The Portland chapter of AAJA wants to help you make your résumés, cover letters, clips, or reels stand out from the rest. Come sign up for one-on-one résumé critiques with editors and broadcast professionals on Oct. 22 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Oregon Daily Emerald newsroom, 1222 E. 13th Ave., #300 in Eugene.

The event is aimed at both journalism students and professionals — print, broadcast, and online journalists are all welcome.

Bring application packets (résumés, cover letters, clips, a DVD or link to your reel) and talk for 15 minutes with a professional who will give you great tips on making the best impression on recruiters.

Many thanks to our gracious volunteers:
Bill Church, Executive Editor, The Statesman-Journal
George Rede, Community News Web Editor, The Oregonian
Anne Hsu, News Producer, KATU

Go to http://bit.ly/aajaresume to find available time slots, and e-mail saerom.yoo@gmail.com with your preferences.

Drop-ins are also welcome — you can wait for an open slot or get help from reporters from The Oregonian and The Statesman-Journal.

For more information, contact AAJA-Portland at portland.aaja@gmail.com. Hope to see you there!

The stipend is designed to offset costs of required college credit or housing and transportation needs. Any student must first secure an internship with an Oregon media outlet before applying for this stipend. Students who are currently enrolled in undergraduate or graduate programs are eligible; recent college graduates may be considered.
The intern must meet AAJA’s goal of increasing diversity in newsrooms. AAJA Portland strongly encourages any student interested in applying for the stipend to become an AAJA member.

Applicants must submit name, resume, internship supervisor at media outlet and an essay (500 words) on the importance of diversity in the media.

The deadline to apply is October 20. E-mail portland.aaja@gmail.com.

The AAJA-Portland chapter each year funds stipends to assist with the cost of going to the convention. The stipend is not meant to cover all expenses, as our chapter does not have the means to do so. We have three available stipends this year, each an amount of $200.

Recipients must have been members for the preceding six months or more with a history of involvement with the chapter, as well as commit to helping lead one fundraiser in the coming year.

If you’d like to apply, please fill out the application form below and
 respond by Thurs., July 14. The board will consider applications and
notify recipients by Mon., July 18. Email applications to portland.aaja@gmail.com.

1. What do you hope to achieve by attending this year’s convention,
and why do you need a stipend?

2. What do you plan to take away from the convention to benefit,
 inform or help the chapter and fellow members? We would like members who attend the convention to share highlights of the trip with our chapter.

3. If you receive a stipend, are you willing to lead one fundraiser
 for the chapter in the next year? (We have a silent auction coming up
in the fall and have other fun ideas ready to go!)

4. Have you been a previous beneficiary of chapter/national financial assistance? How would a stipend fit into your budget for the convention?

Download the application form here: 2011NationalConventionStipend

Join us for Cheryl Tan's reading of her book at Powell's in Beaverton.

AAJA Portland welcomes Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan — author of the hit food memoir “A Tiger in the Kitchen,” food and fashion journalist, loyal AAJA member — to town!

Cheryl will read from “A Tiger in the Kitchen” at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 17, at Powell’s Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., Beaverton (map).

Please join AAJA Portland at the Powell’s reading and afterward for an invitation-only dinner with Cheryl at Du Kuh Bee Korean/Chinese restaurant, 12590 SW First St., Beaverton (map).

For the AAJA dinner, Cheryl will offer her take on the relationship between journalism, writing and blogging. Seating at Du Kuh Bee is limited, so RSVP to portland.aaja@gmail.com by June 10 to ensure your spot. This is a no-host dinner.

We will be accepting donations toward AAJA Portland’s internship fund, which provides a subsidy each summer to an intern at an Oregon media outlet – Cheryl herself interned at The Oregonian in 1995.

Learn more about Cheryl:

People magazine gave Cheryl’s book three stars. The Baltimore Sun said it was “pure mouthwatering reading.” Kirkus Book Reviews called it “a delightful take on the relationship between food, family and tradition.”

