Renew your membership before dues increase on August 1!

Thank you for being part of the SAJA community. Your support helps us create quality programming, grant scholarships and awards, champion our members’ work and advocate for South Asian journalists across the industry. Because of your continued support, here’s what we’ve been able to accomplish so far in 2026:

Link to Press Release. 

Click the link below to learn more about the
SAJA Scholarship Recipients and much more news:
SAJA June 2026 Newsletter

May 2026 Newsletter

Panelists and attendees from SAJA's Chicago event gather for a group photo.

Click the link below to check out more of the May Newsletter:
SAJA May 2026 Newsletter 

Registration required for this event:  
https://forms.gle/5TUJU5is2HSi7Gt76

On Thursday, May 14, SAJA in Chicago is hosting a panel discussion on The Fourth Estate Under Pressure: Journalism at a Crossroads. The panel discussion will explore how the Fourth Estate can maintain credibility and hold power accountable in an increasingly fragmented media landscape. Panelists will address the challenges reshaping the news industry and consider their broader implications for the future.

Current confirmed panelists include:

• Ash-har Quraishi, CBS News correspondent

• Rummana Hussain, senior columnist, Chicago Sun-Times

• Ravi Baichwal, WLS ABC-7 anchor/journalist

• Dr. Kalyani Chadha, Moderator/Professor, Medill School, Northwestern University 

Location: Medill Chicago Campus, 303 E. Wacker Drive, Suite 1600, Chicago, IL 60601 
Time: 6:30pm reception with hors d’oeuvres, followed by the panel discussion at approximately 7pm. 
For more details, please email SAJA board member Safia Samee Ali at sali@newsnationnow.com.

Click Here: 

SAJA April 2026 Newsletter, jobs, fellowships, news and more!

Click Here:

SAJA March 2026 Newsletter: Jobs, fellowships and events!

PREVIEW:

February 23, 2026 — Ramadan Mubarak from SAJA to everyone who celebrates! 

We are excited to start off this year with so many festivities and opportunities to gather together. 

We are devastated to hear about the layoffs at The Washington Post, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The New York Daily News, as well as other newsrooms across the country. We support and stand with anyone affected by the cuts, and we especially want to offer a helping hand to the dozens of South Asian journalists and SAJA members who lost their jobs.

If you missed our last announcement: SAJA is offering complimentary membership to those whose employment has been terminated. Please complete this form so we can assist you.

Below are some of the latest events, job listings and listservs, fellowships and shout outs to put on your radar! 

Events

SAJA members in the Chicago area, be sure to register for our Iftar in celebration of Ramadan! All are welcome, but seats are limited.
When: Thursday, February 26, 5:15pm to 7:30pm
Where: Bereket Turkish, 333 S. Franklin St., Chicago

For our members in NYC, The New York Press Club is hosting a FREE February networking event.
When: Tuesday, February 24, 6 to 8 PM. 
Where: The Beltane, 10 East 16 St., between 5 Ave. and Union Square
Admission: Free. Guests will cover the cost of their own drinks and food orders.

More events to keep track of: 

Feb 24: IRE has a virtual gathering. More info.
Feb 25: CPJ has an in-person event. More info.
February 28: AAJA-LA’s Lunar New Year Dinner. Get tickets!
March 5-6: The Institute for Independent Journalists 2026 Freelance Journalism Conference (Online). Register here
March 5-8: IRE & NICAR Annual Conference in Indianapolis. More info.
March 23-25: Digiday Publishing Summit. Book passes.

March 30-April 1: ONA26 Annual Conference in Chicago. Registration open.

Job listings WHYY News FM, Editor  The Atlantic, Staff Writer The Tarbell Center, Program Director NBCUniversal, Digital Content Producer, NBC4 & Telemundo 52 Los Angeles Southern California News Group, Audience Engagement Producer; Reporter New Hampshire Public Radio, Audience Engagement Producer; Public Radio Summer Internship Take a look at SAJA’s Job Board page for more listings! Check out some job listservs West Coast Media Jobs: A curated list of California & Pacific Northwest journalism jobs delivered to your inbox. Mandy Hofmockel: A newsletter for journalists who want to keep tabs on the industry and job market. Inside the Newsroom: The largest curated journalism jobs board in the world:

Scholarships, fellowships and awards NYC Students! 2026 Deadline Club Scholarships (deadline 3/9) California-based opportunities  KALW, Beat Reporting Fellowship (applications reviewal starts Feb 24) LA Times, 2026-2027 Fellowships (Deadline: March 1) UC Berkeley, 2026 California Local News Fellowship (Deadline: March 5) --------------------------------------------------------------- SAJA wants to spotlight your work! We want to highlight all the amazing work our members are doing. Do you have work you’d like featured in our newsletter? Submit your work here. --------------------------------------------------------------- Announcements National Conference to Address Restoring Trust in Journalism An urgent national conference to address restoring trust in American journalism is to be held at the University of Mississippi in mid-April. The event, titled “How the News Media Can Regain Public Trust,” will be hosted by the Jordan Center for Journalism Advocacy and Innovation, located at the University of Mississippi School of Journalism and New Media in Oxford. Discussion will focus on solutions to the credibility crisis facing journalism at a time when false information is flourishing, accountability is withering and reporters find themselves under attack from political leaders, including the president of the United States and others across the ideological spectrum. Registration for the event, which will be free for journalists, academics, civic leaders and students will go online in early March. For more information, contact Steven Herman at the Jordan Center: StevenH@OleMiss.edu, 202-643-0510. Documentary Filmmaker For the first time in history, a South Asian American has been nominated for two Oscar awards in the same year. Geeta Gandbhir has been nominated in the Documentary Feature Category for the film The Perfect Neighbor on Netflix and in the Documentary Short Category for The Devil is Busy on HBO Max.  If you are interested in writing a story on Geeta and/or her films, contact Rohan Sheth: rsheth@netflix.com, 412-427-2783. ABOUT US Founded in March 1994 with just 18 members, the South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA) now represents more than 1,000 journalists of South Asian origin across the U.S. and Canada. SAJA serves as a network for training, inspiration, and support—not only for South Asian journalists but for anyone covering South Asia and its diaspora. SAJA also aims to improve the coverage of the Subcontinent and its diaspora.  Follow us on social media X: @sajaHQ · IG: @theofficialsaja · LinkedIn: South Asian Journalists Association

