Founded in 1981, the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) is a non-profit professional
and educational organization with more than 2,000 members today. AAJA serves Asian Americans and
Pacific Islanders by encouraging young people to consider journalism as a career, developing managers
in the media industry, and promoting fair and accurate news coverage.
AAJA uses the term "Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders" to embrace all Americans--both citizens and residents -- who self-identify with one or more of the three dozen nationalities and ethnic groups in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and the Pacific Islands. We use this term to refer to our communities at large, as well as to our membership which includes representatives from all these regions.
AAJA is committed to diversity in order to incorporate different viewpoints into newsrooms across
the country. AAJA is an alliance partner in UNITY Journalists of Color, along with the Native American
Journalists Association, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and National Association of
Black Journalists.
The Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) was founded in 1981 by a few Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) journalists. Within the next few years, AAJA began hosting panel discussions for members.
AAJA joins UNITY: Journalists of Color in Atlanta, Georgia for its first conference focusing on people of color and diversity in the newsroom.
AAJA was honored with the Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism by the University of Missouri for its contributions to the industry.
AAJA named the championship trophy for its annual photo competition after the late New York Times photojournalist Dith Pran. The names of each recipient are engraved on the trophy.
The organization marks its 25th year anniversary hosting celebrations in New York, Texas and Los Angeles to kick off a $2 million endowment campaign for programs.
AAJA presented the 2008 Media Champion Award by the Asian Community Mental Health Services for "challenging misinformation and stereotypes in media coverage around the Virginia Tech tragedy and helping to present mental distress as a human and commonplace experience."