#AAJA21 PROGRAM PREVIEW 

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting: How to Do Investigations on Your Beat

You don’t need to have “investigative” in your title to do investigative work. Ida B. Wells Society co-founder and award-winning global investigations editor Ron Nixon of the AP will discuss how to uncover data-driven and accountability stories on any beat. He’ll cover how to manage your time between investigative projects and other assignments, how to do quick turnaround investigations, and other practical strategies for doing investigative reporting while on your beat.

  • New Google Tools for Journalists

Learn from the Google News Initiative about some of their Advanced Search functions and specialized search engines, as well as Pinpoint, our new tool for reporters, and Google Earth Timelapse. There will be an interactive component using the collaboration tool Jamboard, as well.

  • NBC News Visual Storytelling Breaking News

Want to be a cable news producer? Or work for an NBC-owned station? This master class will delve into the elements of producing impactful, memorable cable TV news segments with a competitive edge and will weave in lessons for producing thoughtful spot news reports that differentiate you from the competition. The class will also clearly layout expectations for participants interested in applying to positions at MSNBC & owned stations. *This is an application-based program.

  • EW Scripps Sponsored: Communicate your value and securing your dream job training

Join newsroom leaders and talent acquisition partners from The E.W. Scripps Company as they share insights on how to find, and land, your dream job in the media and journalism industry. Panelists will discuss in-demand and emerging newsroom skills, tips for the recruiting process and tools to set yourself apart from the average media job-seeker.

  • Opening Ceremony: Proudly Looking Back, Boldly Moving Forward - A Conversation with Our Founders

#AAJA21 is a time of reflection in our 40th year of existence as we look back to the struggle to have a collective voice in the industry. Hear from some of the founders of AAJA about their work to create a community for all of us and the vision they see for the future of the organization as we learn from lessons of the past to inform decisions in the future.

  • NBCU Sponsored: A Fireside Chat with Rashida Jones

This fireside chat with Rashida Jones, President of MSNBC, will give you a glimpse of what it is like running one of the biggest cable news channels. Jones will share strategies for adapting, innovating and transforming in the shifting landscape of the news business. This interactive session will include time for a question and answer portion at the end.

  • Using Your Platform to Speak Out: Tackling the Rise of AAPI Hate Crimes

    Presented by AAJA Sports Task Force

With the sudden spotlight on AAPI hate crimes throughout 2021, the time is now more than ever for members of the AAPI community to speak out against AAPI hate speech and racist actions. So how are athletes, journalists and media members across the sports landscape using their platforms to decry these heinous actions? In this panel, you’ll hear perspectives from across the industry on how anyone can use their platform, regardless of how large or small it is, to make a difference.

  • Freelancing: From Side Hustle to Career

    Presented by AAJA Freelance

You can build a viable full-time career as a freelancer — you just need to be strategic. This panel will share the elements of a sustainable independent journalism practice: a portfolio approach to clients, using fellowships and grants, and including non-journalism gigs. We’ll discuss how to anticipate roadblocks and prepare for economic down cycles, and how to provide for health care, retirement and the other necessities for success.

  • TIME Magazine: Covering the Asian-American Community Throughout a Year of Crisis

Over the last year, Asian-American communities have confronted overlapping issues and crises that accentuated their tenuous position in America: COVID-19, anti-Asian rhetoric, violent attacks including the Atlanta shootings. TIME hopes to hold a two-part panel exploring how the magazine has confronted and covered these issues. The first part is a discussion with TIME’s Asian and Asian-American staffers across departments (editorial, design, video, audience), in which we talk about how we reconsidered our roles and identities in the newsroom and ended up creating coverage like the “We Are Not Silent” cover and deep dives into hidden Asian immigration histories. 

The second half of the discussion would feature an interview with Nicole Chung, who has written poignantly about COVID, family, anti-Asian racism and grief over the last year for TIME. We would hope this panel would shed light on some of our approaches and processes to the many harrowing news events of a transformative year.

  • Alternate pathways: Fulfillment in non-traditional journalism roles

While many would love lifelong careers as reporters, sometimes you just need a change from the daily newsroom grind. In this panel, speakers will share their experiences of pivoting to a non-traditional role in journalism. This panel can give media professionals — new or seasoned — alternative paths either in a journalism-adjacent position or a new role altogether.

  • Breaking Barriers: Celebrating Asian Women in Sports Leadership

    Presented by AAJA Sports Task Force

AAPI women are finally starting to see recognition for their major contributions to the world of sports and media. We’ll celebrate the accomplishments of some of the most successful women in the industry by having them share their personal stories, the hurdles they had to overcome throughout their career and how they believe we can build a foundation for more women in this industry down the road to receive the credit and recognition they deserve.

  • The Changing Faces of Leadership in Newsrooms

2021 sees a new era in newsroom leadership as leaders of color take the mantle at some of the most prominent institutions in media. How will they change the way organizations enact the promise of a more equitable media environment? What are their plans for engaging their minority staff across the country? How will having leaders of color impact the reporting of news for years to come? Hear from industry leaders of color who will talk about the creation of a new era in modern media.

  • The Equitable States of America?: Covering Policy in the Biden Era

The Biden administration has put an emphasis on "equity" in its policy decisions, a focus that is shaping how the government approaches transportation, education, health care and more. How is the national dialogue about equity shaping the way newsrooms cover racial and economic disparities? And how do news organizations ensure this coverage doesn't become just another passing trend?

  • How to improve media coverage of NHPI communitieS

    Presented by AAJA Pacific Islanders Task Force and AAJA Hawai’i Chapter

This session will discuss best practices for covering these communities, which are often stereotyped, marginalized and erased; terminologies to be mindful of in our writing/reporting; ways to address our blind spots as reporters; how to not perpetuate stereotypes; and ways to be less extractive in our interactions with sources.

  • AAJA Podcast Festival at #AAJA21 

    Presented by AAJA Radio + Podcasting Group and the Asian American Podcasters Association (AAP)

AAJA Convention 2021 attendees can take part in the AAJA Podcast Festival, where showrunners will record live episodes of their shows and be available for live Q and A sessions afterward. Podcasts range in topics from AAPI issues to comedy, and from soccer to politics. Interspersed will be mini-talks on Podcasting 101, Audio-Editing Tips, and a chance to network with fellow podcasters.

...With More to Come!

TRAINING SESSIONS

  • Leadership Training with NLA, Brought to you by Gannett