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Welcome to the 1999 AAJA Seattle news archive.
AAJA Joins SPJ For Holiday Party AAJA Joins SPJ for Joint Holiday Party
AAJA/SPJ Forum Draws Lively Debate
The forum was hosted by AAJA and SPJ on November 18, 1999 at the Nippon Kan Theater. The panel was moderated by KCPQ's Christine Chen and SPJ's Jonathan Miller before an audience of about 30 journalists. Ng and James called for coalition building which, in theory, would alleviate some of the recent and historical concerns raised by panelists and audience members. Among them: ethnic-specific suspect descriptions, I-200, the voter-aproved initiative repealing affirmative action programs in state government, diversity versus exclusionism and the balance between local or personal perspective versus a removed third party. Diversity issues persist, says James, donning his signature koofi. "We still have a long way to go."
Chen Gets Nod for KCPQ Morning Show
Chen was born and raised in the Bay area. She graduated from the University of California at Berkeley. Past gigs include reporting and anchoring at KOIN in Portland and KRTV in Great Falls, Montana.
Cheng Goes Up the Dial
Seattle Chapter Hosts "Golden Child" Reception
Inspired by tales told by his grandmother, David Henry Hwang's "Golden Child" describes what happens when young Ahn's father moves away from the traditions of old China and embraces Western customs. This frees Ahn from the tradition of footbinding, but by adopting Christianity, Ahn's father can only have one wife. This sets off a fatal battle between his three wives. The Rep.'s production features Kim Miyori in the role of Wife Number One. Miyori is best known for her role as Dr. Wendy Armstrong in the medical series, "St. Elsewhere," and her portrayal of Yoko Ono in the TV bio-movie "John and Yoko: A Love Story." "Golden Child" is directed by Seattle Rep. artistic director Sharon Ott.
Welcome Soto
KING-TV Replaces Matsukawa on 11:00 Newscast
Matsukawa, who learned of the decision less than an hour before it was announced at a newsroom staff
meeting, said she was “surprised and disappointed.”
The move leaves KING-5 without any Asian-Americans on the anchor desk. The station, which has 14
news, sports and weather anchors, has one Hispanic anchor and no African-American anchors.
Matsukawa will continue anchoring the 10 p.m. news on KONG-6/16, a station KING has operated under
a local management agreement. Matsukawa has anchored KONG’s newscast by herself since its launch
earlier this year.
Beginning in October, KING-5’s Allen Schauffler will co-anchor KONG’s newscast with Matsukawa.
Schauffler and Matsukawa will also anchor a new 7 p.m. newscast on KONG.
While KONG’s ratings so far are a fraction of KING’s, Executive News Director Dave Lougee said
removing Matsukawa from the 11 p.m. newscast is not a demotion.
Lougee said the decision is part of a strategic plan to broaden the KING brand while making KONG’s
newscast a distinctive product.
With a recent Federal Communications Commission ruling allowing broadcasters to own more than one
station in a market, KING plans to purchase KONG this fall.
Lougee also said the decision was not related to the ratings of KING’s 11 p.m. newscast, which remained
number one in its time slot in the recent May sweeps period.
KING-5 hired Matsukawa in 1983 as a reporter for “Top Story,” an in-depth daily news program. In June
1988, Matsukawa was named co-anchor of KING-5 Morning News and in January 1990, she was named
co-anchor of KING’s weekend news. Matsukawa was named co-anchor of KING’s weeknight 11 p.m.
newscast less than a year ago.
Matsukawa has received honors for her reporting from Sigma Delta Chi, Seattle’s Academy of Religious
Broadcasting and the Washington Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The
Northwest Asian Weekly/Seattle Chinese Post recognized her as an Asian-American Living Pioneer, and
the Asian Counseling and Referral Service awarded her the Community Volunteer Award. Seattle’s
Asian community also named Matsukawa “Woman of the Year.”
