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  • 2023-01-27 11:19 PM | Mihir Zaveri (Administrator)

    Report for America (RFA) helps local newsrooms report on under-covered issues and communities by sending early, mid-career and experienced reporters and photographers to newsrooms throughout the country. As an RFA Corps Member Journalist, you’ll be a part of a movement to strengthen communities— and our democracy—through local journalism that is truthful, fair, fearless, and smart.

    We are seeking talented, service-minded journalists and photographers to join our reporting corps.  Applications are now open for 56 reporter positions.  RFA is a two-year program, with an optional third year. Each service year begins on July 10 and runs through July 9. We currently have 300 reporters and photographers in 200 newsrooms serving communities across the country.  Check out our interactive database of the 56 job openings, newsrooms and beats here.  Reporting opportunities include healthcare, K-12 and higher education, rural communities, cities and towns, sports reporting, and rural communities.  Candidates should have a minimum of 1-3 years of local news experience. Recent graduates may apply if they’ve had local newsroom internships or journalism leadership experience in college.
     
    Report for America is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
     
    Application Process

    To apply, complete the corps member application here. The deadline to apply is January 30, 2023.  Should you become a finalist and be slated for one or more newsroom interviews by our selection team, your application will be shared with those newsrooms.
     
    Important Note: Please be sure to alert your two references that they will receive an email from Submittable, our application platform, with the recommendation form.  At the prompt in the application, we strongly recommend you send this form right away even before completing your application.  Your application will not advance if we don't receive your two references by February 6, 2023 - the reference deadline.   
     
    Questions? Contact the Report for America recruitment team at recruitment@reportforamerica.org or join us for one of our virtual information sessions. 

    You may register for an information session here.

  • 2023-01-22 9:10 AM | Mihir Zaveri (Administrator)

    The South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA) Board, elected in December 2022, announces the appointment of our Executive Officers.

    The 2023-2024 Board has three new members: Hanaa’ Tameez, Priyanka Vora, and Angeli Kakade who replaces former Board member Deena Zaidi. 

    The four returning board members are Jennifer Chowdhury, Pia Sarkar, Karen Mahabir and Mihir Zaveri. Farnoush Amiri, John Laxmi, Mythili Sampathkumar, and Sabrina Malhi are serving in the second year of their current terms. 

    The new executive officers include: 

    President - Mythili Sampathkumar

    Vice President - Jennifer Chowdhury 

    Treasurer - John Laxmi

    Secretary - Priyanka Vora

    Member at Large/Communications Manager - Hanaa' Tameez

  • 2022-11-30 1:55 PM | Mihir Zaveri (Administrator)

    APPLICATIONS CLOSED

    The South Asian Journalists Association is providing a new funding opportunity to help working journalists to help cover training, professional development, and other miscellaneous costs associated with reporting and editing. Applicants with financial hardships will be given special consideration.

    Up to $5,000 will be distributed among up to 10 recipients ($500 max for each applicant.)

    The types of costs that could be partially or fully covered include:

    – Conference registration

    – Training course fees

    – Training materials like books or software

    – Equipment like cameras or recorders

    – Costs of fact-checking

    Deadline: Dec. 15.

    APPLY HERE

    Selection/Eligibility

    Professional development fund grants are open to journalists of South Asian descent based in the United States and Canada. Applicants must be working for news organizations located in the United States and Canada or working as full-time North America correspondents for South Asian media outlets. Freelance journalists are also eligible for the grants.

    Immediate relatives of SAJA Board members and judges are INELIGIBLE to apply.

    Evaluation Procedure

    A committee of judges appointed by the SAJA Board will review applications. The applications will be evaluated based on genuine financial need and the relevance and importance of the activity the grant recipient will pursue to fulfill their professional or reporting needs. Applicants may be interviewed by phone, Skype or in-person by a member of the scholarship committee. Winners will be notified by the end of December 2022.

    Award process

    Recipients are expected to become SAJA members if they aren’t already and give back to SAJA by volunteering at one SAJA event during the year. They should commit to promoting SAJA activities, events, membership drives and donation appeals on social media platforms in order to help SAJA achieve its mission and expand the network. All recipients of the grants must also agree to provide an update on their journalistic achievements one year after the award is given. We will post excerpts from these statements on the SAJA website and social media platforms to share with the public the impact of the program. 

