We are deeply concerned and disappointed at the sentencing of Roxana Saberi.

Our thoughts and prayers are with her and her family. We are distressed at the severity of her sentence, that her trial was held in secret without transparency and that her confession may have been coerced, according to her father. We urge that the Iranian government show compassion, and release her to be reunited with her family pending her appeal.

By all accounts of people who know her and who have worked with her — Roxana is a journalist, not a spy. An American of Iranian and Japanese descent, she crossed borders to report stories that shined a light into distant corners of the world. Her work was carried by NPR, the BBC and ABC News, organizations committed to fair, accurate and independent journalism.

The stories Roxana reported from abroad are crucial to understanding U.S. foreign policy and what it means to be a citizen of the world.  With many newsrooms cutting their foreign coverage, the public is more reliant than ever on the work of freelance journalists willing to risk their personal safety so we may know more. Roxana went abroad because of her commitment to tell stories that would otherwise go untold.

With her unique cultural background, she brought a nuanced perspective to her stories. Roxana was devoted to discovering Iran, its culture and its people and sharing her knowledge with others.It is not and should not be a crime to be a journalist.

For more information feel free to reach me at (206) 228-8978 or schan@seattletimes.com.

Photos and more information about Roxana can be found at freeroxana.net

(Photo credit: Eustacio Humphrey / ZUMA Press)

On Wednesday, I met five talented, passionate, driven students of color who can’t wait to get their first job in journalism. AAJA Seattle awarded them all Northwest Journalists of Color Scholarships. Mary Jean Spadafora is a Cherokee member and about to start college at The University of Washington. Peter Sessum worked for the State Department in Afghanistan and decided to change careers because he wanted to tell the stories of people who live there and their perspective on the U.S. military overseas. Tom Giratikanon couldn’t make it because he is at a Dow Jones workshop in Western Kentucky, but he’s one to watch. Giratikanon has started his own publications in high school at at Northwestern, where he is a student now. Olivia Hernandez took the bus from Yakima to Seattle to make the reception. Michelle Ericksen has incredible energy and enthusiasm — I would love to have her as a colleague.

As keynote speaker Jerry Brewer (sports columnist for The Seattle Times) said to the students, “We need you.” We won’t be here forever. But journalism will be. I am bullish on the industry’s long-term future, and that’s why AAJA is going to keep investing, inspiring and training future journalists of color.

We’ve been awarding students with this scholarship since 1986. Past winners: Janet Tu (The Seattle Times, former AAJA national secretary), Hari Sreenivasan (Dallas correspondent for CBS network news), Naomi Ishisaka (editor in chief, ColorsNW) and many many more.

Our NJC endowment will serve as AAJA’s model to finish the National Endowment. The NJC scholarship was started in 1986 by local leaders like Lori Matsukawa (KING TV), who raised $5,000 each year to fund the scholarships. Four years ago, I launched a campaign to endow the scholarships forever and chaired a two-year drive. Sanjay Bhatt (Seattle chapter co-president) and Susan Han (Seattle Channel) finished the endowment last year. We are proof that you can raise money in a down economy and a down industry by reaching out to fellow journalists (of all colors) who support diversity and to our own friends and family. We did not tap non-media corporate donors. We didn’t want to set that example for the students. Even so, we raised $100,000 in four years.

If you’re interested in participating, come join us at UNITY. Jeanne Mariani-Belding, AAJA national president, will be leading a meeting in her suite about how we’re going to reach our endowment goal. Just shoot me an e-mail at sharonpianchan@gmail.com.

About 20 journalists from Asian American, African American and Latino community newspapers learned how the mainstream media covers cops, business and government in a two-day workshop. I did a workshop on covering business and “Dot-Con Job,” the investigative series I co-wrote on InfoSpace and its founder Naveen Jain. I had prepared a presentation on combing through Securities and Exchange Commission documents but switched gears when I got there. I realized what the community journalists wanted was a thoughtful discussion on how to provide business coverage that highlights community success stories while also holding businesses accountable to readers. AAJA Chicago chapter Secretary Rui Kaneya (Chicago Reporter) also did a great workshop on covering immigration.

While I was in Chicago, I also met with AAJA members Lorene Yue (Crain), Angie Lau (Bloomberg), Chicago chapter Co-President Rumanna Hussain (Chicago Sun-Times) and Alana Price (Global Information Network) for dinner to talk about diversity, our industry and the importance of completing our $2 million AAJA national endowment.

Props go to: IRE for inviting me and paying for my travel expenses, and the McCormick Foundation for funding these workshops. The Seattle Times for giving me Friday to fly to Chicago. Lorene Yue for organizing the dinner. The journalists who gave up their weekend to learn how they can serve their community better.

I am running uncontested but I am still campaigning. The next president cannot succeed without members who believe that there is a future in journalism, one that is nimble, savvy, diverse and profitable.

If you are not attending the national convention in July, please cast your ballot electronically. Absentee voting closes at 5 p.m. July 9!

I believe it’s crucial for all journalists to experiment with social-networking technology, both to attract viewers to our news sites and if you’re a reporter, to reach sources. I once worked on a story about a politician’s son who was indicted in a federal case, and I got in touch with his friends through MySpace. Reporters covering the Virginia Tech shootings found students the same way. If you don’t have a Facebook or MySpace page, I encourage you to set one up.

This is a painful and confusing transition period, but also one filled with reinvention, possibility and hope.

As your national president, I am going to fight for our future. We are going to help laid-off members find new jobs. We’ll offer training in technology, career navigation and newsroom leadership.

Our business models must change, but our core values — diversity, independence, public service — cannot.

We will insist on diversity, not only because it is the right thing to do, but because it is the best thing to do. We will position AAJA as an organization of leaders who know that diversity is the key to a successful future.

We will finish AAJA’s $2 million endowment to ensure that this organization never dies. As a journalist at The Seattle Times, I’ve been a key advocate for diversity. As Seattle chapter president, I launched a successful $100,000 scholarship endowment drive. I’ve served on the advisory board and now on the governing board. AAJA president Jeanne Mariani-Belding and vice president for broadcast Jam Sardar support my campaign. I ask you to join us in this vision for the future, for AAJA and for journalism.