JAAA and Florida Times Union Talked About Ways to Support the Asian American Community in Jacksonville

Several directors of the Jacksonville Asian American Alliance (JAAA) met with the editor and editorial staff of the Florida Times Union to introduce the mission and goals of JAAA and to talk about how the two organizations can help serve the Asian American community. The meeting was held at the Times-Union offices on Friday, November 17, 2006.

JAAA Directors Jay Lee, Anjna Chauhan, Doreen Flippin and Tess Galino represented JAAA. Attending from the Times-Union (TU) were: Patrick Yack, Editor; Wayne Ezell, Reader Advocate; Phil Fretz, Editorial Writer; Karen Brune Mathis, Columnist; Paul Mattson, Assistant Business Editor; Tonyaa Weathersbee, Columnist; Mark Woods, Columnist; and Marilyn Young, Metro Editor.

Doreen introduced JAAA, its mission and goals, and reviewed past and future activities. Citing statistics about the fast growth of Asian Americans living in Jacksonville, Doreen emphasized that with growth comes opportunities as well as challenges. TU can help meet those challenges by helping JAAA educate the public about the Asian American population in our community.

Anjna spoke about ways that TU can partner with JAAA including utilizing JAAA as point of contact for local, national or international events and news concerning Asian Americans. She citied several examples where JAAA could be a beneficial source of information for the newspaper.

Tess addressed matters concerning press releases. Knowing "the right person" to send information is key in getting JAAA's news published in a timely manner. Several names were given for contacts. After the meeting, JAAA Directors were introduced to the Metro Editorial Assistant, who handles all events and the TU calendar.

Jay fielded questions from TU staff and provided helpful background information on countries comprising Asia, religion, etc. A variety of issues ranging from problems faced by Asian Americans in Jacksonville to immigration were also raised.

"We look forward to working with TU in strengthening the Asian American community,” commented JAAA President Anjna Chauhan.