Message from the President
Dear AAJA Family,
It’s a difficult day. In fact, it’s been a difficult year.
To everyone in AAJA logging on from home or showing up to your studios today feeling shook, horrified, exhausted and invisible, I see you. You’re not alone.
You’re processing the news while putting on your game face to do your job. Maybe none of your managers or colleagues are checking in on you today. Or maybe they ARE checking in and you worry about appearing weak or biased.
Maybe you're the only AAPI in your newsroom, or maybe there are no AAPI managers there. You may be the only one pitching the shooting story today, and it may not even be your beat.
As journalists, we’re not always wired to think about how the news affects us as we cover it.
But you’re human. And that’s okay. The AAJA family is here to support you. We are here for you.
My heart goes out to our members and leaders in Atlanta. Please know your entire AAJA community is with you — always, but especially now, as you cover the horrific attack and its aftermath.
This month marks 12 months in quarantine for those of us in the U.S., and 13 months since AAJA first warned about the rise in anti-Asian violence and called for media outlets to cover it. I am incredibly grateful for the tireless work by AAJA members over the past year — often working against the inertia of their newsrooms to bring attention to the anti-AAPI violence while doing so with care, compassion and journalistic integrity. We see you.
Join us tonight for AAJA Space, our new mental health series. We will hold an off-the-record mental health conversation facilitated by licensed therapists for AAJA members working in the news industry to process current events together. Register here for tonight’s session, and here for Sunday’s session.
In unity, family and visibility,
Michelle Ye Hee Lee
President, Asian American Journalists Association
