Dith Pran: Pioneer, Role Model, Legend, Friend

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Notable Biographies: Dith Pran

April 2: Pioneer Press: "Remembering Dith Pran" by Murali Balaji

March 31: Boston Globe: "Two Views of a Legend."

March 31: New York Times: Dith Pran, "Killing Fields" Photographer, Dies

March 30: CNN: Subject of 'Killing Fields' dies of cancer

March 30: Poynter: "Remembering Dith Pran," by Tom Huang

March 30, 2008

Long-time New York Times photographer and AAJA member Dith Pran died Sunday at age 65. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in January.

Dith is best known for escaping the Cambodian Holocaust. An estimated 2 million people were killed in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979 under the Khmer Rouge communist regime. The killing and burial sites were referred to as the "The Killing Fields." In 1984, a motion picture of the same title chronicled Dith Pran's journey to escape these death camps. Cambodian Actor Haing S. Ngor won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Dith Pran.

In 2000, AAJA named the championship trophy for its annual photo competition after Dith. So far the names of seven Asian American up-and-coming photojournalists are now engraved on the trophy.

In 2004, AAJA honored Dith with the "Pioneers in Journalism" award as part of the launching of the organization's 25th Anniversary Endowment campaign. Dith was honored alongside Peter Bhatia of The Oregonian, veteran broadcast journalist Connie Chung, pioneering Asian American male broadcaster Ken Kashiwahara and Hearst Newspapers columnist Helen Thomas.

In a statement, AAJA national president Jeanne Mariani-Belding said, "This is a painful loss for us here at AAJA. He has long been part of our AAJA family, and his courage has and will continue to inspire so many of us here at AAJA. He will be deeply missed."

Former AAJA and UNITY president Mae Cheng said "Dith was always an inspiration, both as a journalist and as a human being. He was talented, wise, and welcoming of everyone, always greeting both the friend and the stranger with an infectious smile and an upbeat attitude. He will always be remembered for his contribution to journalism and his strength of character."

For his part, AAJA executive director Rene Astudillo, recalls his first encounter with Dith, saying “I was extremely honored to meet Dith Pran for the first time in 1999 when I joined AAJA and what struck me the most about him was his humility despite what I had always considered his “celebrity” status."

AAJA members may leave their condolences, comments, recollections on the AAJA forum under "other."