FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AAJA Selects Students for Convention Multimedia Project
- New Internship Collaboration with AZN Television Debuts
- Multimedia at National Journalism Convention in Miami Aug. 1-4
SAN FRANCISCO (May 17, 2007) - The Asian American Journalists Association, the nation's largest professional organization for Asian American and Pacific Islander journalists, announced the 24 university and college students selected for its Student Multimedia Project for the 19th Annual AAJA National Convention being held in Miami, Florida from August 1-4, 2007.
The Convention Student Multimedia Project will provide students with an opportunity to gain hands-on experience in news production and reporting in a professionally guided atmosphere of convergence using the latest communication technology. Students will work in a multimedia environment and have the opportunity to practice daily journalism, as well as work with professionals from major news organizations and gain valuable career-building experience.
"These students will not only have the opportunity to work alongside talented journalists, they also will learn valuable multimedia skills to help them thrive in today's 24/7 newsrooms," said AAJA National President Jeanne Mariani-Belding. "This experience will most definitely put them ahead of the curve as they prepare to enter the workforce."
The 24 students will work collaboratively with the professional staff and will gain exposure to print, online, radio and broadcast media. Students will work at the convention as reporters, editors, producers, and photographers. Students will report on breaking news, features, profiles, in-depth issues, speakers and all other aspects of the convention, local community, and Asian American and Pacific Islander community.
"Working alongside professional journalists in a real newsroom environment, students will report on the convention in the daily newspaper as well as on the frequently updated Web site, producing streaming video and audio segments, blogs and more," said Jennifer Abella, the project's lead coordinator, who is also deputy features copy chief for The Washington Post. "Our staff of professional journalists is excited to work with such a talented group of students."
Project coordinators are: Thomas D. Lee, business reporter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune; Harry Mok, lead producer for ContraCostaTimes.com; Traci Tong, news producer for "The World" BBC World Service, PRI and WGBH; and Lonnie Wong, reporter and public affairs show host for KTXL-TV, Fox 40. They are among the staff of professional working journalists at this year's convention who will guide the students through mentorship and hands-on training.
The 24 students selected are:
- Jeannine Aquino, University of Minnesota- Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN
- Emma Carew, University of Minnesota- Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN
- Diane Chang, Columbia University, New York, NY
- Lauren Chin, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA
- Alana Dong, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
- Angellica Dongallo, University of California at Berkeley, CA
- Diana Doyle, University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL
- Shaminder Dulai, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA
- Katrina Julian, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
- Huong Le, State University of New York at Plattsburgh, NY
- Michelle Le, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA
- Diane Lee, Bradley University, Peoria, IL
- Yoo-Kyung Lee, University of Texas at Austin, TX
- Joanne Liou, University of Texas at Austin, TX
- Zoneil Maharaj, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA
- Cristina Romento, Washington State University, Pullman, WA
- Linda Siu, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
- Aingaran "Ike" Sriskandarajah, Brown University, Providence, RI
- Donna Tam, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA
- To-Wen Tseng, Boston University, Boston, MA
- Christine Won, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL
- Belinda Wong, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA
- Lena Wong, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA
- Yuxing Zheng, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
Sponsors and New AZN Internship
The 2007 AAJA Convention Student Multimedia Project is co-sponsored by ABC News, AZN Television: the Network for Asian America, Belo, Bloomberg, ESPN, National Public Radio, and Toyota. The newspaper printing is sponsored by The McClatchy Company/The Miami Herald, the Platinum Sponsor of AAJA's convention this year.
AZN Television formed a new collaboration with AAJA this year to give students completing the project an opportunity to put into practice their new skills. Following the project, the professional staff will recommend students to serve two internships from September to December and two internships from January to May. During these paid internships, they will be able to work from their hometowns, where they will report and write for journalism blogs, part of a new feature on AZN's web site at www.azntv.com.
"As the homebase for Asian Americans, AZN is very excited to be part of the AAJA Student Multimedia Project and to give aspiring journalists a platform to showcase their talent," said Bill Georges, AZN senior vice president of affiliate and advertising sales. "In addition to giving the students a hands-on experience, it also gives Asian Americans a voice by highlighting various issues affecting the community."
Multimedia at National Convention
AAJA will hold its 19th annual national convention Aug. 1-4 in Miami, where more than 1,000 journalists, media professionals and community leaders from across the country will gather. At this year's convention, multimedia skills sessions and cross platform training are the main focus, relevant in an age when mainstream media reporters and editors are increasingly asked to take on additional roles as photographers, videographers, bloggers, and talk show experts. Key speakers will address the future of journalism and the new landscape of media changes fueled by technology and budget challenges. Registration for the convention is now available at www.aaja.org.
The Asian American Journalists Association is a non-profit professional and educational organization with approximately 2,000 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.
For more information, contact:
Janice Lee, AAJA Deputy Executive Director
(415) 346-2051
JaniceL@aaja.org