Matsukawa is the past board president of the Asian Counseling and Referral Service, and is one of the
founding members of Seattle’s Asian American Journalists Association.
Kim Named Weekend KIRO 7 Anchor
Congratulations Hou, Abe.
August 1999--Congratulations to Frank Abe. He moves from Director of New Media at King County Executive Ron Sims' office to the county Transportation Department, using internet technology to help commuters during rush-hour. Abe most recently served as a panelist discussing Japanese American internment during UNITY. He is also producing a documentary on internment.
AAJA UNITY Banquet a Smashing Success
"It is worth noting that since 1987, the Seattle Chapter has always awarded its scholarships as part of the Northwest Journalists of Color program...open to all students of color," Camia said. She also thanked the Seattle Chapter for hosting this year's UNITY Conference, attended by 6200 journalists of color and other media representatives. Accepting the award, AAJA Co-President Cathy Kiyomura (KING-TV) thanked the 800 attendees and emphasized the Chapter's commitment to working with all journalist groups, especially when it comes to helping aspiring journalists. The banquet program was hosted by Lori Matsukawa (KING-TV) and Robert Mak (KING-TV), and produced by Su-Ring Vitue (KING-TV). The keynote speaker was film producer Chris Lee, president of Chris Lee Productions and former president of Columbia Pictures and Tri-Star Pictures. No one in Hollywood or AAJA, it seems, was safe from Lee's sharp wit. "I'm so glad all these Asian American broadcast women are getting away from the big hair of the early 90s," Lee observed. "Oh," he winced, "is Sasha Foo here??" As members ate a dinner of Moroccan spice chicken with curry, the most exciting moemnt was the auctioning of Lee's tie (which was actually Tom Cruise's tie in the movie, "Jerry Maguire.") Auctioneer Larry Taylor whipped the bidding into a frenzy--pitting Anheuser Busch against Chevron before husband and wife journalists Ellen Yen and Dele Olejede from Newsday shut them down with a bid of $4000. The AAJA Seattle chapter also auctioned two business-class tickets to Asia donated by Northwest Airlines. The banquet was a tremendous financial success, due in part to the work of AAJA Seattle members. More than 20 corporate tables were sold. AAJA Seattle thanks the following sponsors: Northwest Airlines (Diamond), Time Inc. (Gold), Anheuser-Busch Companies (Silver), AT&T (Silver), Horvitz Newspapers Inc. (Silver), R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company (Silver), Belo Corporation, Chevron Corporation, Community Connect, Gannett Co., Inc., KCRA-TV & WCVB-TV, KING-TV, KIRO-TV, Knight Ridder, JACL Seattle Chapter, Metropolitan Mortgage, Nintendo of America, Northwest Asian Weekly/Seattle Chinese Post, Philippine Medical Association of Oklahoma & Friends, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Barbara J. Tanabe & Roy H. Kawaguchi, The Arizona Republic, The News Tribune, The Oregonian, The Seattle Times. The banquet came in the middle of the UNITY convention (July 7-11, 1999) which received plenty of media attention due to the visits of presidential hopefuls Al Gore, Bill Bradley and George W. Bush. Other celebrity guests to UNITY included the Rev. Jesse Jackson and actress Halley Berry. Awards given at the banquet included Chapter of the Year (New England), Chapter President of the Year (Mi Young Hwang of Chicago), Lifetime Achievement Award (Henry Moritsugu), Diversity Award (Chevron), Special Recognition (Barbara Tanabe). Chapters pledged to fully endow the Stan Chen Memorial Scholarship fund for journalism interns. Outside the Sheraton ballroom was a large silent auction, assembled by Susan Han (KCTS-TV) and Mimi Gan (KING-TV), with assistance from the Washington D.C. Chapter. Among the more than 100 items that were auctioned: Award-winning photographic prints from Seattle Times Staff, wine tasting, jewelry, autographed novels from Shawn Wong & Lois Yamanaka, restaurant gift certificates, media souvenirs and a year's worth of free lattes from Tully's Coffee.
