Lia Chang Multimedia: 2009 Asian American Journalists Association Awards

Frances Rivera, anchor, 7News and CW56 in Boston and Arthur Chi’en reporter/host with WPIX-TV/New York, emcee’d the banquet. © Lia Chang

The Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) presented the awards for excellence in news coverage of Asian American and Pacific Islander and other issues, on Saturday, August 15 at its Gala Scholarship and Awards Banquet at the Boston World Trade Center at AAJA’s National Convention. Arthur Chi’en reporter/host with WPIX-TV/New York, and Frances Rivera, anchor, 7News and CW56 in Boston, emcee’d the banquet. John Yang, NBC News correspondent, was the keynote speaker.

John Yang © Lia Chang

Freelance photographer Kelvin Ma received the first award of the night, the Dith Pran perpetual trophy and a cash award for his winning entry “Free Hug”, in the Annual Dith Pran Photography and Multimedia ShootOut Competition. The theme of this year’s live photography competition was “The Freedom Trail.” All conventioneers were eligible to shoot between Wednesday through Friday during the convention. Over $2,000 in prizes were awarded.

Albert Lee, AAJA Professional Programs Coordinator, presents freelance photographer Kelvin Ma with the Dith Pran perpetual trophy and a cash award for his winning entry “Free Hug”, in the Annual Dith Pran Photography and Multimedia ShootOut Competition. © Lia Chang

The competition is in honor of our beloved New York Times photographer Dith Pran, who survived the Cambodian “Killing Fields.”

Photography Winners:
First place: Kelvin Ma, freelancer, “Free Hug” wins a ThinkTankPhoto bag and $200 in cash from AAJA National Office and perpetual trophy and SanDisk. (value: $650)
Second place: An Rong Xu, School of Visual Arts, “Sailor Portrait,” wins a ThinkTankPhoto camera bag and SanDisk card. (value: $450)
Third place: Diana Diroy, San Jose State University, “Cemetery,” wins Olympus audio recorder and Sandisk card. (value: $450)
Fourth place: Karen Zhou, freelance, “Military Dog Tags,” wins ThinkTankPhoto camera bag and SanDisk card. (value $200)
Fifth place: Sihang Chang, students, “Bookstore,” wins ThinkTankPhoto camera bag and Sandisk card. (value $200)
Sixth place: Hannah Lao, students, “Frog Pond,” wins Sandisk card. (value $50)

Multimedia Winners:
First place: Derek Sijder, San Jose State University, “Boston Globe Pressman,” wins Thinktankphoto camera carrying cases and SanDisk card. (value $400)
Second place: Derek Liu, UCLA, “Midnight Bakery,” wins a ThinkTankPhoto camera bag, wins Sandisk card. (value: $300)
Third place: Greg Yamamoto, Honolulu Advertiser, “Bar Owner,” wins a ThinkTankphoto camera bag and SanDisk card (value $250)

2009 AAJA National Journalism Award winners (l-r) Brian Bull, Wisconsin Public Radio; Vino Wong, photojournalist, Altanta Journal-Constitution; Craig Gima, assistant city editor/reporter, Honolulu Star-Bulletin; Jinah Kim, correspondent, NBC News; Bryan Chu, sports reporter, San Francisco Chronicle; Barry Petersen, CBS News correspondent with banquet co-emcees Arthur Chi'en reporter/host with WPIX-TV/New York, and Frances Rivera, anchor, 7News and CW56 in Boston. © Lia Chang

National Journalism Award Winners
The category of Unlimited Subject Matter recognizes professional journalists and AAJA members. The category of Asian American and Pacific Islander Issues recognizes professional journalists covering the AAPI community. These awards demonstrate the ability of journalists – AAPI and otherwise – to cover the news with authority, sensitivity, insight and an eye towards diversity. AAJA honored the following journalists for their work published or broadcast last year:
TELEVISION-AAPI ISSUES
Jinah Kim, correspondent, NBC News, “More Than Just A Rice Shortage”
PHOTOGRAPHY-AAPI ISSUES
Vino Wong, photojournalist, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “Amazing Feet”
RADIO-UNLIMITED SUBJECT MATTER
K. Oanh Ha, Reporter, KQED Public Radio, “Melamine Contamination”
PRINT-AAPI ISSUES
Bryan Chu, sports reporter, San Francisco Chronicle, “Counted Out”
PRINT-UNLIMITED SUBJECT MATTER
Moni Basu, staff reporter, Atlanta Journal-Constitution,”Chaplain Turner’s War”
TELEVISION-UNLIMITED SUBJECT MATTER
Barry Petersen, correspondent; Marsha Cooke, producer; and Randy Schmidt, producer, CBS News Sunday Morning “Barry Petersen: Body of Work”
PHOTOGRAPHY-UNLIMITED SUBJECT MATTER
Chiaki Kawajiri, photojournalist, The Baltimore Sun, “Final Stage”
ONLINE-UNLIMITED SUBJECT MATTER
Michael Zhao, managing editor/producer, China Green, Asia Society, “Clearing the Air: China’s Environmental Challenge”
ONLINE-AAPI ISSUES
Craig Gima, assistant city editor/reporter, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, “Sithan’s Journey”
RADIO-AAPI ISSUES
Brian Bull, Wisconsin Public Radio, “Bridging the Shores: The Hmong-American Experience”

