High School Students of Color Selected for 'J Camp' Intensive Journalism Training

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Janice Lee
AAJA Deputy Executive Director
JaniceL@aaja.org
(415) 346-2051 x110

SAN FRANCISCO (June 16, 2006) -- The Asian American Journalists Association, the nation's largest professional organization for Asian American and Pacific Islander journalists, today announced the 42 high school students selected for "J Camp," a free six-day intensive journalism training program designed for young people of color. J Camp will be held July 29-Aug. 3 at New York University in New York City.

J Camp students will learn writing, broadcasting and photography from experienced, multi-cultural professional journalists with some of the country's top media outlets. Through exposure to all facets of journalism, J Camp participants learn what it takes to succeed in the media industry. And by residing on campus for the duration of the program, students are also provided an opportunity to interact with other aspiring journalists.

Now in its sixth year, J Camp 2006 will be directed by Clea Benson, state political reporter for The Sacramento Bee; Josh Freedom du Lac, pop music critic for The Washington Post; and Neal Justin, television critic for the Star Tribune. J Camp will be taught by Kyndell Harkness, staff photographer, Star Tribune; Chris Macias, pop music critic, The Sacramento Bee; Jessika Ming, producer, KCAL-TV (Los Angeles); Kristi Nelson, reporter, KXAS-TV (Dallas); and Curtis Taylor, health and science reporter, Newsday.

J Camp participants will also hear from speakers such as: "60 Minutes" correspondent Ed Bradley, CBS News correspondent Joie Chen, Sports Illustrated photo editor James Colton, CNN anchor Soledad O'Brien, People magazine executive editor Jeannie Park; Seventeen magazine editor-in-chief Atoosa Rubenstein; NBC anchor Brian Williams; and Rolling Stone contributing editor TourŽ.

The students selected are:

Manika Garg, Whitney High School, Cerritos, CA

Alexis Tamayo, Clovis High School, Elk Grove, CA

Eric Shieh, Fountain Valley High School, Huntington Beach, CA

Saul Hernandez, Pittsburg Senior High School, Pittsburg, CA

Aditya Kamdar, Chadwick School, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

Joshua Kang, California Academy of Math and Science, Torrance, CA

Young Lim, Smoky Hill High School, Aurora, CO

Vanessa Perez, Montrose High School, Montrose, CO

Patrick Angulo, St. Pius X Catholic High School, Decatur, GA

Juan Cardoza-Oquendo, Decatur High School, Decatur, GA

Isia Reaves, Washington County High School, Sandersville, GA

Briana Byrd, Davenport Central High School, Davenport, IA

Annie Liang, University High School, Champaign, IL

Anthony Aguinaldo, Roberto Clemente High School, Chicago, IL

Patrick Lee, Barrington High School, South Barrington, IL

Mary Jo Pham, Sabis International Charter School, Springfield, MA

Brittany Meeks, Mumford High School, Detroit, MI

Anna Benovides, Detroit School of Arts, Riverview, MI

John Ketchum, Arthur Hill High School, Saginaw, MI

Cheemeng Xiong, Sage Academy, Brooklyn Park, MN

Tanya Bui, St. Paul Academy and Summit School, Burnsville, MN

Sage Davis, Deer River High School, Deerriver, MN

Ian Yue, Edina High School, Edina, MN

Brandy Hyatt, Roosevelt High School, Minneapolis, MN

Kimberly Buford, Roosevelt High School, Minneapolis, MN

Jessica Lei, Grand Fork Central, Grand Forks, ND

Jerome Price, Rahway High School, Rohway, NJ

Elizabeth Artley, Sandia Preparatory School, Albuquerque, NM

Kellilyn Joe, Thoreau High School, Thoreau, NM

Alfred Miller, Poly Prep, Staten Island, NY

Kat Knight, home schooled, Tulsa, OK

Camille Reerslev, Junction City High School, Junction City, OR

Gary Chau, JR Masterman, Philadelphia, PA

Joseph Hill, home schooled, Philadelphia, PA

Tina Mao, Porter Gaud School, Charleston, SC

Roman Gonzalez, Mary Carroll High School, Corpus Christi, TX

Naresh Rammohan, Kinkaid School, Houston, TX

Christina Chin, Hightower High School, Sugarland, TX

Sommer Ingram, Texas High School, Texarkana, TX

Maya Montoya, American International School of Muscat, Gig Harbor, WA

Brittaney Check, Wauwatosa East High School, Wauwatosa, WI

Jorden Escamilla, Torrington High School, Torrington, WY

"Our industry spends a lot of time worrying about the future of journalism, but you can't be a part of J Camp without walking away with a renewed sense of optimism and excitement about the next generation," said Justin. "J Camp is about pinpointing the potential superstars of tomorrow and making sure they get the tools, the encouragement and the mentors they need to take the next step."

"Training the next generation of journalists is a cornerstone of AAJA's mission," said Esther Wu, AAJA national president and a columnist/reporter for The Dallas Morning News. "Since J Camp was started in 2001, it has provided 209 students with hands-on training by some of the top newspaper reporters and broadcasters in this country. Perhaps no other high school journalism program has been as successful."

J Camp 2006 is made possible by major support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and The McClatchy Company. Additional support is provided by Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, and Coca-Cola. Sponsorships are still available.

"J Camp gives students the confidence to make a difference with a future career in journalism and provides a rich environment for building skills," said Douglas W. Nelson, president of The Annie E. Casey Foundation. "The Casey Foundation believes strongly in giving young people a voice and increasing their opportunities for future leadership and making a strong connection to the community - our sponsorship is a great fit with our mission."

"In today's environment of change, adaptation and challenge, it's more important than ever for news companies to find and employ journalists of the highest quality," said Howard Weaver, vice president for news, The McClatchy Company. "We know we can rely on AAJA Ñ and especially its extraordinary J Camp program Ñ to help identify and train the kind of people who will be tomorrow's leaders in our industry. We're proud to be part of this essential effort."

Students surveyed from the first two years of J Camp showed interest in continuing their education in media. Of the respondents who were in college, 75 percent actively pursued journalism as a career, including majoring in journalism or communications fields and/or working for their school paper or other media
.

Last year, journalists of color made up only 13 percent of staff at daily newspapers, according to the American Society of Newspaper Editors. Reports from the Radio-Television News Directors Association showed that in 2004 people of color made up 21 percent of those on local television news and 8 percent on local radio last year. All figures fall far below the percentage of minorities in the U.S. population, which was 33 percent last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Comments from past J Camp students:

"This was, by far, the greatest experience I've had," said Elio Pichardo of Bronx, N.Y. "Never have I had such fun while learning at the same time."

"My fellow campers amazed me with all their passion and achievements," said Julie Yen of San Diego, Calif. "My instructors challenged and refined my writing skills. Each conversation left me in more awe of the talent around me. J Camp raised my expectations of and confidence in what I can do as a journalist."

Speakers from past J Camps include: Pulitzer Prize-winning Watergate reporter Carl Bernstein; CNN anchor Aaron Brown; Washington Post executive editor Leonard Downie Jr.; "Meet the Press" moderator Tim Russert; Hearst Newspapers Washington columnist Helen Thomas; ABC News senior correspondent Carole Simpson; Chicago Tribune public editor Don Wycliff; and Denver Post editor Greg Moore.

"It was one of the best groups of high school journalists I've ever seen," said Sacramento Bee executive editor Rick Rodriguez.

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.