NEW YORK CITY -- SAJA, the South Asian Journalists Association, announced its slate of officers for 2009 today. The group, which will celebrate its 15th anniversary this year, serves more than 1,000 journalists and others interested in South Asia and South Asians across the U.S. and Canada.
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, was re-elected president. Aparita Bhandari, a Canadian print and radio journalist and frequent contributor to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, was elected vice president. Anusha Shrivastava, a credit markets reporter for Dow Jones Newswires, was named to a second term as secretary. John Laxmi, a New Jersey-based freelance writer, continues as treasurer and Sree Sreenivasan, a Columbia University journalism professor and WNBC-TV technology reporter, continues as the executive committee's at-large officer.
A full slate of Board members for the year has also been named, including Aseem Chhabra, NYC-based freelance writer; V.V. “Sugi” Ganeshananthan, novelist and freelance journalist; Jigar Mehta, a video journalist for The New York Times; Kiran Khalid, producer, ABC News’ Good Morning America; Prabha Natarajan, a reporter for Dow Jones Newswires; and Gopal Ratnam, a defense industry correspondent for Bloomberg News.
Ganeshananthan, who served as vice president and convention chair last year, stepped down from the position, but will continue to serve on the convention committee. “I was thrilled when Aparita joined the board, and I'm even more excited now that SAJA has a Canadian VP who works in radio! Aparita's a terrific presence and will help us reach new audiences and members in North America,’’ Ganeshananthan said. “I look forward to assisting her on this year's 15th Anniversary convention."
Bhandari has served on the board for the last few months, but has been a part of SAJA for 10 years. The first-ever Canadian member of the board, she is also the coordinator of SAJA's Toronto chapter, and the national chapters coordinator.
Junnarkar praised Bhandari’s work on the SAJA Board so far and welcomed her contribution as vice president.
"I am delighted to have Aparita Bhandari as the new SAJA Vice President. In her year on the SAJA board, she helped revitalize SAJA's commitment to its North American chapters," said Junnarkar. "I look forward to working with Aparita to make SAJA a stronger resource to its members and to the wider journalistic community."
Junnarkar also thanked Ganeshananthan for all her hard work on behalf of SAJA. “She played a pivotal role in making the 2008 SAJA Convention a tremendous success," said Junnarkar. "I am very glad that Sugi will continue to be on our board."
Leaving the board after years of service to SAJA are Deepti Hajela, AP newswoman and a founding board member who served as SAJA's president for three years, and Monika Mathur, AP researcher and long-time board member.
"Speaking on behalf of the SAJA board, I extend a special thank you to Deepti and Monika, who are stepping off the board after a long tenure in which they were instrumental in the success of every facet of this organization," said Junnarkar, who succeeded Hajela as president in 2008. "SAJA will continue to call upon Deepti and Monika every so often for their guidance."
Junnarkar, who is an associate professor at the City University of New York's Graduate School of Journalism, was born in Gwalior, India. He spent his childhood in New Delhi, Mumbai, London, Paris, and his teenage years in parts of California and New York. He received a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism and a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley. He worked for The New York Times on the Web in the 1990s and later became the New York bureau chief at CNET News.com.
A diplomatic brat, Bhandari has grown up across the world and is now based in Toronto, Canada. She followed up her studies in India with a master's degree in English Lit. from the University of Toronto. In New Delhi, she freelanced for national dailies in India. After her move to Toronto, she has worked for and contributed freelance features to Canadian national dailies and magazines before transitioning into broadcast journalism.
Led by Bhandari, SAJA (along with its partner, SAJA Group, Inc.) is preparing for its annual convention, which will take place July 10-11, 2009, at Columbia University and the CUNY Journalism School in New York. More than 1,000 journalists and guests from around the U.S., Canada, South Asia and Europe are expected to gather for a series of workshops, panels and networking events -- highlighted by a gala dinner and the SAJA Journalism Awards (including the Daniel Pearl Award for Outstanding Reporting on South Asia). Details of last year’s convention can be found on the SAJA Web site: http://www.saja.org/programs/convention/.
“I look forward to working with the former VPs and Presidents such as Sugi Ganeshananthan and Deepti Hajela in making sure the 15th year of SAJA marks the many milestones of the organization,’’ Bhandari said. “Given that my own relationship with SAJA started 10 years ago, I am excited to play an integral role in the celebrations.”
The dramatic increase in the South Asian population in North America and growing importance of North American-South Asian relations have led to a huge growth in the coverage of the community and the region. As a result, SAJA serves as a resource for journalists, community organizations and members of the public trying to understand various complex issues related to the subcontinent.
Junnarkar, Bhandari and other members of the board will focus on improving the quality and reach of SAJA programs, including the SAJA Reporting Fellowships, which provide 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/ - offer the public a chance to learn about South Asia and South Asian America and Canada.