Sam
Chu Lin, Asian American Broadcast Pioneer, Dies
From the Nichi Bei Times Weekly
March 9-15, 2006
By Kenji G. Taguma
Nichi Bei Times
He was an Asian American face on broadcast news decades
before it was en vogue, a tireless journalist dedicated
to getting Asian American stories broadcast, and a multi-dimensional
newsman without peer.
On Sunday, March 5, 2006, the unmistakable "voice" went
silent, as Asian American broadcast pioneer Sam Chu Lin
died suddenly in Burbank, Calif. He was 67.
"Its quite a shock for everyone," said his
widow Judy.
From coast to coast, news of Chu Lin's unexpected death
sent shockwaves. Both U.S. Secretary of Transportation
Norman Mineta and Congressman Mike Honda (D-San Jose)
called Chu Lin a journalism "pioneer."
"Throughout his career, Sam stood strong against
discrimination and helped break down negative stereotypes,
all the while
conducting himself with a great amount of integrity,
credibility, and enthusiasm," said Mineta, a former
San Jose congressman and mayor, in a statement.
"Sam was proud of his Chinese American heritage.
He wasn't shy about using his roots to make the entire
Asian American
community, and indeed the world, a better place," Mineta
added. "And today thanks in part to Sam, doors and
minds that were once shut to Asian Americans are now
open and accepting."
Mineta went on to call Chu Lin a "committed journalist
and consummate professional."
"And he was a kind, loyal, and generous person," Mineta
added. "He is someone whom I was lucky to call a
peer, but even more blessed to call a friend."
Chu Lin wrote stories that documented the careers of
Mineta and Honda.
Honda called him "one of the giants of Asian American
journalism" and a "dear friend."
"His life was one of endless commitment to truth-seeking
and justice for all Americans - but especially for his
brothers and sisters in the Asian American community," said
Honda in a statement.
"His advocacy on behalf of civil rights and justice
for Asian Americans continued to the day he died," Honda
added. "It was Sam's interview with Senator John
McCain that enlightened the senator to the plight of
citizenship denial for Asian American Civil War veterans.
And it was Sam Chu Lin's coverage at the critical junctures
of Dr. Wen Ho Lee, Captain James Yee and Captain James
Wang's careers that kept the Asian Pacific civil rights
community rallying to their defense."
Honda called Chu Lin a "visionary" for working
to educate others in the news business about Asian American
issues.
"He once convinced ABC's 'Nightline' to do a program
called 'Asian American - When Your Neighbor Looks Like
the Enemy,'" recalled
Honda. "After doing so, he helped book the guest,
checked the script for accuracy, and found historical
footage for broadcast."
Honda said Chu Lin went on to spend the entire year educating
the executive producer about how Asian Americans have
been unfairly stereotyped because of the campaign fundraising
and spy scandals.
"His humbleness belied his accomplishments," Honda
continued. "In spite of his accomplishments, he
never lost the value of humility or the heartfelt treasure
of friendship.
"He was my dear friend and mentor," Honda said. "My
heart goes out to his wife, Judy, and his sons, Mark
and Christopher. His absence in my life and in the Asian
community is irreplaceable.
"But his body of work will live on and inspire generations
of aspiring young Asian Americans to dream big dreams,
and then go on to realize them."
Mississippi Native Sam Chu Lin was born and raised in
the Mississippi Delta town of Greenville, about 105 miles
north of Memphis, Tenn., and graduated with a communications
degree from Michigan State University. Before entering
broadcast journalism, he was a school teacher.
"I learned early on in my life that I have a love
for history," said Chu Lin, in receiving an award
at the Chinese American Citizens Alliance last August. "Instead
of just reading about it, I wanted to witness such events
and finally I became a reporter. This was long before
there was affirmative action. And there were only a few,
if any, Asian Americans in this business."
While he was at CBS News based in New York City, Chu
Lin went on television live as a reporter and announced
to the country the "Fall of Saigon," essentially
the end of the Vietnam War.
He has been awarded the National Headliners Award for
Best Documentary, the Golden Mike, Associated Press,
United Press International and the Los Angeles Press
Club awards for his coverage of breaking news.
Most recently, he was recognized with a Community Achievement
Award by the Los Angeles chapter of the Organization
of Chinese Americans.
"During the 2005 Image Awards, the OCA-Greater Los
Angeles (OCA-GLA) chapter was very proud to honor Sam
Chu Lin
with a community service award," said Stacey Ann
Fong Toda, OCA-GLA president. "He was never afraid
of being pigeonholed as a reporter who could only cover
the Asian American community. OCA-GLA is extremely grateful
that we had an opportunity to thank Mr. Lin publicly
for being the Asian American community's voice in journalism."
While working as a general assignment reporter, Chu Lin
also developed a special expertise in dealing with Asian
and Asian Pacific American topics. He was often heard
on the national weekly radio news magazine, "Pacific
Time," produced by KQED in San Francisco, which
is also broadcast in Hawai'i, Hong Kong and dozens of
other markets.
In Los Angeles, he regularly reported for KTTV Fox News
11.
He was also a contributor to several Asian American community
publications. Chu Lin's articles regularly appeared in
the pages of the Nichi Bei Times, the Rafu Shimpo and
Asian Week. He has also been published in the Los Angeles
Times, San Francisco Examiner, among others.