National Board Faces Reorganization
July 6, 1999--After several years of discussion, the AAJA National Board finally approved a
reorganization plan at its summer board meeting.
The current board has five national officers (President, Vice President-Print, Vice President-
Broadcast, Treasurer, Secretary) and one representative from each of the 17 chapters. Chapters
with more than a hundred members have two representatives on the board.
With approximately 25 people now on the National Board, AAJA has been searching for ways to
make the board more efficient and capable of responding more quickly to situations that may arise.
Beginning next year, there will be an AAJA Advisory Board, which will be similar in size to the
current National Board. The new Advisory Board will consist of one representative from each
chapter. It will meet two times a year and will have input into programming, membership and
chapter issues.
Most budgetary and national office oversight will be turned over to a new Governing Board. This
board will consist of the five national officers and six chapter representatives elected from and by
the Advisory Board. This Governing Board will meet four times a year and will oversee AAJA’s
financial and personnel issues.
Many chapters raised concerns that they might lose their voice in the national organization if their
representative were not elected to the 11-member Governing Board. As a compromise, the plan
dictates that there must be one Governing Board member from a small chapter (fewer than 50
members), one member from a medium chapter (between 50 and 100 members), one member from
a large chapter (more than 100 members), and three members elected at large.
I was also concerned that under this plan, some chapters would have no vote on the financial
matters of the national organization. I introduced an amendment that would give the Advisory
Board a final vote on the budget developed by the Governing Board. The majority of the time, I
envision this vote to be a formality. However, when contentious issues arise, such as dues
increases or a major budget crisis, this final vote would ensure that all chapters have a say in the
financial health of AAJA. If the Advisory Board votes down a budget, the Governing Board must
revise the budget to gain approval. This measure passed narrowly, 11-10, and is subject to legal
review.
The New York Convention
Next year’s convention will be in the Big Apple. Seattle will be in charge of the national awards
program. This involves collecting entries, judging them and announcing the winners through
displays and a videotape presentation at the convention.
San Diego
Members in San Diego continue their enthusiastic efforts to revive that area’s chapter. They
remain on a probationary status through next year.
Board Issues
After a couple years of debate, the board approved directors’ and officers’ liability insurance. The
next board meeting will be in Sacramento next spring.
Moving Right Along…
After going to New York in 2000, AAJA will return to San Francisco for the 2001 convention.
The Board also approved Texas to host the 2002 convention and Phoenix to host the convention in
2003.
This marks the end of my term as Seattle’s national board representative. After serving on the
board for four years, I am looking forward to handing over the duties effective January 1, 2000.
The next person we elect will be a member of the National Advisory Board and may be elected to
serve on the Governing Board as well.
This is an appropriate time to make the transition. With the passage of the reorganization plan, the
board has completed a number of projects that were years in the making. We have finally
implemented a three-year strategic plan. After some considerable turnover in the national office,
we now have a new staff in place. And of course, we have overseen a successful UNITY
convention in Seattle.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to represent our chapter.
Robert Mak
Future Journalist Kai Pacifico
Nakagawa, Tamura, Mar, Kumata honored
Eastside Journal Members Honored
Kim to KIRO; Chang to New York
Kenneth Chang has moved back to New York City from abcnews.com in Bellevue.
Wong , Martin Join The Seattle Times
January 1999--Welcome to Richard Martin, a former San Francisco Bay Area chapter member and graduate of the AAJA Executive Leadership Program. Martin is now assistant metro editor at The Seattle Times.
He was city editor at The Californian, a Gannett newspaper in Salinas, Calif.
Lin Moves to Infoseek
AAJA Family Keeps Growing
Oregonian's Stan Chen Remembered
Chen, a long-time AAJA supporter, got his first career break in the 1960s. He was a fresh-faced teenage reporter working under the guidance of his uncle, Ken Wong, putting out the Chinese World in San Francisco's Chinatown.