  • 2022-11-18 8:21 AM | Mihir Zaveri (Administrator)

    SAJA is pleased to announce the winners of this year's awards, which represent an excellent batch of journalism. The winners were scored and selected by panels of independent judges.

    THE DANIEL PEARL AWARD
    Established in honor of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who was killed while reporting in Pakistan, this award recognizes outstanding investigative reporting that exhibits courage under difficult circumstances and exposes important public issues. See, for example, a previous Daniel Pearl award winning story about Kashmir during the recent military takeover by Modi’s government for the GroundTruth Project.

    Winner

    India Under Surveillance
    Niha Masih, Joanna Slater
    The Washington Post

    Read the series here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

    Finalists

    Online censorship is growing in Modi’s India

    Paroma Soni
    Columbia Journalism Review

    The Hindu Extremists at War With Interfaith Love
    Angad Singh (Producer), Ahmer Khan (Field producer), Masihuzumma Ansari (Associate producer), Siddarth Bokolia (Camera operator), Puneet Sharma (Camera operator), Jose Flores (Editor), Oliver Gruber (Production assistant), Neda Tolui-Semnani (writer), Karishma Vyas (Senior Producer)
    Vice News Tonight

    BUSINESS REPORTING

    Winner

    Facebook Under Fire
    Cat Zakrzewski, Gerrit De Vynck, Niha Masih and Shibani Mahtani
    The Washington Post

    Finalists

    Trapped in Silicon Valley’s Hidden Caste System
    Sonia Paul
    WIRED

    How Big Tech Is Importing India’s Caste Legacy to Silicon Valley
    Saritha Rai
    Bloomberg News

    ARTS & CULTURE

    Winners (TIE)

    The Slow Death Of Artistic Freedom In India
    Tatsam Mukherjee
    Slate

    Why minorities are abandoning India’s trailblazing queer forums
    Ankur Paliwal
    Rest of World

    Finalist

    Chef Asma Khan on breaking barriers with familiar flavors
    Imtiaz Tyab
    CBS News

    HEALTH REPORTING

    Winner

    How Science in India Became a 'Political Weapon' Under Modi; 'Everyone Here Is Alone' ; One Son's 48-Hour Fight to Save His Parents
    Karan Deep Singh
    The New York Times

    Read the series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

    Finalists

    These twins are 5 years old. They lost both parents to covid-19.

    Joanna Slater
    The Washington Post

    India's Deadly Delta Wave
    Angad Singh (Producer), Ahmer Khan (Field Producer), Surabhi Tandon (Correspondent), Karishma Vyas (Correspondent and Senior Producer), Jahangir Zaidi (Associate Producer), Omar Khan (Associate Producer), Akash Bisht (Associate Producer), Gabrielle Caplan (Associate Producer), Supreet Bargi (Camera Person), Puneet Sharma (Camera Person), Siddarth Bokolia (Camera Person), Adam Deniston (Editor) Alejandro Soto (Editor), Kyri Evangelou (Editor), Adriane Quinlan (Writer), Brian Josephs (Writer), Craig Thomson (Executive Producer)
    Vice News Tonight

    COMMENTARY & OPINION

    Winner

    Policies Mandated by Multilateral Institutions Are Contributing to India’s COVID Catastrophe

    Puja Changoiwala
    Scientific American

    Finalists

    Will Pakistan Be the Next Country to Fall to a Taliban-Style Takeover?
    Hasan Ali
    The Nation

    What America Missed About the FedEx Massacre
    Angad Singh (Producer and Host), Adriane Quinlan (writer),  Ana Simoes (Graphic Designer), Andrew Marulanda (Editor), Scott DeAngioletti (Camera person), Dan Cain (Camera person), Karishma Vyas (senior producer), Emily Drew (Senior Broadcast producer)
    VICE News Tonight

    STORY ON ANY SUBJECT

    Winner

    Return to Afghanistan Under Taliban Rule
    Imtiaz Tyab
    CBS News Face The Nation

