RECAP: Final Day of N3Con

August 8, 2021 • 0 Comment

AAJA-Asia’s 11th edition of the New.Now.Next Media Conference (N3Con) went into its final day on Saturday with over 385 registered participants gathered online, reimagining news over a full week of programming from August 2 – 7.

We have been sending a daily newsletter with some conference highlights and tips to make the most out of the event. In this issue, we are pleased to feature recaps of the fascinating Lunchtime session with the Eastern Standard Times and of N3ConU, N3Con’s spscial session dedicated to students and early career journalists. You will also find in this last N3Con 2021 newsletter’s issue links to further reading in the N3Magazine and our podcast. And a week’s worth of recorded sessions can be viewed here.

We wish you a good read and hope to see you next year at N3Con 2022… although we will be in touch much sooner with some new and exciting programs. In the meantime, please let us know what you think of N3Con via the links sent to your e-mail! And if you’d like to continue to support us, please consider joining AAJA.

— AAJA-Asia Team

From top to bottom nad left to right: Carina Lee, AAJA-Asia’s VP for Seoul; Eric Tu, Co-CEO / Founder, EST Media, Inc; Keshia Hannam, Senior Editor, EST; Joy Jihyun Jeong, Producer, EST; Jaeson Ma, Chairman / Co-CEO / Founder EST Media, Inc.

Eastern Standard Times: New Media Startup providing a Voice for Asian-centric Millennials

By Jiaquan Lu

“Whoever controls the media, the images, controls the culture.” – Allen Ginsberg

Jaeson Ma, Chairman / Co-CEO / Founder of EST Media, Inc., quoted the above known American poet, philosopher and writer, at the final N3on 2021 lunchtime session and virtual newsroom tour on Saturday (Aug 7th). Speaking with moderator Carina Lee, Content Acquisition Manager, Tcast; Jaeson expressed the view that Asian-based content is more necessary than ever.

“This is the time to showcase Asian-centric culture and content, to tell Asian-centric stories,” shared the seasoned media entrepreneur based in Los Angeles, after the media startup raised a seed round funding led by a Silicon Valley-based global venture capital firm in late 2020. Jaeson’s existing ventures include 88rising, a multi-platform digital media company, and East-West Ventures, an entertainment tech consumer-focused venture capital fund.

“While not taking any political stances, what we watch influences both on what we do and how we behave. As well as affecting both how we think about and what we care about,” continued Jaeson, who believes the way to resolve the existing xenophobic issues surrounding the Asian community is through countering negative media content with positive ones.

Jaeson also envisioned his publication Eastern Standard Times to be the role of presenting correct Asian perceptions, stories, and narratives — from Asia by Asians, to the world. “That should be the nature of the news media industry; the cause of being a journalist, of being a writer, is wanting to get the truth out,” he emphasized.

In terms of content to be appealing to the younger generation, Eric Tu, Co-CEO / Founder EST Media, Inc.; said it is important for untold compelling and relevant stories to be connected with any age demographic. “Specifically for the younger generation, it is about authenticity,” Eric said.

“And we are producing short midform video content on social media channels,” shared Eric, who is of the view that the younger generation has a preference for the non-traditional peer-to-peer style of first-hand news content consumption, instead of attaining through second or third party perspective news reporting. “Because they are our future generation, and we should help them define their voice,” said the Emmy and Cannes Lions winning producer.

Keshia Hannam, Senior Editor, EST remarked that the youths are vastly smart, and having both emotional capabilities of awareness and intelligence.” This is something that a number of media companies have not caught up with, and it is about active listening to these younger generations,” Keshia observed. On the social media chatters, Keisha ascertained these millennials are longing for connection and sought for being understood, and to be able to communicate what they are feeling. “It is also to have the specific understanding of how to better engage, and create meaningful content that resonates with them,” added the global digital nomad, who says she visited over 50 countries by the age of 23.

“And indeed, I always aim to build a good team of producers, filmmakers and film directors with the relevant skill sets to have these videos to be more lively,” elaborated Joy Jihyun Jeong, Producer, EST. Previously with CNN International as both producer and video editor, Joy collaborates with content writers and researchers at targeted locations or regions on the ground for EST film productions.

Top left to right: Zela Chin, Executive VP, AAJA-Asia; Teressa Siu, Wellness speaker, mental health educator, and lifestyle consultant and participants in the Wellness Factor workshop.

The Wellness Factor: Prioritize yourself

By Tiffany Liang

To kick off N3Con’s last day, this session — moderated by Zela Chin, principal reporter at TVB — had attendees chilling out along with Teressa Siu, wellness speaker, mental health educator, and lifestyle consultant.

Teressa is a health advocate and on a mission to empower communities to take charge of their health. She delivered an interesting workshop through breathing exercises, grounding and simple stretching in this session. Participants were coached to relax, recharge, reset and boost their energy, immunity and positivity.

Active participation with cameras, sharing and dialogue were included in this session. Teressa gave some tips on managing isolation in quarantine, which was the most frequent question she got from the public during the pandemic. Looking out the window, relaxing music, online yoga class and colourful vegetables would help, according to the health advocate.

The workshop also helped participants understand the root causes of stress and anxiety and how best to integrate simple-to-do techniques to stay sane and calm at home and at work.

“Prioritise yourself, intention, commitment and action.” Teressa encouraged the attendees to put themselves first and to remember that if we can also give to others, that is a beautiful place to be.

Based on positive psychology, Teressa offered some holistic and sustainable resources, from stress management to physical activity, to help people have a healthy and happy life.

From top to bottom and left to right: Kari Soo Lindberg, Co-VP Hong Kong, AAJA-Asia; Sheryl Lee, Co-VP for South East Asia, AAJA-Asia; Grace Moon, Global Audience Editor, The Washington Post; Kantaro Komiya, Journalist, The Associated Press; Joy Jihyun Jeong, Producer, Eastern Standard Times.

N3ConU

By Rebecca Isjwara

N3Con’s final session was dedicated to students – a group that AAJA is endlessly focused on and cultivate programs for. Starting off this session of N3ConU, or N3Con University, the kind folks at Eastern Standard Times – Eric Tu, co-founder & co-CEO, and Joy Jihyun Jeong, producer – shared some upcoming exclusive projects from EST and emphasized that the students at AAJA fit in right in their target audience.

Afterwards, the students were able to hear from AAJA’s own – Grace Moon, incoming global audience editor at the Washington Post; Kantaro Komiya, incoming journalist at the Associated Press, and Kari Soo Lindberg, co-VP Hong Kong for AAJA-Asia. The three panelists shared tips on networking, how to make the most out of an internship, and personal stories on how they bounced back from their lowest moments.

A few of our top stories from N3Magazine, the official publication of N3Conference:

AAJA-Asia’s podcast series is on Spotify.

Join AAJA as a member

Enjoyed the sessions? Consider joining AAJA as a member to gain access to more programming and to connect with fellow media professionals.

Once you confirmed your signup or membership renewal, please forward your membership sign up or renewal confirmation email to asia@aaja.org to make sure you are added into our mailing lists. For any questions, please email asia@aaja.org.

Register for #AAJA21, our national convention

Registration for #AAJA21 is now open! Join us virtually August 24-28, 2021 for an amazing lineup of speakers, panels and events. This year’s convention is themed in celebration of our 40th anniversary— “Proudly Looking Back, Boldly Moving Forward”— grounding journalism and its future in decades of leadership development and community building.

Visit the convention website for additional information about programming, networking opportunities, and more.

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