"He didn't say very much," recalled Chen. "He just said, 'Go out and find some stories.' It was sink or swim, and it tested by desire for journalism."
Bitten by the journalism bug and defying his parents' wishes that he study science and math, Chen went to Indiana University to pursue a degree in journalism.
After graduating, the native of Oakland, Calif. landed a job as a reporter, columnist, photographer and sports editor at a newspaper in Bellingham, Washington.
A few years later, he went to Portland, Oregon, where he started working for the Daily Journal of Commerce. It wasn't long before Chen moved to The Oregonian where his career would include stints as a reporter and an award winning opinion-page editor.
Throughout his career, Chen often found himself one of only a few minorities on staff. He tirelessly pressed his colleagues to be sensitive to the nuances of racial slights and ethnic stereotypes. He long influenced newsroom managers to give a greater voice to people of color and to increase diversity in newsrooms.
In the early 1980s, it was natural for Chen to get involved with a fledgling group called the Oregon Journalists Coalition. This group of minority journalists, headed in part by Chen, held a groundbreaking workshop on how the mainstream media covered the minority communities. Chen also edited a media-access booklet based on a similar publication produced by AAJA's Los Angeles chapter. At Chen's request, The Oregonian printed 500 booklets for quick distribution to diverse communities and non-profit organizations. Additionally, the paper printed another 500 copies.
In March 1987, the coalition sponsored a self-help public relations seminar called "How to Get Your News into the News (Without Committing a Crime)."
"At that point I saw the possibilities for an AAJA chapter in Portland," Chen said.
Under Chen's leadership, the Portland chapter became official in July 1987. Over the years, Chen helped AAJA grow and gain momentum through his long-standing contributions to journalism education, generous support of young journalists and advocacy of greater diversity in newsrooms.
"The organization has necessarily become more sophisticated in its approach," said Chen. " Its fundamental purpose is unchanged: to increase the number of Asian American journalists and news managers in the industry and work for fair and accurate coverage of Asian communities."
While Chen impressed the leadership of AAJA, his many newsroom talents came to the attention of the Institute for Journalism Education, now known as the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education. Chen spent several summers in the Bay Area teaching talented minority kids how to chase a story, take a quote and weave interesting facts together into a compelling report.
Eventually, Chen was named director of the center's summer program. He cultivated many relationships with young journalists. Chen seized many other opportunities to reach back and offer a helping hand to young and aspiring journalists.
He lectured at the University of Oregon's first summer journalism program for minority students. Chen often participated in job fairs on this own time, making himself available to youngsters eager to explore the world of journalism.
"We need to encourage, nurture, and support high school and college students," said Chen. "We need to support each other."
Chen also found time to teach at the IJE Copy Editor Program in Tucson, Ariz. He served twice as managing editor of Total Community Coverage, an IJE project that brought together journalists throughout the country to create a newspaper designed to include readers of all ethic communities.
Over the years, Chen's commitment to AAJA grew stronger. Not only did he help students produce the newspaper at AAJA national conventions, he also served as AAJA's national vice president for print and national secretary.
Chen literally wrote the book on AAJA-a well received, insightful read called "Counting on Each Other--A History of the Asian American Journalists Association from 1981 to 1996."
Throughout his 30-year career in journalism, Chen set the standard as a sterling mentor, an award-winning journalist and a caring member of AAJA and the Asian community. In 1998, he received AAJA's highest honor: the Lifetime Achievement Award.
AAJA National Board Joins Banquet
AAJA Seattle
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AAJA Seattle joined the Society of Professional Journalists for the annual joint holiday party. This year's party returned to the Center for Wooden Boats along the south end of Lake Union. A few dozen people shared some refreshments and good cheer. Thanks to Melissa Wolfe for helping to plan this event for AAJA Seattle.