    Finalists

    Housing Crisis in California
    Mustafa Mirza
    VICE News Tonight

    Part 1, Part 2

    Dalit Scientists Face Barriers in India’s Top Science Institutes
    Ankur Paliwal
    Undark Magazine

    STUDENT JOURNALISM

    Winner

    What Went Wrong at Cook County Jail
    Kiran Misra
    South Side Weekly and Shadowproof (Collaboration)

    Finalists

    The dirty business of wetlands restoration
    Tanay Gokhale
    Local News Matters

    How Suburban Influence Defeated a Resolution to Condemn the Indian Government
    Kiran Misra
    Chicago Reader



  • 2022-08-23 7:34 PM | Mihir Zaveri (Administrator)

    We're excited to announce the recipients of the 2022 SAJA scholarships! We're proud every year to provide people with financial support to pay for a journalism education. Congratulations to all of these individuals. We are excited for their futures!

    2022 Recipients


    Saugat Bolakhe

    I am an aspiring life science and environment journalist from Nepal and a science journalism student at the City University of New York.

    Mehar Gujral

    Mehar Gujral is a graduate student at New York University and documentary filmmaker making home in this world.

    Prachi Vashisht

    Prachi Vashisht is currently pursuing her master's in Digital Media Studies, studying India's misinformation and disinformation crises. She previously worked with NPR's KEDT as a reporting intern.

    Pooja Sarkar

    Pooja Sarkar has been a financial writer for over a decade, writing on private equity and Indian Economy. Her aim is to simplify complex financial jargons for her readers. She is studying at Columbia University.

    Nazmul Ahasan

    Nazmul Ahasan (he/him) is a Bangladeshi journalist in the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley and a graduate student at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.

    Juhi Doshi

    Juhi Doshi is an incoming junior at Chapman University studying Broadcast Journalism and Documentary and minoring in Political Science, and is currently interning for CBS Evening News with Norah O’ Donnell in Los Angeles.

    Nikita Vashisth

    Nikita is a current student at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Previously, she’s worked with various organizations as a data journalist and later as an editor.

  • 2022-08-17 8:39 PM | Anonymous

    SAJA is excited to once again recognize and award some of the great journalism produced last year! Many of our awards focus on reporting about South Asia or the South Asian diaspora. Other awards recognize the tremendous work produced by journalists of South Asian backgrounds. Together, these awards help further our mission of supporting newsroom diversity and promoting better coverage of issues related to South Asia worldwide.

    See below for details on this year's SAJA awards! Questions? Email president@saja.org.

    Make your submissions here.

    Deadline (new!): September 22, 2022 at 11:59 p.m.

    Eligibility Criteria

    The submitted piece(s) of work must have:

    • Appeared in a U.S. or Canadian news outlet between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2021. Work published in a media outlet based in South Asia is NOT eligible for entry.
    • Most awards require the submissions to be focused on subjects about one or more than one South Asian countries or the South Asian worldwide diaspora. Read the descriptions carefully. Two awards recognize broader work produced by journalists and student journalists of South Asian backgrounds.
    • Branded content is not eligible for an award -- submissions must be examples of independent journalism.

    Other criteria:

    • Awards are open to all US and Canadian media: national newspapers/TV channels, local/regional newspapers/TV channels, news and features websites, and other online platforms that DO NOT include personal or professional blogs.
    • Freelancers and journalists employed by newsrooms are both eligible to apply by submitting a story published in a North American publication.
    • Individuals may submit entries or organizations may enter the contest on behalf of their journalists.
    • Organizations and individuals can make multiple entries. BUT the same entry/story cannot be submitted in different categories.
    • Former SAJA board members are eligible to apply but they must not have served on the board since the past two years (2020).
    • The countries that we consider as part of "South Asia" are India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, Bhutan and Afghanistan.
    • No award will be presented in any category that does not receive a minimum of 3 quality submissions.

    Fee

    SAJA levies a non-refundable application fee to help cover some of the costs of the awards process. The fee is $75 per entry for companies who are making submissions on behalf of employees, $25 per entry for individual journalists submitting on behalf of themselves and $15 per entry for students.

