Decline in Asian American & Pacific Islander TV Journalists Disappoints AAJA

Decline in Asian American & Pacific Islander TV Journalists Disappoints AAJA

Latest RTNDA Employment Survey Also Shows Lack of AAPI Radio/News Directors

SAN FRANCISCO, July 11 /PRNewswire/ -- The Asian American Journalists Association has expressed disappointment at the further decline in the number of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders working in television newsrooms and the continued lack of news directors in radio.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050228/SFM118LOGO )

According to the just-released 2005 RTNDA/Ball State University Annual Survey, Asian Americans made up only 1.9 percent of the total television news workforce, down from 2.2 percent last year. "There is clearly very little progress, as this year's number is even lower than the number we had in 1995," according to Rene Astudillo, executive director of AAJA.

The 2005 survey also indicated that the number of Asian American television news directors remained unchanged.

While the number of Asian Americans working in radio newsrooms increased slightly from last year's 0.2 percent to 0.7 percent this year, the percentage of Asian American radio news directors has remained at zero since 1995.

Stanton Tang, AAJA's vice president for broadcast, said that "these numbers are especially disappointing because the barriers that keep Asian Americans from entering and succeeding in journalism are the same barriers that prevent their rise to high-profile on-air positions and in news management."

For many years now, AAJA has been proactive in addressing the issue of the lack of AAPIs in broadcast news. "Over the years, we have awarded more broadcast scholarships and internships and have implemented several initiatives such as our broadcast mentor program, AAJA radio network for members and a DVD featuring AAPI male television anchors. As always, we are eager to partner with RTNDA and the broadcast companies to ensure that AAPIs are better represented in broadcast news," said Astudillo.

About AAJA

The Asian American Journalists Association is a non-profit professional and educational organization with more than 2,300 members today. Founded in 1981, AAJA has been at the forefront of change in the journalism industry. AAJA's mission is to encourage Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) to enter the ranks of journalism, to work for fair and accurate coverage of AAPIs, and to increase the number of AAPI journalists and news managers in the industry. AAJA is an alliance partner in UNITY Journalists of Color, along with the Native American Journalists Association, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and National Association of Black Journalists.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050228/SFM118LOGO AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/ PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com Source: Asian American Journalists Association

CONTACT: Janice Lee, Deputy Executive Director, AAJA, +1-415-346-2051, or janicel@aaja.org

Web site: http://www.aaja.org/

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