Lifetime Achievement and Other Awards to be presented at 2007 National Convention in Miami
Revised July 9, 2007
SAN FRANCISCO (June 7, 2007) - The Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) today announced the winners of four of its top national awards for 2007: Sam Chu Lin, former reporter of KTTV-TV, Asian Week and Rafu Shimpo; Chinn Ho, former owner, Honolulu Star Bulletin; Bobbi Bowman, diversity director, ASNE; and Dmae Roberts, executive producer, MediaRites Productions.
AAJA will present the awards on August 4 during its gala scholarship and awards banquet, which is part of the organization's 19th annual convention, held this year at the Hyatt Regency Miami. Amara Sohn and Richard Lui, will emcee the banquet.
AAJA is the nation's largest professional organization for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) journalists. Representing more than 2,000 members, AAJA promotes fair and accurate news coverage, develops managers in the media industry and encourages young people to consider journalism as a career.
"We are proud to honor these individuals who have, in their own way, made significant contributions to our industry," said Jeanne Mariani-Belding, AAJA National president and editorial and opinion editor with The Honolulu Advertiser.
Lifetime Achievement Award: (Posthumous)
Sam Chu Lin , KTTV-TV, Asian Week and Rafu Shimpo
Sam Chu Lin is the 2007 recipient of AAJA's Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes an individual who has demonstrated courage and commitment to the principles of journalism over the course of a life's work, as well as dedication to issues important to the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.
Lin was one of the first network correspondents, reporting for CBS News. His television career involved reporting for KOOL-TV in Phoenix, KRON-TV in San Francisco and KTTV-TV in Los Angeles. He returned to KTTV-TV in 1995, but also wrote for Asian Week, Rafu Shimpo and the San Francisco Examiner. Lin received awards from The Associated Press, United Press International, The Greater Los Angeles Press Club and the Radio and Television News Association. Upon his passing in March 2006 he was in his 50th year of broadcasting.
The awards committee was very impressed by the number of people that Sam Chu Lin influenced in different journalistic mediums, not just television. "He clearly was a great mentor. In addition, he was a pioneer Asian American male in network television who sought out stories about Asian Americans that helped change misperceptions and stereotypes."
Special Recognition Award:(Posthumous)
Chinn Ho, Honolulu Advertiser
Chinn Ho, former owner of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin is the 2007 recipient of AAJA's Special Recognition Award. The award honors an individual who has helped to advance AAJA's goals over the past year.
When Ho bought the Honolulu Star-Bulletin with a group of local investors in 1961, he became, if not the first, one of the first Chinese-Americans to own a major metropolitan daily newspaper. He established a Joint Operating Agreement that combined printing and advertising sales functions of the Star-Bulletin and the Advertiser, but kept separate editorial voices. It saved the Honolulu Advertiser. Both papers then and now have racially diverse staffs. The Star-Bulletin, and to a certain extent the Advertiser, has been hiring Asian Americans and women since the 1930s.
Many AAJA members have benefited from the survival of both papers. Both papers continue to offer internships to students through AAJA. Some have stayed in Hawaii. Numerous others like KING-TV's Lori Matsukawa, an AAJA lifetime achievement award winner, and Bloomberg's Patrick Chu, have gone on to careers on the mainland and Asia. Chinn Ho passed away in 1987.
Leadership in Diversity Award:
Bobbi Bowman, ASNE
Bobbie Bowman, diversity director, American Society of Newspaper Editors, (ASNE), is the 2007 recipient of AAJA's Leadership in Diversity Award, which honors an individual or corporation that has made strides in promoting and demonstrating diversity in the news media industry.
Bobbi Bowman is the diversity director for the American Society of Newspaper Editors since 1999. She oversees the diversity initiatives at ASNE and works with editors across the country to increase the number of minorities in newsrooms. For years now, she has taken the lead in ASNE's annual newsroom employment survey, overcoming many challenges in making this benchmark of newsroom diversity as comprehensive as it can possibly be. Beyond ASNE, Ms. Bowman has worked very closely with AAJA and other UNITY alliance partners in offering training and other opportunities for journalists of color to improve their skills and make them more competitive in the news business. She has also shown extreme dedication to AAJA's and other minority journalism organizations' goal of increasing the number of managers and supervisors in the newsroom.
Dr. Suzanne Ahn Award for Civil Rights
& Social Justice for Asian Americans:
Dmae Roberts, MediaRites Productions.
Dmae Roberts, executive producer, MediaRites Productions. is the 2007 recipient of AAJA's Dr. Suzanne Ahn Award for Civil Rights and Social Justice for Asian Americans. The award is named in honor of the late Dr. Ahn, a Korean American who was raised in Arkansas and Texas who devoted her life to promoting civil rights and social justice for all Americans, especially women and Asian Americans.
Dmae Roberts is the executive producer for the "Crossing East" documentary series, one of the most comprehensive programs on Asian American history ever to air on public radio. Drawing on more than 500 hours of interviews, archival recordings, historical texts, and an evocative sound mix, the eight-hour series devotes in-depth segments to the early presence of Asians in America dating back to the 1700s, the challenges faced by each wave of Asian immigrants, and the ongoing struggle for equality in America. Crossing East gives a face to Asian Americans and weaves details of our presence into the greater American fabric. The series introduced Asian American stories to listeners on over 200 stations.
The judges mentioned that, " 'Crossing East' stands out both for its breadth and its depth, as well as its sophistication of approach. I was impressed by its scope and ambition -- tackling Asian American history from first contacts through the exclusionary laws to current day racial profiling. Dr. Ahn wanted this award to encourage journalists to produce stories that shed light on the civil rights struggle. And 'Crossing East' does just that, providing us with more context than many books do."
About AAJA
The Asian American Journalists Association is a non-profit professional and educational organization with more than 2,000 members today. 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.