Thread by @christineychen

I feel another long thread coming on. 🧵👇 Bear with me. This one's about my fundraiser for @aaja and more generally about the importance of having people of color in the newsroom, and you're going to see me touch on #StopAsianHate and #BoulderStrong. Here we go.

@aaja On March 20, just a few days after the mass shootings in Atlanta that killed six Asian women, I started a fundraiser
for the Asian American Journalists Association on Facebook. facebook.com/donate/1440515…

I was an active @aaja member for many years, and went through its Executive Leadership Program some years ago. With rising incidents of anti-Asian hate, AAJA’s work has been more important than ever.

@aaja In the first 3 days alone, together we raised more than $8k for AAJA (thru the FB fundraiser, plus friends who donated directly to AAJA). Many thanks to all who donated, including friend-for-life @mikeyang who very generously matched a bunch of your donations.

Here's where you can donate directly if you don't want to go through Facebook. aaja.org/donate/

I went silent about this fundraiser for awhile because I’ve been dealing with all the complexities that come into your life when there’s a mass shooting at your local grocery store. Still dealing with the fallout from that. #BoulderStrong

But I want to bring your attention to this fundraiser again. I’m going to keep it open through this weekend, and I hope that you’ll consider donating if you haven’t already.
facebook.com/donate/1440515…

In just the past two weeks alone, there have been continued multiple documented cases of anti-Asian violence and harassment. #StopAsianHate thecut.com/2021/04/an-asi…

This includes a 65-year-old woman punched and kicked in broad daylight in midtown Manhattan just a few blocks from my old apartment, and a 77-year-old man who was shoved to the ground outside a supermarket. nytimes.com/2021/03/30/nyr…

In many of these cases, it’s #AAPI journalists who are telling these stories. Yet in many cases, supervisors in newsrooms are questioning whether their Asian journalists are “too biased” to be able to tell these stories.

Can you imagine telling a white journalist that they are “too biased” to cover white people?

There’s also a tie-in I’d like to make about the work of #AAPI journalists covering what’s been happening here in #Boulder.

Asian journalists don’t just cover “Asian news”; they cover everything.

For example, @mitchellbyars, the @dailycamera's crime and breaking news reporter, grew up in Hawaii and is of Asian descent. Can you imagine hearing about the King Soopers shooting without him? #BoulderStrong

@mitchellbyars @dailycamera He reported from the center of the story, calmly providing quick, indispensable, accurate, and thorough updates as things unfolded. I don’t know him personally, but in observing his work, I can say that he is the best of the best. #BoulderStrong

@mitchellbyars @dailycamera The quality of @mitchellbyars journalism is up there with top national reporters, and we are so fortunate that he chooses to live and work in this community. He should get all the raises. Follow him here on the Twitters if you're not already. #BoulderStrong

There’s another local story that got me thinking about Asian journalists, or the lack thereof, in our local newsrooms.

Last week, the Denver Post published an incredible story about what unfolded inside King Soopers. Trigger warning: It is very detailed and you may not want to click through if you don't want to relive the trauma. denverpost.com/2021/03/27/bou…

From a journalistic point of view, it is stellar work. Three excellent @denverpost reporters, @ShellyBradbury @Noelle_Phillips & @JonMurray conducted dozens of interviews with survivors and witnesses, and pieced together what happened.

@denverpost @ShellyBradbury @Noelle_Phillips @JonMurray I would not be surprised if this article wins journalism awards. But there was one thing I noticed. Nearly every person who was described in the story got named -- First name, Last name -- and you read about their point of view. #BoulderStrong

But you know who didn't get named? A "Japanese couple who work at the sushi bar,” and “a 69-year-old Taiwanese woman” who is described as someone's co-worker at Starbucks. They were flattened. They were erased. Their narratives were gone. We didn’t get to hear their stories.

Now it’s entirely possible that the reporters did try to talk to them, and that the Japanese couple and the Taiwanese woman preferred not to participate (and I know for a fact that at least one of them wants privacy). I hope that is true.

But I can’t help but wonder if any @denverpost editors noticed that among the only unnamed people in the story were people who are not white. Did they ask follow-up questions of their reporters about it?

@denverpost And I can’t help but wonder if one of the reporters had been a person of color, would those witnesses have talked? Would they have been given names in the story?

Would the story look different? If you want to know why or how it makes a difference who’s in the newsroom, just look at what’s happened over at 9 News. westword.com/.../9news-denv…...

If you’ve read this far, I appreciate your attention, patience and willingness to engage and think. And if you haven’t already, I hope you’ll consider donating to @aaja, or orgs like @najournalists @NABJ & @nahj. Representation matters. A lot. aaja.org/donate/

@aaja @najournalists @NABJ @NAHJ @threadreaderapp Please unroll.