The Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) was founded in 1981 by several Asian American journalists who felt a need to support greater participation by Asian Americans in the news media. The first national president of the association was television journalist Lloyd LaCuesta.
Its goals are:
- To encourage Asian Pacific Americans to enter the ranks of journalism
- To work for fair and accurate coverage of Asian Pacific Americans
- To increase the number of Asian Pacific American journalists and news managers in the industry.
AAJA is a nonprofit organization. Its national office is based in San Francisco. It has 20 chapters in the United States and Asia, with over 1,600 members.
AAJA has chapters throughout the country and in Asia. There are four different chapters in California alone—Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Sacramento. In addition to Los Angeles, the largest chapters are New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C. Members span the globe from Paris to Bangladesh.
The diverse membership includes broadcast anchors, reporters, producers, writers and videographers; print editors, columnists, reporters and photojournalists; and online editors and contributors. The membership also consists of many associates other business and public relations sectors.
AAJA is a partner organization of UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc.
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