NEW YORK CITY -- SAJA, the South Asian Journalists Association, announced its list of officers for 2010 today. The 16-year old group serves more than 1,000 journalists and others interested in South Asia and South Asians across the U.S. and Canada.
Jigar Mehta, a video journalist for The New York Times, was elected president. Anusha Shrivastava, a credit markets reporter for Dow Jones Newswires, and two-term secretary of SAJA, was elected vice president.
Prabha Natarajan, also a credit markets reporter for Dow Jones Newswires, was named secretary. John Laxmi, a New Jersey-based freelance writer, continues as treasurer and Sree Sreenivasan, a Columbia University journalism professor and founder of SAJA, continues as the executive committee's at-large officer.
“SAJA is becoming a truly North American journalism organization and we are planning exciting events and programs to reach more members than ever,” said Mehta, who attended the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, and is a past SAJA scholarship and reporting fellowship recipient. “Our industry is constantly evolving and we need to make sure that SAJA evolves to meet the needs of our members.”
Before joining the New York Times, Mehta was a documentary filmmaker based in San Francisco where he worked on Jon Else's film Wonders Are Many, a documentary about the making of opera Doctor Atomic. More recently, he has produced videos that range in topic from small business in Detroit to Olympic snowboarding.
Shrivastava, a business journalist who has worked in broadcast, print and online media organizations for the past 18 years in the U.S., Canada and India, holds an M.S. in journalism from the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University in New York. Before joining Dow Jones, she was a web editor for The Globe and Mail and an on-air reporter for India Business Report broadcast on BBC World. She also has a doctorate in International Relations from the School of International Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. She remains co-ordinator of SAJA’s buddy program, which connects young journalists with those who have five or more years of experience in the field.
“My goal is to create the next generation of SAJA’s leaders and to strengthen SAJA,” Shrivastava said. “I look forward to working with the board and all the volunteers who help make SAJA’s programs successful.”
Sandeep Junnarkar, a new media professor at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism and one of the country's leading experts on online journalism, decided not to run for the executive committee this year.
"I'm stepping down as SAJA president after two years knowing that I leave the organization in the hands of great leadership," said Junnarkar, who will remain on the SAJA board. "Jigar has been involved with SAJA from his days as a student when he won numerous awards to the past few years as a professional, leading video workshops and revamping the annual SAJA Awards."
Junnarkar said Shrivastava will complement Mehta perfectly as the new SAJA vice president. “Anusha has been on the board for several years and has a keen eye for details and for keeping programs on track," said Junnarkar. "I look forward to working with both of them in guiding and strengthening SAJA."
A full slate of Board members for the year has also been named, including Aseem Chhabra, an NYC-based freelance writer; Ambreen Ali, a reporter for Congressional Quarterly based in Washington D.C.; Sovy Azhath, a producer for MSNBC's "Morning Joe" show, Aparita Bhandari, former vice president of SAJA and freelance journalist based in Toronto and Kiran Khalid, a producer for CNN currently based in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Mehta, Shrivastava, Natarajan and other members of the board will focus on improving the quality and reach of SAJA programs, including the SAJA Reporting Fellowships, which provides funding for journalists who wish to cover stories about South Asia or the diaspora. SAJA's e-mail lists and its newsy, resource-filled blog, SAJAforum.org - http://www.sajaforum.org/ - and its web site, SAJA.org - http://www.saja.org/ - offering the public a chance to learn about South Asia and South Asian America and Canada.
Programs, activities and services described in this site are offered by SAJA Group, Inc. with the support of the South Asian Journalists Association and its members.
Copyright © 2010 SAJA Group Inc.