    Judging

    SAJA will select a pool of volunteer judges for each award, who will rate each submission on a number of factors including: 

    • News Value: insight, informative qualities and durability.
    • Originality and/or Exclusivity: enterprise and discovery.
    • Reportorial Quality: thoroughness and balance.
    • Writing and Production Quality (where applicable): clarity in dealing with description, concepts, findings and complex issues.

    Awards Categories

    SAJA this year is recognizing journalism in a number of different categories: business, arts and culture, health, opinion and commentary and photography. Here is a full list:

    1. The Daniel Pearl Award for outstanding reporting about South Asia

    Established in honor of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who was killed while reporting in Pakistan, this award recognizes outstanding investigative reporting that exhibits courage under difficult circumstances and exposes important public issues. See, for example, a previous Daniel Pearl award winning story about Kashmir during the recent military takeover by Modi’s government for the GroundTruth Project.

    All media formats are allowed. The reporting can be a single piece or a series on a specific topic. Please be considerate of the volunteer judges' time when submitting large entries.

    2. Outstanding business story about South Asia, or the worldwide South Asian diaspora

    This award recognizes outstanding news, feature or explanatory reporting in business, technology and economics.

    The story should not be an opinion piece. All media formats are allowed, though video or audio submissions must not be longer than 30 minutes. The reporting can be a single piece or a series on a specific topic.

    3. Outstanding arts, culture, and lifestyle reporting about South Asia, or the worldwide South Asian diaspora

    This award recognizes outstanding reporting about arts, culture or lifestyle.

    The story should not be an opinion piece. All media formats are allowed, though video or audio submissions must not be longer than 30 minutes. The reporting can be a single piece or a series on a specific topic.

    4. Outstanding health reporting about South Asia, or the worldwide South Asian diaspora

    This award recognizes outstanding reporting about health, science, public health and the coronavirus pandemic.

    The story should not be an opinion piece. All media formats are allowed, though video or audio submissions must not be longer than 30 minutes. The reporting can be a single piece or a series on a specific topic.

    5. Outstanding commentary, editorial, opinion piece or personal essay about South Asia, or the worldwide South Asians diaspora

    This award recognizes outstanding creative writing, use of language, quality of articulation and coherence that covers news, sports, business, entertainment or any other aspect relating to South Asia or South Asians.

    All media formats are allowed, though video or audio submissions must not be longer than 30 minutes. Books are ineligible for this awards. The reporting can be a single piece or a series on a specific topic.

    6. Outstanding photography about South Asia, or the worldwide South Asian diaspora

    This award recognizes outstanding feature or breaking news photography in black and white or color in newspapers, magazines or digital publications.

    This category can be a single photo, or a photo series.

    CATEGORIES FOR SOUTH ASIAN JOURNALISTS WORKING IN NORTH AMERICA

    7. Outstanding story on any subject

    This award recognizes outstanding reporting on any subject.

    The story should not be an opinion piece. All media formats are allowed, though video or audio submissions must not be longer than 30 minutes. The reporting can be a single piece or a series on a specific topic.

    CATEGORY FOR SOUTH ASIAN STUDENTS IN U.S.A OR CANADA

    8. Outstanding story on any subject by a South Asian student in the US or Canada

    This award recognizes outstanding reporting on any subject by a South Asian student studying in North America. Reporting can be in any field or medium, and can include reported opinion pieces or essays.

    This category is for students of South Asian origin studying in North America. All media formats are allowed, though video or audio submissions must not be longer than 30 minutes. The reporting can be a single piece or a series on a specific topic.

  • 2021-07-06 4:25 PM | John Laxmi (Administrator)

    On March 8, SAJA Board Member Masuma Ahuja spoke with member and freelancer Lakshmi Gandhi about her new book Girlhood: Teens Around The World In Their Own Voices, what it was like working girls from around the world, and the ins and outs of writing a book as a journalist.  

    Click here to watch the program
  • 2021-03-05 3:54 PM | Mihir Zaveri (Administrator)
  • 2020-09-08 6:00 PM | Anonymous

    #SAJA2020

    Watch this talk HERE

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