Week 3: Media Week

Meeting with Mr. Robert Handa from KTVU 2

   This week is media week! On Monday, we arrived at KTVU this morning to visit Robert Handa, a reporter for KTVU 2.  He told us about his background and how he got into the media industry; his skill in putting stories together helped him get his first internship and eventually a job!  We were both amazed at how he has so much energy and enthusiasm to travel all over the South Bay (sometimes as far as Yosemite and Fresno) to report on news stories.  We also thought it was great that he has remained active in the Asian American community through putting together a piece on Japanese Americans, starting a club in high school and college, emceeing events like Sake San Jose and the 30th Anniversary for Kimochi, and more!

At Latinas Contra Cancer with former KRON news anchor Ms Ysabel Duron

The comfortable office space makes clients feel more comfortable when they visit. 

    In the afternoon, we drove to Latinas Contra Cancer to talk with Ysabel Duron, a former news anchor and now CEO of her non-profit organization.  We learned about the struggles she faced as both a Latina and a woman in starting her career, and were inspired by her determination to be successful in the industry.  It was interesting for us to hear about how journalism has changed over the past few decades, especially with technology/social media and changing viewership demographics. Finally, we discussed some of the work she does as CEO of Latinas Contra Cancer, including creating bingo cards to spread community awareness and help cancer victims and their families. They are going into their tenth year as an organization and are currently planning a 2014 Latino Cancer Summit!

    Day 2, we met with Richard Konda, the Executive Director of Asian Law Alliance (ALA).  He told us how he started with an internship which eventually led to the formation of the ALA, a non-profit organization that provides referrals, community education, and advocacy work.  They reach out to the community to inform them about the law through workshops as well as one-on-one sessions.  Mr. Konda discussed how the client demographics change as the law and current hot topics change.  For example, currently, immigration reform brings many different immigrants to their services.  ALA continues to help the Asian American/Pacific Islander population as it continues in its 36th year.

Visiting with Mr. Dennis Akizuki at San Jose Mercury News 

     In the afternoon we met with Dennis Akizuki, an editor for the Mercury News.  He told us about his background in journalism and how he has been in the business for 34 years.  He described the changes that the Mercury News has experienced in the past decade and how print is shifting to the internet.  Because of aging and changing reader demographics, the newspaper is no longer as thick or as popular as it used to be, and sadly, they have had to lay off staff members and are looking to downsize their building.  Mr. Akizuki also discussed the emergency preparedness plans that they have for both reporting on the issue and making sure they also stay safe.  Finally, we got a tour of the room where they used to print the newspaper each night.  He explained that just recently, they moved printing to the North Bay to cut costs.  

Huge rolls of newsprint - each one weighs over 1,500 lbs!

Since the paper is no longer printed here, the printing presses are unused and stand still.  

Aggie Idemoto, President of JAMSJ

We had a guest join our weekly lunch with Ellen today: Aggie Idemoto, the President of the Japanese American Museum of San Jose (JAMSJ).  She expressed to the two of us that she wanted our input in the schedule for both the Education and History themed weeks.  We are excited to get to meet people like Steve Fugita and Tom Izu and visit institutions like Lotus Preschool and Suzume no Gakko next week.  She also shared with us the events that JAMSJ has planned this summer.  Tomorrow, Saturday July 6th, JAMSJ is hosting a book club for the book Issei Women: Echoes from Another Frontier at 1:00 PM.  Next week, Saturday July 13th, JAMSJ will be hosting a panel of graduate researchers entitled “Emerging Research in Japanese American Studies” at 11:00 AM.  These are only a few of the great public programs that JAMSJ has to offer and we are hoping to take advantage of as many of these great opportunities as we can.