Sandy Close
Alexandra Close is an American journalist and the founder of Ethnic Media Services.[1] She was the executive eirector of Pacific News Service from 1974 to 2017 and of New America Media from 1996 to 2017.[2][3]
Alexandra Close | |
---|---|
Other names | Sandy |
Alma mater | University of California, Berkeley (B.A.) |
Occupation | Journalist |
Organization | Ethnic Media Services |
Partner(s) | Franz Schurmann |
Children | 2 |
Early life and education
Close received her B.A from the University of California, Berkeley in 1964.[4]
Career
Close worked as the China editor in Hong Kong for the Far Eastern Economic Review in the mid-1960s.[5] Upon her return to the U.S. she co-founded Oakland-based newspaper The Flatlands.[6] She was also a weekly commentator for Morning Edition from 1984-85.
In 1991, she founded Yo! Youth Outlook, a monthly magazine of youth writing and art, and in 1996, she co-founded The Beat Within, a weekly journal written by incarcerated youth.
She served as the Executive Director of Pacific News Service from 1974 to the publication's closing in 2017.[7] In 1996, she founded New America Media, which involved up to 3,000 ethnic news organizations in California, and served as its Executive Director until its closure in 2017.[8]
In 2018, Close founded Ethnic Media Services, a non-profit agency focused on developing cross-cultural journalism and marketing projects to promote inclusive public discourse.[9]
Close was a co-producer for the film Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject) in 1996.[10]
Personal life
Close was married to the historian and Asian affairs scholar Franz Schurmann from 1968 until his death in 2010.[11]
Awards
- 2011 George Polk Award for Career Achievement [12]
- 2008 Ashoka Fellowship [13]
- 2006 Purpose Prize Fellowship[14]
- 1995 MacArthur Fellows Program[15]
Works
- "Ben Hur" Vs. "Titanic" -- Nature Replaced God in Film That Speaks to Environmental Age, JINN, 03-26-98
- "Fear and uncertainty in the era of change", National Civic Review, Volume 98 Issue 3, Pages 46 – 47[16]
References
- "Ethnic Media Services: Our Team".
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-07-31. Retrieved 2010-05-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- Hartlaub, Peter (2017-11-27). "Pacific News Service closes, but lessons continue". SF Chronicle. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
- "New America Media: Who's Who at NAM".
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-02-28. Retrieved 2010-05-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- Waters, Rob (2018-05-03). "An Ethnic Media Beacon Goes Dark, but Its Creator Keeps Inspiring". SF Public Radio. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
- Stewart, Jon; Writer, Chronicle Staff (1995-07-16). "SUNDAY INTERVIEW -- Sandy Close / The executive director of Pacific News Service talks about her two decades on the radical edge of journalism". SFGate. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
- Walsh, Joan (2017-11-03). "New America Media Is Closing—and That's Bad News for All American Media". The Nation. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandy-close-973274158/. Missing or empty
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(help) - Klady, Leonard; Klady, Leonard (1997-05-22). "Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien". Variety. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
- Weber, Bruce (2010-08-26). "Franz Schurmann, Cold War Expert on China, Dies at 84". NY Times. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
- "New America Media's Sandy Close wins George Polk Career Award". 2011-02-25. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2010-05-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Encore - Purpose Prize: Alexandra "Sandy" Close".
- "MacArthur Fellows Program: Sandy Close".
- Wiley Interscience
External links
- "SUNDAY INTERVIEW -- Sandy Close", The San Francisco Chronicle, July 16, 1995
- "SANDY CLOSE", NewsHour, PBS, October 2002
- "AN INTERVIEW WITH SANDY CLOSE", Chava Films, Martha Wallner