A Digital N3 Salon - for New.Now.Next - planned by Asian American Journalists Association this Saturday will take a journalist's view of covering and coping with COVID-19 in Asia.

The programme for the fully-online community discussion and training session is flexible, and newly-appointed Asia director Gilles Demptos (pictured) says it will be tailored to meet participants' needs.

AAJA has another Digital N3 Salon set for May 23, with plans to dive deeper into topics such as resiliency training to finding jobs in a tight market and cultivating sources virtually.

There are still hopes that the New.Now.Next Media Conference (N3Con 2020) slated for August 28-30 will take place both physically and/or virtually in Hong Kong. The theme for this year is The New Frontlines. More details here.

Focussed more for individual journalists than for publishers, AAJA launched in 1981 in San Francisco, with the Asian chapter was created in HK in 1996. It counts approximately 200 members in APAC spread across the region, with active subchapters in Seoul, Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Among programmes currently underway is a survey of regional journalists' needs - a check-in to see how journalists are coping as they confront COVID-19 in their work and personal lives.

"We are seeking inputs to understand the pressing challenges journalists in Asia are facing - and how we can support this community," says Demptos. "Survey answers will be used internally and anonymously to help us design programming that best supports the needs of our members and Asia's wider community of journalists."