AAJA Special Award recipients Dinah Eng, Steve Paulus, Jeannie Park and Corky Lee © Lia Chang

Special Awards
The four individuals who were honored with the 2009 AAJA Special Awards have been instrumental in the successful careers of countless Asian American journalists, mentoring, promoting diversity and personally guiding and nurturing leadership development among the ranks of AAJA.

Dinah Eng, columnist for Scripps Howard News Service was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award; New York based photojournalist Corky Lee received AAJA’s Dr. Suzanne Ahn Award for Civil Rights and Social Justice for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders; Jeannie Park, former editor, Time Inc. received the AAJA Leadership in Diversity Award; and this year’s Special Recognition Award was presented to Steve Paulus, senior vice president/general manager of NY1 News. For more about Dinah, Corky, Jeannie and Steve, click http://liachang.wordpress.com/2009/08/16/dinah-eng-corky-lee-jeannie-park-and-steve-paulus-honored-by-asian-american-journalists-association-by-lia-chang/

Cynthia Wang, assistant editor of People magazine © Lia Chang

Chapter & Member Awards
Kudos to Cynthia Wang, assistant editor of People magazine who received AAJA’s Member of the Year Award and Vino Wong, photojournalist, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta Chapter, who received the President of the Year Award. Kim Moy, who was promoted to Director of the Yahoo! U.S. Front Page Editorial Programming Group this year, received the Executive Leadership Program Outstanding Leadership Award. Our host chapter for this year’s convention, the New England Chapter (pictured below at karaoke night), received the Chapter of the Year Award.

New England Chapter sings “Sweet Caroline,” at the AAJA karaoke night, accompanied by live band Nickel and Dime on August 15, 2009. (L-R) Kim Tan, Phil Marcelo, Susan Choi, Tracy Jan, Hanah Fadrigalan, Shirley Goh, Sangita Chandra, Shirley Leung, and Daigo Fujiwara. © Lia Chang
Watch excerpts of speeches by John Yang, Jeannie Park and Steve Paulus on video

Photos from the Gala Scholarship and Awards Banquet

Highlights of my time at the AAJA convention in Boston, including photos from karaoke night.

Congrats to all of the winners. See you in Hollywood in 2010.
AAJA Website



Lia Chang is an actor, performance and fine art botanical photographer and an award-winning multimedia journalist. Lia’s portraits and performance photos have appeared in Vanity Fair, Gourmet, German Elle, Women’s Wear Daily, The Paris Review, VIBE, TV Guide, Daily Variety, Interior Design, American Theatre, Life & Style, OUT, New York Magazine, InStyle, Timeout.com, Villagevoice.com, Playbill.com, Theatermania.com, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, USA Today, The Boston Globe, New York Times and Washington Post. A former syndicated arts and entertainment columnist for KYODO News, Lia is the New York Bureau Chief for AsianConnections.com. She writes about culture, style and Asian American issues for a variety of publications and this Backstage Pass with Lia Chang blog. As a photographer and videographer, Lia is frequently tapped to collaborate with artists, organizations and companies in establishing their documentary photo archive. She has been documenting her colleagues and contemporaries in the arts, fashion and journalism since making her stage debut as Liat in the National Tour of South Pacific, with Robert Goulet and Barbara Eden.

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Lia Chang Multimedia: Dinah Eng, Corky Lee, Jeannie Park and Steve Paulus honored by Asian American Journalists Association

AAJA Special Award recipients Dinah Eng, Steve Paulus, Jeannie Park and Corky Lee © Lia Chang

Congratulations to Dinah Eng, columnist for Scripps Howard News Service; Corky Lee, freelance photojournalist; Jeannie Park, former editor, Time Inc.; and Steve Paulus, senior vice president/general manager of NY1 News, who were honored by the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) last night in Boston.

