Asian American Journalists Association to Present Lifetime Achievement and Other Awards at 2006 National Convention

SAN FRANCISCO, April 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The Asian American Journalists Association today announced the winners of four of its top national awards for 2006: Duong Phuc and Vu Thanh Thuy of Radio Saigon Houston, Phil Currie of the Gannett Company, Inc., Ti-Hua Chang of WCBS-TV and Larry Olmstead of Knight Ridder, Inc.

AAJA will present the awards on June 23 during its gala scholarship and awards banquet, which is part of the organization's 18th annual convention, held this year at the Sheraton Waikiki. Lori Matsukawa of Seattle's KING 5 News and Lloyd LaCuesta of San Jose's KTVU-2, both Hawai'i natives, will emcee the banquet.

AAJA is celebrating its 25th anniversary as the nation's largest professional organization for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) journalists. Representing more than 2,000 members, AAJA promotes fair and accurate news coverage, develops managers in the media industry and encourages young people to consider journalism as a career.

"We're proud to honor the outstanding achievements of those who are of Asian American or Pacific Islander descent as well those who support the work of AAPIs in the industry," said Esther Wu, AAJA National president and columnist with The Dallas Morning News. "These awards show the remarkable impact these individuals have made in the AAPI community as well as in the media."

Lifetime Achievement Award: Duong Phuc and Vu Thanh Thuy, Radio Saigon Houston

Duong Phuc and Vu Thanh Thuy, Radio Saigon Houston's President and Vice President/CEO, respectively, are the 2006 recipients of AAJA's Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes Asian Americans who have demonstrated courage and commitment to the principles of journalism over the course of a life's work.

Award-winning journalists of South Vietnam, Phuc and Thuy fled their homeland after the country fell under Communist control. Phuc and Thuy fled their homeland aboard a raft. Their subsequent open letter to the international press, which was read at a United Nations News Conference in Thailand in 1980, broke the story of the "boat people" to the world. They became internationally known for their lead role in the Boat People SOS Committee whose missions rescued more than 3,000 refugees in the '80s and '90s.

Phuc and Thuy founded Radio Saigon Houston in 1999 to engage and unite the local Vietnamese community. Broadcast in English and Vietnamese, the station has become a significant resource in times of crisis.

After Hurricane Katrina last year, Phuc and Thuy helped coordinate shelter, food and medical care to support thousands of Vietnamese who were displaced from their homes when disaster struck. At the time, Thuy told an Associated Press reporter, "Having been a refugee myself years ago, I know exactly what it's like to be a refugee and I know what needs to be done."

The lives of Phuc and Thuy "tell the compelling story of courage and perseverance from wartime Saigon to the Katrina-ravaged shores of America," said the award judges. "What started in 1999 as a radio station with a staff of three has become an invaluable framework for the Vietnamese community."

Special Recognition Award: Phil Currie, Gannett Company

Phil Currie, senior vice president of the news department in the newspaper division of Gannett, Inc., is the 2006 recipient of AAJA's Special Recognition Award. The award honors an individual -- Asian or non-Asian, journalist or non-journalist -- who has helped to advance AAJA's goals.

Currie, who oversees the operations of Gannett News Service, is a board member of the American Press Institute and on the University of Iowa's School of Journalism Professional Advisory Committee. He has also been awarded the 2006 Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Minority Media Executives.

From 1964 to 1977, Currie worked at the Times-Union in Rochester, N.Y., as a general-assignment reporter, editorial writer, political reporter and executive city editor. On the city desk, he directed coverage of the Attica Prison riots that led to a Pulitzer Prize for the newspaper. He became Director of Gannett's News Staff Development in 1977 and held several executive positions before assuming his current position in 1995.

The award judges named Currie for this year's 2006 honor to recognize his commitment in the support and development of the partnership AAJA/Gannett Management Development Mentor Program, assigning many of the company's top trainers and editors as mentors. The judges also recognized his involvement in securing the largest contribution to the AAJA endowment fund, which will support the future of training programs offered to Asian American and Pacific Islander journalists.

Leadership in Diversity Award: Larry Olmstead, Knight Ridder

Larry Olmstead, vice president of staff development and diversity for Knight Ridder, is the 2006 recipient of AAJA's Leadership in Diversity Award, which honors an individual or corporation that has made strides in promoting and demonstrating diversity in the news media industry.

Prior to his current position, Olmstead was assistant vice president for news responsible for corporate oversight of eight Knight Ridder newspapers. He was managing editor of The Miami Herald for four years and held writing and editing positions at the Baltimore Evening Sun, Detroit Free Press and The New York Times.

During his tenure at The Herald, the newspaper had at least one Pulitzer finalist each year and won the 1998 prize for uncovering voter fraud in Miami's mayoral election. Olmstead was part of The Times' Pulitzer Prize-winning team covering the World Trade Center bombing in 1993. He was a Pulitzer finalist for his coverage of South Africa as a foreign correspondent for the Free Press in 1987.

The award judges selected Olmstead for his consistent leadership and support of AAJA's programs over the past several years. Though his leadership, AAJA received Knight Ridder support for the AAJA Executive Leadership Program to help AAPIs examine the role of culture in newsroom leadership; J Camp, the multicultural high school journalism training program; a newspaper mentorship program at the St. Paul Pioneer Press for AAPIs interested in management; and the AAJA national convention.

Dr. Suzanne Ahn Award: Ti-Hua Chang, WCBS-TV

Ti-Hua Chang, investigative reporter for WCBS-TV in New York City, is the 2006 recipient of AAJA's Dr. Suzanne Ahn Award for Civil Rights and Social Justice for Asian Americans.

The award is named in honor of the late Dr. Ahn, a Korean American who was raised in Arkansas and Texas. She became a successful physician, neurologist and inventor. Although she achieved a position of wealth and privilege, Dr. Ahn devoted her life to promoting civil rights and social justice for all Americans, especially women and Asian Americans.

Throughout his career, Chang has pursued justice for Asian Americans through his investigative journalism. His story last year about an elderly woman's sexual assault pushed New York City police to find the rapist. On the anniversary of 9/11, he reminded the city about the terrorist attack's impact on Chinatown. And his report about the delayed development of a senior center spurred its opening.

Chang was previously a reporter with WNBC, where he won the Peabody Award for a series of reports he filed on alleged drug-dealing murderers who escaped to the Dominican Republic. Chang also investigated the death of civil rights leader Medgar Evers, discovering four new witnesses to the murder, which eventually led to the re-opening of the case.

Chang recently received the Radio-Television News Directors Association Edward R. Murrow Award for his coverage of New York City police misuse of helicopters for voyeurism. He has also won four Emmys; the Philadelphia, Denver and Detroit Press Association awards; and the Associated Press and United Press International awards.

About AAJA

The Asian American Journalists Association is a non-profit professional and educational organization with more than 2,000 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. For more information, visit http://www.aaja.org/.