February 5, 2026 — The Board of the South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA) is profoundly troubled to learn of the mass layoffs at The Washington Post and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Throughout Wednesday, SAJA Co-Founder Sree Sreenivasan heard from numerous current and former members impacted by these cuts. We understand that about a dozen South Asian journalists were laid off from The Post, including colleagues based in the Delhi South Asia bureau and national correspondents covering film, healthcare, technology, and other beats.

SAJA stands in solidarity with the Post’s Guild in opposing these layoffs and in supporting journalists in all affected newsrooms. At a time when many fear the erosion of democratic institutions, the role of journalism has never been more critical. A free and robust press is essential to informing the public and sustaining democracy.

Whether or not you are a SAJA member, we stand with every journalist affected by this week’s layoffs. To provide immediate support, SAJA is offering complimentary membership to those whose employment has been terminated. Please complete this form so we can assist you.

We encourage you to continue using our website for the latest job postings and to reach out to any member of the SAJA Board for guidance or support. We are also preparing a resource guide on how to navigate and prepare for layoffs, which we will share soon.

Meanwhile, please consider these resources for support:

• ONA Digital Women Leaders offers free career coaching for women journalists, including resume review. You can sign up here: https://digitalwomenleaders.com/ 

• Asian American Journalists Association offers a Mentor Match program

• Asian America Journalism Association - Job Board: https://www.aaja.org/careers/aaja-career-center/

• Society of Professional Journalists Job board: https://jobs.spj.org/

• Online News Association Job board: https://careers.journalists.org/

• Institute for Nonprofit News Job board: https://inn.users.membersuite.com/community/career-center/browse-jobs/allJobs/allCities/allStates

• Journalism Jobs: https://www.journalismjobs.com/

• Society of Environmental Journalists job board: https://www.sej.org/job-board 

• National Association of Black Journalists - Job Board: https://nabjcareers.org/ 

• National Association of Hispanic Journalists - Job Board: https://www.nahjcareers.org/ 

• Indigenous Journalists Association - Job Board: https://indigenousjournalists.org/jobs/ 

• NLGJA Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists - Job Board: https://members.nlgja.org/networking/ 

• Arab & Middle Eastern Journalists Association

• New England Press Job Board: https://www.nenpa.com/job-listings

• Alaska Press Club’s newsletter has numerous job and fellowship listings. Sign up here: https://alaskapressclub.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=c001ec68580799de9a4c5bae1&id=4f9bdc2494

• Cover Climate Now - apply to join their Slack space: https://airtable.com/appHbmTOziZ1y06d2/shrQqc8890zp2DOdH

• Uproot - apply to join their Slack space: https://uprootproject.org/join-us/become-a-member/

• West Coast Media Jobs: A curated list of California & Pacific Northwest journalism jobs delivered to your inbox: https://www.westcoastmediajobs.com/

• Mandy Hofmockel: A newsletter for journalists who want to keep tabs on the industry and job market: https://journojobs.substack.com/

• Inside the Newsroom: largest curated journalism jobs board in the world: https://insidethenewsroom.substack.com/

Sincerely, 
SAJA Board of Directors

Happy New Year! We’re kicking off 2026 with several new faces on the Board and saying goodbye to some wonderful colleagues as they step down. 

On Jan. 13, the 2026 Board met for the first time and elected a new slate of office bearers. Congratulations to all on their roles, and a heartfelt thanks to those who are leaving us for all their work. 

Stay tuned for more information on exciting events we’re planning this year and other updates. 

2026 SAJA BOARD:

2026 Executive Committee: 

• President: Indira S. Somani (second year of two-year board term, former Vice President 2001-2002) 

• Vice President: Esha Ray (first year of two-year board term)

• Secretary: Sonali Gupta (first year of two-year board term)

• Treasurer: Dipka Bhambhani Hesse (first year of two-year board term)

• Comptroller (to work with Treasurer): Mihir Zaveri (second year of two-year board term, former President)

• Director of Communications/Social Media: Shalina Chatlani (first year of two-year board term)

2026 General Board Members:

• Rekha Shanmugam (second year of two-year board term)

• Safia Samee Ali (first year of two-year board term)

• Noreen Nasir (first year of two-year board term)

• Sree Sreenivasan (second year of two-year board term, Co-Founder of SAJA)

• Pia Sarkar (second year of two-year board term)