Remembered by Friends and Colleagues Former TV news broadcaster
Chris Chow, who came onto the Bay Area news scene in
November of 1970 - shortly after Chu Lin - was taken
aback by the news of his death. He said it is a "tremendous
loss."
"Sam was a great storyteller," Chow remembered. "He
was an educator. He wanted to change the world."
Chow, himself an early broadcaster on Bay Area CBS affiliate
KPIX, said Chu Lin had the "longest continuous career" out
of Asian American broadcasters. And while technically
a rival, Chow said he looked up to Chu Lin.
"In retrospect, I couldn't hold a candle to him," Chow
said.
According to Chow, Chu Lin's career hit a sour note when,
at the urging of his union, Chu Lin became the plaintiff
in a suit against his employer at the time, KRON-TV.
As a result, he lost his job and was public enemy No.
1 in the world of Bay Area TV news.
"He had to commute to LA because he was blacklisted
in the Bay Area," said Chow, who said he was essentially
told that he would never work in the town again. "He
was hurt deeply by what happened there."
He found a home at Fox 11 News in Los Angeles, where
he would fly down to work at on weekends.
A colleague there, weekend anchor Susan Hirasuna, spoke
about him with respect.
"I admire the fact that he was so dedicated to getting
Asian names and faces out in the public eye," said
Hirasuna, who noted that Chu Lin would encourage news
directors at the station to allow him to do stories on
Asian Americans. "He was so dedicated to the field
of journalism, and more specifically ethnic journalism," she
added.
Chu Lin also found a home away from home at the offices
of Rafu Shimpo, a Japanese American bilingual newspaper
based in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo District. He would
start contributing articles to the paper in the 1990s.
"When it was like elections or politics, it was
like the Sam Chu Lin page," recalled Naomi Hirahara,
who served as Rafu's English Section Editor from 1990
to
1996 and is now an author.
"He was very underrated," Hirahara said. "People
didn't realize that he did have to break a lot of stereotypes.Especially
in his day, he had to be more assertive.
"He was so curious," she remembered. "Wherever
he went, he looked for stories." It was Hirahara
who established the contributing writer relationship
with Chu Lin.
"He would just sit there (at the Rafu office) and
pontificate," she
said. Sometimes he would sometimes ask very personal
questions, much like an uncle, she said. Chu Lin was
at Hirahara's wedding, and ended up being a sort of an
emcee. "I really adored Sam," she said. "He
was a total character."
"He paved the way for a whole lot of others who
came on after," said Takeshi Nakayama, a long-time
Rafu staff member who left the paper in 2001. "He
opened up the doors for a lot of Asians to go into broadcast
journalism."
Nakayama called Chu Lin "tireless" and "ubiquitous," saying "no
story was too big or too small for him to cover."
Nakayama recalled Chu Lin wanted to write a book on the
Chinese contributions to Mississippi.
"I think Sam was such a great mentor to so many
Asian American journalists," said current Rafu English
Section Editor Gwen Muranaka, who fondly remembered that
he took time out to mention the Rafu and other ethnic
publications in his OCA acceptance speech last fall.
Chu Lin was often misunderstood, said friends.
"A lot of people thought Sam was difficult to work
with," said
Chow. "A lot of people misunderstood him. They thought
he was arrogant."
However, Chow indicated that it was Chu Lin's drive for
professionalism that perhaps gave people that misperception.
"
Sam was really great at getting people to hone their
message for mass media," said Chow, who noted that
Chu Lin did a lot of things "behind the scenes" to
help Asian Americans.
"He gave freely because he believed that with information
and knowledge, people would be liberated."
It is that altruistic nature that many remember fondly.
"Sam is the type who just wants to help everybody," said
his widow Judy. "He wants things to be equal.to
be fair."
Some of those the reporter helped were the creators of
one of the most recognizable superheroes, Superman.
"I will never forget visiting the shabby apartment
of Joe Shuster, who first drew Superman," Chu Lin
said in his CACA speech.
He said Shuster and writer Joel Siegel sold their creation
for "a measly $125."
The two men, he said, became destitute while their work
earned "tens of millions of dollars" each year.
They had fought unsuccessfully for years in the courts
to get something in return, Chu Lin said.
"A CBS News producer and I persuaded Walter Cronkite
this was a story that needed to be told," Chu Lin
said. "At
first the Superman people wouldn't cooperate - fearful
negative publicity would impact their stock. Then they
abruptly changed their minds."
Chu Lin was among those invited to a special ceremony,
where Shuster and Siegel were presented with retirement
benefits and were told their bylines would be restored.
Chu Lin is survived by his wife, Judy, and two sons,
Mark and Christopher.
A Celebration of the Life of Sam Chu Lin
Saturday, March 18, 2006
12:30 PM
Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills - Old North Church
6300 Forest Lawn Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90068
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to:
All checks should note "In Memory of Sam Chu Lin"
Evergreen Baptist Church of Los Angeles
1255 San Gabriel Blvd.
Rosemead, CA 91770
Phone: 626-280-0477
First Chinese Baptist Church
4910 East Earll Drive
Phoenix, AZ 85018
Phone: 602-955-3114
CAUSE (Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment)
260 S. Los Robles Ave #118
Pasadena, CA 91101
626-356-9838
Donations will be used for a media/educational project.
Please make checks payable to CAUSE.
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