAJA Seattle student member Katelin Chow. (And it’s worth noting that Peter practices what he preaches about social media — he was among the top 10 tweeters during the convention!)

Got photos? Share and check out convention photos on the AAJA Seattle Facebook Group or on AAJA Seattle’s Flickr page. (There is also a link to the Flickr page on the right side of the webpage.)

Finally, it’s never too early to think about next year. The next AAJA National Convention will be in Detroit on Aug. 10-13, 2011. Check out the video below.

2011 AAJA National Convention Heads to Detroit from Annabelle Udo on Vimeo.

Heading to LA for the AAJA Convention? Check this out! — UPDATED

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UPDATE: The AAJA Convention Blog is on Tumblr. Check it out for regular updates.

The 21st Annual AAJA Convention: Back to the Future begins in  Los Angeles this week.

Here’s some tips to help you get the most out of the experience.

A cheap way from LAX to the Convention hotel

Here’s a handy tip from Kevin Leung of the Los Angeles Times:

Consider taking the FlyAway bus to Union Station in downtown and then
taking the Red Line subway to the Renaissance (Hollywood & Highland
station). It’s cheaper ($7 for bus + $1.50 for subway) than taking a
shuttle and probably faster (you are not being driven all over L.A. to
drop off other passengers).

The bus stops are just outside the baggage area. Make sure you take the
one to Union Station; there are separate buses to UCLA, Van Nuys and
Irvine. They run 24 hours.

The Red Line runs approximately 5 a.m. to midnight.

Plan out your convention

A full schedule can be found here.

It’s not all work in LA

Check out this handy guide from the AAJA-Los Angeles chapter. The guide offers information on popular dining and night spots, recreation areas and events happening during the week.

Be generous!

Check out the highlights of this year’s silent auction. A bottle of champagne from Robin Leach’s collection? Oh yeah!

Get connected with social media

Twitter

Mark your AAJA Convention posts with the hashtag #aaja.

Here are some Twitter users to follow while you’re at convention:

@aajajcamp — J Camp, a multicultural high school journalism workshop, is currently in session through Wednesday at Loyola Marymount University. Athima Chansanchai (@TimaMedia), AAJA Seattle’s National Board Representative, is J Camp trainer this year.

@aajavoices — Check out AAJA Voices, the convention’s student news project, directed by AAJA Seattle member and Seattle Times reporter Marian Liu (@marianliu).  AAJA Seattle student member Peter Sessum (@petersessum) is on this year’s Voices Staff.

@aajaseattle — AAJA Seattle’s Twitter feed.

@aajala — Follow the AAJA- Los Angeles chapter, who is hosting this year’s convention.

@aaja — the official Twitter stream for AAJA National.

Foursquare

Get the latest things to do while you’re at convention by adding AAJA to your Foursquare friends list.

Facebook

Official Convention Facebook Group

AAJA Voices Facebook page

Want a great convention experience?

Be a rockstar! [Thanks to the 10,000 Words blog]

Executive Development Institute presents social-media workshop June 22

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The Executive Development Institute presents a 2010 Leadership Together Educational Forum – “Invasion of Social Media – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly!” – on Tuesday, June 22, at The Seattle Times.

The event is sponsored in part by the National Association of Asian-American Professionals (NAAAP) and Qwest’s Pacific Asian American Network (PAAN).

Speaker: Charlie Harger, technology and social media reporter, KOMO Newsradio and president, Bohado Media

What: Learn how to take advantage of social media to advance your professional presence, define your professional brand, do business and expand your network. In addition, find out how to repair and change your current image in the virtual world.

When: Tuesday, June 22

    5:30 p.m.-6:20 p.m.: Registration and appetizers
    6:20 p.m.-7:30 p.m.: Educational forum
    7:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.: Networking


Where: The Seattle Times, auditorium, 1120 John St, Seattle WA 98109

Parking: Street or after 5 pm, in Seattle Times lot

Cost: FREE! Call or email EDI by June 18th at 425-467-9365 or edi@ediorg.org

Ten Twitter lessons from AAJA Seattle Innovation Salon at TASTE

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AAJA student member Peter Sessum, a three-time recipient of Northwest Journalists of Color scholarship who writes for The Daily, documented the event and wrote up 10 Twitter lessons he learned at our AAJA Seattle’s first Innovation Salon:

1. Be yourself. While Twitter can be used for business, it is expression of who you are. Relationships with customers can be built if your Twitter has that personal touch. Better to be loved, or hated, for who you are than to be invisible.

2. Don’t retweet compliments. It comes off as self indulgent and will get you deleted from Becky Selengut’s feed. It is enough that all of the sender’s followers can read it, all of your followers don’t need to as well. Simply reply a thank you and move on.

3. Be mindful of which account you are using. For the professional Twitter, posting a personal Tweet, or replying to a friend, from a business account reflects on the business. Remember to log out and log back in from your personal account.

4. Deleting posts. Recent news proves that deleting can be just as troublesome as the original post. Twitter is in real time and instant gratification. There is a feeling of urgency to post right away or retweet before there is a gap in the posting. In a professional setting, take a moment before posting. It will get read, might as well have it right.

5. Misspellings. Make a correction and move on. Do not be too critical of another’s mistakes; it will happen to you too someday.

6. Inflection is lost when typing. A public forum is not the place to give someone new a taste of your sense of humor.

7. Do not argue over twitter. A healthy exchange of ideas is good, shouting matches are not. In online fights there are no winners, only losers.