John Yang (Photo by Lia Chang)

On a balmy August evening at the Boston World Trade Center, Arthur Chi’en, reporter/host with WPIX-TV/New York and Frances Rivera, anchor, 7News and CW56 in Boston, emceed AAJA’s Gala Scholarship and Awards banquet, which capped the end of four days for the 650 attendees of AAJA’s 20th Annual National Convention this year. NBC News correspondent John Yang was inspiring as keynote speaker.

AAJA is the nation’s largest non-profit educational and professional organization for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) journalists.

Frances Rivera, anchor, 7News and CW56 in Boston and Arthur Chi’en reporter/host with WPIX-TV/New York, emcee’d the banquet. © Lia Chang

Representing approximately 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.

Dinah Eng, a columnist for Scripps Howard News Service, was this year’s recipient of AAJA’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Her leadership and dedication to the journalism community includes stints as past national president of AAJA and past national president of UNITY: Journalists of Color, and over 20 years of service to AAJA. The award 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.

Foster Hays, son of Dr. Suzanne Ahn, congratulates Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Dinah Eng. © Lia Chang

Dinah Eng’s founding of The Executive Leadership Program has developed 381 Asian American and Pacific Islander newsroom leaders who have propelled AAJA to national prominence. Tirelessly working to promote diversity by training, mentoring and encouraging promotions of journalists to reach their highest potential, Eng’s influence with media executives has made it possible for the program to exist year after year.

New York City based photojournalist Corky Lee, was the recipient of AAJA’s Dr. Suzanne Ahn Award for Civil Rights and Social Justice for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. 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. For over 35 years, Lee has used his camera to ensure that the faces of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and their experiences be included in American history. At once intensely personal and socially conscious, he has a style of photojournalism that crosses the divides of different Asian American and Pacific Islander nationalities.

Jeannie Park (Photo by Lia Chang)

Leadership in Diversity award recipient Jeannie Park, a former editor of Time, Inc. has increased the diversity among the staffs of every publication she’s headed from InStyle to People magazine. She has mentored and advised countless young members of AAJA, who aspire to executive offices.

In addition to her own generous contributions to AAJA, the New York Chapter, and the Executive Leadership Program, Jeannie Park has also encouraged her employers to give. At ELP, she helps guide class participants with her experiences as a magazine executive and with her knowledge of the industry, encouraging participants to grow and become stronger leaders themselves while balancing work and life.

Steve Paulus (Photo by Lia Chang)

This year’s recipient for AAJA’s Special Recognition Award was Steve Paulus, regional vice president/general manager, NY1 News.

(Steve Paulus and his sister “Hair” director Diane Paulus © Lia Chang)
Instrumental in hiring at least 35 Asian American and Pacific Islanders over 20 years at NY1 News and WCBS-TV, Paulus has also hired dozens more at Time Warner’s upstate New York channels. He has ensured, for nearly 30 years, that Asian Americans in the New York City area are covered in television news in a fair and just way. He has quietly supported AAJA programs by mentoring members and promoting their leadership development.

Special Recognition Award recipient Steve Paulus, senior vice president/general manager of NY1 News is flanked by his NY1 family and sister "Hair" director Diane Paulus (right) at the AAJA Scholarship and Awards banquet at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston on August 15, 2009. © Lia Chang
Watch excerpts of speeches by John Yang, Jeannie Park and Steve Paulus on video

AAJA Website

Lia Chang is an actor, performance and fine art botanical photographer and an award-winning multimedia journalist. Lia’s portraits and performance photos have appeared in Vanity Fair, Gourmet, German Elle, Women’s Wear Daily, The Paris Review, VIBE, TV Guide, Daily Variety, Interior Design, American Theatre, Life & Style, OUT, New York Magazine, InStyle, Timeout.com, Villagevoice.com, Playbill.com, Theatermania.com, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, USA Today, The Boston Globe, New York Times and Washington Post. A former syndicated arts and entertainment columnist for KYODO News, Lia is the New York Bureau Chief for AsianConnections.com. She writes about culture, style and Asian American issues for a variety of publications and this Backstage Pass with Lia Chang blog. As a photographer and videographer, Lia is frequently tapped to collaborate with artists, organizations and companies in establishing their documentary photo archive. She has been documenting her colleagues and contemporaries in the arts, fashion and journalism since making her stage debut as Liat in the National Tour of South Pacific, with Robert Goulet and Barbara Eden.

Related Articles:
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Multimedia: AALDEF celebrates 35 years of protecting and promoting the civil rights of Asian Americans
AALDEF honors Dale Minami, Nicholas D. Kristof, Sheryl WuDunn and Sandra Leung with 2009 Justice in Action Awards on 3/26
Ti-Hua Chang reports on poverty among Asian Americans in New York
AAJA member Lia Chang’s RED photographic exhibit part of Chinese New Year celebration
RED opening reception at Gouverneur Healthcare Services