–

Look forward to seeing you on June 17!

When: 6-9 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 2 from 6 to 9 p.m.
Where: Couture Ultra Lounge at NW 4th and Couch (28 NW 4th Ave.)
Why: To promote diversity and representation of Asian Americans in the media, and strengthen collaborations and resources among Asian American journalists, business people, lawyers, professionals and community members.

+ Appetizers will be provided + no host bar with full happy hour menu including yummy Asian food and drink selections, such as chicken yakitori, tom ka soup, and duck confit egg rolls.
+  AAJA will also host a silent auction to fulfill your holiday shopping needs. We’ll be auctioning off items such as Artist Repertory Theater tickets, lunch with The Oregonian’s Editor Peter Bhatia, a First Thursday tour with The Oregonian’s art critic D.K. Row, and an autographed copy of Michele Norris’ new memoir, Grace of Silence. Bring your cash, check and cards!

+ Auction proceeds will fund an annual AAJA-Portland internship for an Asian American student at a news organization in Oregon or Southwest Washington. Interns demonstrate a commitment to covering Asian American issues.

The event is co-sponsored by the Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce of Oregon, the Oregon Asian Pacific American Bar Association, Central Thymos, and ORIENTED Portland – the local arm of a global organization of international professionals interested in Asian business and partnerships.

We hope to see you there!

Portland AAJA gold member Bill Church, executive editor of the Statesman Journal, is this year’s winner of the prestigious Robert G. McGruder Award for Diversity Leadership.
The leadership awards were given at the recent Associated Press Managing Editors conference Oct. 20-22 at Poynter in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Both Bill and Arizona Republic editor and vice president Randy Lovely were award recipients.
Congratulations to Bill and his commitment to AAJA and diversity! Portland AAJA is so proud.

Best,
Ruth Liao

More information from the APME news release:

The awards are given annually to individuals, newsrooms or teams of journalists who embody the spirit of McGruder, a former executive editor of the Detroit Free Press, former managing editor of The Cleveland Plain Dealer, a graduate of Kent State University and relentless diversity champion. McGruder died of cancer in April 2002.

…..

Church’s nominating letter said, “It is understood that newspapers in general have struggled to reset themselves in this unsettled climate. The economy and changing digital audience have forced newsrooms to downsize and rethink their operations.Yet, despite these challenges, Bill has maintained a Braveheart-like pursuit of ensuring our staff is diverse, developing our talented journalists of colors and being vigilant in growing the Statesman Journal’s relevance for readers of all backgrounds.”

Church became executive editor of the Statesman Journal in June 2006 after serving in the same role at the Star-Gazette at Elmira, N.Y. Prior to working in Elmira, he was managing editor of the Palladium-Item at Richmond, Ind.

Church started his career in 1981 as sports editor and managing editor of Review News Co., in Oklahoma City. He joined Gannett in 1990 as local news coordinator of the Wausau (Wis.) Daily Herald. He was named managing editor of the Battle Creek (Mich.) Enquirer in 1992 and managing editor at Richmond in 1998.

Time: 7 to 9 p.m.
Where: Asian Reporter Newspaper, 922 N Killingsworth Street, Suite 1A (Thanks, Jason Lim, for stepping in to host!)

What we’ll discuss: LA convention recap and our next holiday fundraiser on Dec. 2, a joint effort with the Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce. Also joining us will be guest Bill Lascher with Oregon News Incubator.

Expect nibbles, convention debriefing and more good discussion – hope to see you there!

Other notable convention highlights for the Portland chapter:
-Chapter member Maya Blackmun was honored for her efforts as interim executive director in 2009 during the convention banquet.
-Chapter member Stacy Austin received the Stanford Chen internship grant. The late Stanford Chen was one of the founding members of the Portland chapter.

-Chapter member Bill Church, executive editor of the Statesman Journal, was a panel speaker on digital watchdog journalism during the convention.