AAJA Announces 2010 Special Award Winners

June 25, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) has announced the winners of four of its top awards for 2010. Annie Nakao, retired journalist; Loni Ding, pioneering filmmaker; ESPN; and Executive Leadership Program trainers Ron Brown, president, Banks Brown; J.D. Hokoyama, president & executive director, LEAP; Glenn Kawafuchi, principal, Kawafuchi Consulting; and Audrey Yamagata-Noji, Vice President of Student Services, Mt. San Antonio College.

AAJA will present the awards on Saturday, August 7 at its Gala Scholarship and Awards Banquet at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel & Spa at AAJA's National Convention. Frank Buckley, anchor, KTLA and Betty Nguyen, CBS News correspondent will co-emcee the banquet. Laura Ling, journalist, producer and on-air correspondent, author and correspondent will be the keynote speaker.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Annie Nakao, retired journalist

Annie Nakao, a journalist for 29 years and a feature writer for the San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner when she retired in 2005, developed an expertise in issues of race, culture and community, receiving numerous awards for her stories on a wealth of social issues. She was also one of three principal writers on the San Francisco Examiner's, "The New City," project, which chronicled the dramatic demographic, economic, cultural and political changes in San Francisco in the late 1990s, when the term, "civic journalism," was just emerging nationally. Nakao's efforts and determination to promote diversity in the workplace and "do- the-right-thing" attitude was evident in her work, and her tireless efforts at preserving and promoting culture over the course of her career. Today's diverse newsrooms and coverage can be traced to her interest in providing balanced coverage of minorities and promoting diversity in the newsroom during a time when those were unpopular. ;sjflasjflkasjlfjas;l;sjflasjflk;sjflasjflkasjlfjas;;sjflasjflkasjlfjas;l;sjflasjfl

Dr. Suzanne Ahn Award For Civil Rights and Social Justice For Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders:

Loni Ding (posthumous), pioneering filmmaker

Loni Ding was the Executive Director of Center for Educational Telecommunications (CET) and was a veteran independent filmmaker, television producer and university instructor with experience creating programming which appealed to a broad viewing audience. She produced more than 250 broadcast programs for public television and international broadcast, and her productions have been honored with multiple Emmy awards. Ding's long history of advocacy, public service. grassroots community organizing and policy analysis enable her to co-found several local and national media and arts organizations. Her pioneering efforts effectively helped launch the Neighborhood Arts Program of the San Francisco Art Commission, and she played leading roles in establishing the National Asian American Telecommunications Association (NAATA), now known as the Center for Asian American Media, the Independent Television Service (ITVS), and San Francisco PBS station KQED's Open Studio. Ding passed away on February 20, 2010. ;sjflasjflkasjlfjas;l;sjflasjflk;sjflasjflkasjlfjas;;sjflasjflkasjlfjas;l;sjflas68686868686868jfl

Leadership in Diversity:

ESPN

ESPN, the sports news network has a long history of embracing diversity to better serve its fans and customers. ESPN has made diversity a priority in hiring behind and in front of the camera. The company launched a 24-hour Spanish language channel to serve ethnic markets. The support for diversity is felt throughout the company through a Diversity Council and Employee Resource Groups. The company has also been a longtime supporter of diverse journalism organizations, including AAJA and the other journalist of color groups, the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association and Association of Women in Sports Media. ESPN's Diversity Mission statement says "tapping the skills, ideas and perspectives of a diverse workforce will make us a better and more profitable company, and is key to sustaining our continued growth." ;sjflasjflkasjlfjas;l;sjflasjflk;sjflasjflkasjlfjas;;sjflasjflkasjlfjas;l;sjflasjfl

Special Recognition Award

Executive Leadership Program trainers

Ron Brown is the founder and president of Banks Brown, a management consulting firm which specializes in the development and implementation of comprehensive, strategic diversity plans. He is a leading authority and pioneer in the field of business, employee and global diversity. ;sjflasjflkasjlfjas;l;sjflasjflk;sjflasjflkasjlfjas;;sjflasjflkasjlfjas;l;sjflasjfl

J.D. Hokoyama is President and CEO and was a founding board member of Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics, Inc. (LEAP). LEAP is a national, non-profit, non-partisan, educational, community-based organization founded in Los Angeles in 1982 to achieve full participation and equality for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) through leadership, empowerment and policy. ;sjflasjflkasjlfjas;l;sjflasjflk;sjflasjflkasjlfjas;;sjflasjflkasjlfjas;l;sjflasjfl

Glenn Kawafuchi is principal of Kawafuchi Consulting, providing corporations and community-based organizations with training design and development, program delivery, leadership/management performance improvement, and career/life development. ;sjflasjflkasjlfjas;l;sjflasjflk;sjflasjflkasjlfjas;;sjflasjflkasjlfjas;l;sjflasjfl

Audrey Yamagata-Noji, is the Vice President, student services, at Mount San Antonio College in Walnut, California. She holds a Ph.D. in education from Claremont Graduate School in education, has a master's degree in Counseling, a bachelor's degree in Psychology and is a licensed marriage, family and child counselor. ;sjflasjflkasjlfjas;l;sjflasjflk;sjflasjflkasjlfjas;;sjflasjflkasjlfjas;l;sjflasjfl

For more information about the AAJA Special Award winners or AAJA, contact Albert Lee, at AlbertL@aaja.org or call 415.346.2051 x107

To attend the Gala Scholarship and Awards Banquet or to register for the AAJA L.A. Convention go here.

About AAJA

The Asian American Journalists Association is a non-profit professional and educational organization with more than 1,000 members across the United States and in Asia. Founded in 1981, AAJA has been at the forefront of change in the journalism industry. AAJA's mission is to encourage Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) to enter the ranks of journalism, to work for fair and accurate coverage of AAPIs, and to increase the number of AAPI journalists and news managers in the industry. 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. For more information, visit www.aaja.org.