William Woo Internship Fund

Feb. 4, 2009

AAJA is happy to announce that Martha Shirk, the widow of legendary journalist William Woo, will donate up to $5,000 as a matching fund for any contribution towards the William Woo Internship Fund. The fund will go towards student scholarships and internships that help encourage students to enter the field of journalism.

Make an online donation and indicate "William Woo Internship Fund" in the blank field under "AAJA National Scholarships & Internships" or become a sustaining donor to the fund.

Another way to support the William Woo Internship Fund is to purchase a copy of his book, "Letters from the Editor." A portion of the royalties from the book is being donated to AAJA to help support the Internship.

The William Woo Internship Fund began awarding internship grants in 2006. Michael Zhao was a first-year graduate student at the U.C. Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism and an intern at Forbes magazine. Stuart Woo was a junior attending Brown University and intern at The Providence Journal.

"Bill Woo, who headed The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, was still the only Asian American executive editor of a major daily American newspaper back in 1995 when we started AAJA's Executive Leadership Program. A thoughtful, modest man, he never hesitated to help when we asked for advice or support. He once told me that timing has a lot to do with opportunities that come our way. Opportunities for Asian American journalists have certainly blossomed because he helped to pave the way."
--Dinah Eng

Former AAJA National president, Jeanne Mariani-Belding, remembers Woo as a mentor and an inspiration.