Reporting Tips from South Asian Journalists Association
http://www.saja.org
With all the sudden attention being paid to the India-Pakistan standoff, some journalists are turning for help to an organization I work with, the South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA).
We have received requests for background information on the tensions there and contacts among the two million South Asians living in the United States, as well as such questions as: “Will there really be nuclear war?” Of course, we don’t really know the answer to that last question, but we can help journalists with other requests.
If you wish to learn more about what’s happening in the region (or among the South Asians in the United States), please visit the following pages at SAJA.org:
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Reporting Tips on Indo-Pak Tensions
http://www.saja.org/tipsindopak.html
Here you will find backgrounders, multimedia explainers and links to news sources so you can understand and track what’s going on there. Also contacts for journalists on the ground available to help U.S. news organizations.
- Source List
http://www.saja.org/tipssources.html
If you’re looking for an expert in the U.S. who can talk about the situation in South Asia or you just want contacts for U.S. community leaders, use this list. These are folks who have been making themselves available to journalists for years.
- Stylebook for Covering South Asia & South Asian Diaspora
http://www.saja.org/stylebook
This constantly updated guide, affectionately called “Learn to tell your Hindi from your Hindu,” is a guide to dozens of terms that crop up in media reports. Hundreds of newsrooms use it to avoid mistakes. Does yours?
- South Asia Self-Study Guide
http://www.saja.org/guide.html
This new guide provides invaluable historical, cultural and political briefings for journalists trying to learn more about South Asia. While the Stylebook described above is meant for quick fact-checking on deadline, this Guide is meant for those wanting to prepare for in-depth reporting there.
If you are really stumped and need help on deadline, feel free to contact SAJA: 212-854-5979 or saja@columbia.edu.
One final thought: SAJA is having its newsy (and fun) convention in New York City June 14-16, where the Indo-Pak situation and other journalistic issues will be discussed at 25 panels and workshops. You don’t have to be South Asian to attend! http://www.saja.org/convention
