Greetings from SAJA’s 2024 Board:

The South Asian Journalists Association is back with a brand-new board and officers, a roadmap of social events coming your way, new journalistic opportunities for career growth, and more.

This year marks 30 years of SAJA. We are immensely proud of how much our nonprofit has grown over the decades since its humble beginnings, from our many galas, events, and newsroom visits to networking with our members across different cities and highlighting our members' important work. 

Between an eroding trust in journalism and layoffs at every turn, the media is in a clear state of crisis. This underscores how critical it is for SAJA to exist as a resource for our growing diaspora of South Asian journalists across the U.S. and Canada to provide support, mentorship and nurture our community.

Be sure to look out for future communications regarding the 30th anniversary – we can’t wait to celebrate with you. In addition, we plan to continue expanding our existing programs, create and surface new events and opportunities for our members, and communicate information regarding grants and fellowships.

With a thriving new board and events on the horizon, we look forward to the year ahead with you all. Please don’t hesitate to reach out  with any questions or feedback.

Are you receiving this email and not a member of SAJA yet? Register to become a member today. 

UPDATES FROM THE TEAM
Last December, current SAJA members voted for its 2024 board – you can find the new slate of members here. On Jan. 21, 2024, our first board meeting took place in-person and via Zoom, where the following board members have taken on leadership roles via a unanimous vote of the Board:

SAJA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: 

• President: Sree Sreenivasan (Co-founder and CEO, Digimentors)
• Vice President: Priyanka Vora (Director, Audience at Axios)
• Director of Communications: Tania Rahman (Social Media Director, Fast Company)
• Secretary: Allana Akhtar (Freelance writer)
• Treasurer: John Laxmi (Investor, podcaster)

REST OF THE SAJA BOARD:

• Jennifer Chowdhury, Freelancer, New York 

• Divya Karthikeyan, Louisville Public Media 

• Karen Mahabir, Associated Press, New York 

• Sabrina Malhi, The Washington Post, Washington DC 

• Mythili Sampathkumar, Freelancer, New York (President Emeritus)

• Pia Sarkar, Associated Press, Philadelphia 

• Mihir Zaveri, The New York Times, New York 

Sree, the selfie king, with the board. From left, Sree, Allana, Karen, John, Pia, Tania, Priya and Mihir (other SAJA Board members attending remotely: Mythili, Divya, Sabrina, Jenn). And the Executive Committee: Sree, Priya, John, Tania and Allana.

A message from Sree, our new President and SAJA co-founder:

Dear SAJA members, colleagues and friends:

I know some of you are surprised to learn that I am back as SAJA President, 20 years after stepping down as inaugural President and a dozen years after leaving the Board. I decided to run for the Board and stand for President for several reasons.

Almost everything I've gotten in my career — including some of my dearest friends — has been a result of my work with this wonderful organization. When I exited the board, I expected to just cheer from afar for the rest of my life. 

But in this SAJA’s 30th anniversary year, I’ve learned that cheering from afar isn’t that helpful. At a time when journalism and journalists are facing everything from financial disaster to widespread disinformation and attacks on their legitimacy, SAJA must continue to play a critical role in helping its members and the profession at large. 

My wonderful Board colleagues (which include three former Presidents) are already planning this year’s activities and we look forward to working with our members and partner organizations on continuing our existing programs and adding exciting new ones.
Here’s how you can help:

• Send us your ideas, needs, suggestions at president@saja.org (also looking for your career updates, moves, etc).

• We are one of the few major journalism organizations that is 100 percent volunteer-run, so we need all the help we can get.

• Encourage friends to sign up for membership (you don’t have to be South Asian to be a member) and renew your own!

• We will be giving out tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships, fellowships and more, so we will need sponsors and donors. If you’d like to be a sponsor this year, please write to president@saja.org. If you can make a donation now or later, please do.

Looking forward to working with you all!
– Sree Sreenivasan

ANNOUNCEMENTS, EVENTS AND MORE:

• SAJA-NY Event: Amitav Ghosh at Asia Society

• • On Thursday, February 29 at 6:30pm ET, join SAJA and Asia Society for a conversation and book signing with award-winning author Amitav Ghosh. At this event, Ghosh will discuss his latest book, Smoke and Ashes, which was named a Most Anticipated Book of 2024 by Foreign Policy, Literary Hub, and the Millions. The conversation will be moderated by professor and former BBC journalist Razia Iqbal.
  • Purchase your tickets here. Can’t make it to NYC? The event will be recorded and available online the next day. 

• A message from the IIJF

• • The Institute for Independent Journalists Foundation is conducting a census of journalists who were laid off and bought out recently. If you’ve experienced a journalism layoff or buyout in the past year, the survey needs your input.  It should take 5-7 minutes to complete.

• SAJA-Knowledge @Wharton

• • The SAJA-Knowledge at Wharton Funding Opportunity was established in 1999 in collaboration with the South Asian Journalists Association. This unique program is designed to enhance the quality of minority business journalism. It provides a member of SAJA (as well as up to one journalist each belonging to AAJA, NAHJ, NAJA & NLGJA) with funding to attend the Wharton Seminars for Business Journalists in Philadelphia.
  • More info can be found here. Look out for updates and a call for applications soon. 

• Join NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists for their 4th annual Student Conference

• • This virtual gathering will take place February 23-24, and will include 10+ informational sessions as well as an Internship and Career Fair. Students and early-career journalists will have the opportunity to learn from industry experts, connect with fellow student journalists and with recruiters from top news organizations, and to explore the intersections of the media world and LGBTQ+ identities. 
  • In addition, students who actively participate in the conference will receive a $25 discount on registration for the 2024 National Convention in Los Angeles! 
  • Registration is available here and is free for NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists Student Members and $25 for non-members. 

• Free webinar: “Transforming political reporting and putting people first.”

• • On Tuesday, 2/6 from 12-1pm ET, join the Knight Center’sfree webinar, "Putting the Public First in Political Coverage," in partnership with the Solutions Journalism Network. This one-hour webinar, along with a free online course on elections coverage in April, will offer valuable insights into effective political reporting.
  • The webinar, moderated by Jaisal Noor, Democracy Initiative Manager at the Solutions Journalism Network, will include the following distinguished panelists:

In the news:

• CUNY’s Newmark School of Journalism on path to be tuition-free. Our friends at the Newmark School, who have hosted many SAJA events over the years, aim to become the first top-tier graduate journalism school in the United States to offer fully free tuition in perpetuity to its entire student body. Congrats to former SAJA President Sandeep Junnarkar and other faculty and staff.
  

Be sure to follow SAJA on Instagram, LinkedIn,  X, Threads

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