8. We are all connected in the Twittersphere. Retweets are a good way to link people you don’t know with people you don’t know. Selengut’s beautifully convoluted story that linked up strangers illustrates how to help one another. As a result, you may end up with jam.

9. There is still room for improvement on Twitter. Creative people will find new ways to utilize twitter at 140 words at a time. Limitations do not stifle imagination, they inspire innovation.

10. Most importantly, know when to unplug. Despite all the “connections” on Facebook and Twitter, it isn’t real interaction. Sit down with friends and family without phones and computers. Have some real connections, there will be plenty of time to Tweet about it later.

AAJA Seattle holds first innovation salon at SAM

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AAJA Seattle moderator Karen Johnson leads a panel on applications for Twitter. From left to right: Karen Johnson, managing editor of SeattleMag.com; food writer Matthew Amster-Burton; PR-pro Hsiao-Ching Chou; and chef Becky Selengut.
From left to right: Karen Johnson, managing editor of SeattleMag.com; food writer Matthew Amster-Burton; PR-pro Hsiao-Ching Chou; and chef Becky Selengut.

AAJA Seattle held its first Innovation Salon on May 25 at TASTE Restaurant at Seattle Art Museum.

These salons are aimed at getting journalists outside their comfort zones. By hearing from innovators in marketing, media, technology and other fields outside traditional media, journalists can learn about innovative concepts, integrate this thinking into their own work and become innovation leaders in their organizations.

Our first salon, not surprisingly, focused on the culture of Twitter and how various users wield it to have conversations, cultivate sources and disseminate their messages – all of them outside traditional newsrooms.

The stylish downtown restaurant, between the foodie suppliers at Pike Place Market and the social-media startups in Pioneer Square, was the perfect setting for journalists, foodie bloggers, marketing executives and tech analysts to gather for an evening of stimulating conversation.

The event was co-sponsored by AAJA Seattle, TASTE Restaurant and Seattle Magazine. About 40 people attended the event, which was designed to be small to encourage meaningful conversations and networking.

After chowing down on delicious appetizers prepared by TASTE chef Craig Hetherington, the audience heard from a panel moderated by Karen Johnson, online managing editor of SeattleMag.com.

The panelists were food writer Matthew Amster-Burton; PR-pro Hsiao-Ching Chou; and chef Becky Selengut.

Shoutouts to Johnson, online managing editor of SeattleMag.com, for organizing the panel and venue; chapter treasurer Nicole Tsong for providing support; and volunteer Jillian Dinnie, who sold tickets and collected money for AAJA Seattle at the door.

Want to learn more? Read AAJA student member Peter Sessum’s post on 10 things he learned about Twitter etiquette from the salon.

Ethnic media web project, “Sea Beez,” launches

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Sea Beez project

On Wednesday evening, a new ethnic media web project held its launch party at The Seattle Times.

The project is led by AAJA member Julie Pham, who is managing editor of the family-owned Northwest Vietnamese News.

Sea Beez has its seed funding from the City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods and represents the newest “hive” for New America Media, the nation’s first and largest collaboration of 2,000 ethnic media organizations reaching 51 million adults. The NOLA Beez launched in January. The other hubs are LA Beez and San Jose Beez. LA Beez is part of a New America Media’s Digital Divide initiative, funded by the Ford Foundation.

Our AAJA Seattle chapter, the Seattle Association of Black Journalists and Chen Communications all co-sponsored the party.

About 80 people attended the event.  They included ethnic media executives:

  • Assunta Ng, founder and publisher of the NW Asian Weekly and Seattle Chinese Post
  • Gustavo Montoya, president and CEO of El Mundo, a Spanish-language weekly newspaper
  • Olga Kazakova, a journalist with Russian World Newspaper
  • Andrew Taylor, president of Japan Pacific Publications, which publishes The Soy Source Seattle, a Japanese biweekly newspaper
  • Mohamud Yussuf, publisher of Runta, the largest East African language newspaper in Seattle.
  • Grace Zhang, Seattle bureau chief for The China Press.
  • Sandy Close, executive director of New America Media.

    • The evening began with networking and attendees admiring The Seattle Times’ Pulitzer Prize winning stories. Thanks to AAJA student member Peter Sessum for shooting photos.

    Attendees read about previous Seattle Times Pulitzer Prizes

    The evening gave AAJA student members, like Andrew Doughman, a chance to practice networking and connect with editors looking for freelance contributors.

    UW journalism student Andrew Doughman is networking

    During the presentations, Julie explained the overall goals of the Sea Beez project.

      Sea Beez project director Julie Pham

      Sandy Close told the audience that all of the “hives” have a Queen Bee, looking at Julie with a smile. Great work to all involved!

    Attention students: Just a few days left to apply for scholarships from AAJA Seattle

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    With May 1 quickly approaching, here’s another reminder to apply for one of three scholarships from AAJA Seattle.

    Scholarships include the Northwest Journalists of Color, which offers college scholarships of up to $2,500; the Founders Scholarship, which provides registration for the upcoming AAJA National Convention and the AAJA Seattle/911 Media Arts Student Scholarship, which provides funds toward rental equipment or classes at the 911 Media Arts Center in Seattle’s University District.

    More details and a easy-to-use application form can be found here.

    Hurry! All applications must be postmarked by the deadline.

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