AAJA: Asian American Journalists Association


AAJA Questions CBS News Report

(AAJA Media Watch Chairman, Aki Soga sent the following letter to CBS News President Andrew Heyward, in response to the "Pressed by Cost of Dry Cleaning?" broadcast on Feb. 27, 2004 on the CBS Evening News.)

March 8, 2004

Mr. Andrew Heyward
President, CBS News
555 West 57th Street
New York, NY 10019

Dear Mr. Heyward:

The Asian American Journalists Association questions CBS News' decision to identify the ethnicity of a group trying to keep Dryclean Depots out of the Washington area in the story, "Pressed by Cost of Dry Cleaning?" broadcast on Feb. 27, 2004 on the CBS Evening News.

Identifying the consortium as "Korean American" implies that the business owners' ethnicity plays a significant role in the way they conduct business or in their opposition to having Dryclean Depots in their city. Nothing in the news report suggests or backs that premise. The mention of ethnicity is insensitive and irresponsible because it conditions the viewers to take note but fails to tell them why. After all, how often does CBS News identify a consortium of business people as "white" when race is not an issue?

It is all the more egregious given that CBS made the decision to do so after its reporter discussed the issue with the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium.

The news report would have been far more instructive had it identified more relevant aspects of the opposition. Is the consortium made up of independent businesses? Is there price collusion among its members?

AAJA, representing some 2,000 reporters, editors and executives in the news industry, seeks an explanation of why the identification of ethnicity was made.

Respectfully,

Aki Soga
Chairman, AAJA Media Watch
asoga@yahoo.com

cc: Rene Astudillo, AAJA executive director, Mae Cheng, AAJA president

Send items for Media Watch to Aki Soga at mediawatch@aaja.org.

   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."