Mission & History

Our Sacramento chapter has about 50 members throughout the Central Valley and Northern California. AAJA is a nonprofit organization of almost 2,000 professional and student members in 20 chapters across the United States and Asia.

We share in the mission of our parent organization, which was founded in 1981 to:

• Encourage Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to enter the ranks of journalism.
• Work for fair and accurate coverage of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
• Increase the number of Asian Americans and Pacific Islander journalists, including news managers, in the industry.

Membership has its privileges: In the past year, our chapter has held mixers to celebrate the holidays and Lunar New Year, organized a student workshop, attended community events and celebrations, handled the judging for national scholarships and awarded scholarships to local students. At the 2006 national convention in Honolulu, Sacramento was named Chapter of the Year.

The Sacramento chapter offers the following activities and events for its membership:

Grants - Each year, the chapter provides stipends to help members attend the national AAJA convention. 
Scholarships – To recognize and support the next generation of journalists, AAJA Sacramento awards scholarships to high school and college students each year. The winners are honored at a scholarship reception each fall.

Social events - The chapter encourages members to get to know one another on an informal basis through a range of events including the Lunar New Year dim sum, the pizza mixer, and holiday party.

Student workshops - Each spring, the chapter holds a workshop for students in which professionals in the Sacramento region share their tips and experiences about entering the journalism field.