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Sandy Close

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alexandra Close
Born1942 or 1943 (age 80–81)
Other namesSandy
Alma materUniversity of California, Berkeley (B.A.)
OccupationJournalist
OrganizationEthnic Media Services
PartnerFranz Schurmann
Children2

Alexandra "Sandy" Close (born ca. 1943) is an American journalist and the founder of Ethnic Media Services.[1][2] She was the executive director of Pacific News Service from 1974 to 2017 and of New America Media from 1996 to 2017.[3][4]

Early life and education

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Close received her B.A from the University of California, Berkeley in 1964.[5]

Career

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Close worked as the China editor in Hong Kong for the Far Eastern Economic Review in the mid-1960s.[6] Upon her return to the U.S. she co-founded Oakland-based newspaper The Flatlands.[7] She was also a weekly commentator for Morning Edition from 1984 to 1985.

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.[8] 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.[9]

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.[10]

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.[11]

Personal life

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Close was married to the historian and Asian affairs scholar Franz Schurmann from 1968 until his death in 2010.[12]

Awards

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Works

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References

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  1. ^ "Ethnic Media Services: Our Team".
  2. ^ "Sandy Close". www.macfound.org. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
  3. ^ "Voices from the Field | National Resource Center on Advancing Emergency Preparedness for Culturally Diverse Communities". Archived from the original on 2012-07-31. Retrieved 2010-05-04.
  4. ^ Hartlaub, Peter (2017-11-27). "Pacific News Service closes, but lessons continue". SF Chronicle. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  5. ^ "New America Media: Who's Who at NAM".
  6. ^ "Sandy Close". Archived from the original on 2011-02-28. Retrieved 2010-05-04.
  7. ^ Waters, Rob (2018-05-03). "An Ethnic Media Beacon Goes Dark, but Its Creator Keeps Inspiring". SF Public Radio. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
  8. ^ Stewart, Jon (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.
  9. ^ Walsh, Joan (2017-11-03). "New America Media Is Closing—and That's Bad News for All American Media". The Nation. Archived from the original on 2019-01-02. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  10. ^ "Sandy Close". LinkedIn.
  11. ^ Klady, Leonard (1997-05-22). "Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien". Variety. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
  12. ^ Weber, Bruce (2010-08-26). "Franz Schurmann, Cold War Expert on China, Dies at 84". NY Times. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  13. ^ "New America Media's Sandy Close wins George Polk Career Award". 2011-02-25. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
  14. ^ "Sandy Close | Ashoka United States". Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2010-05-04.
  15. ^ "Encore - Purpose Prize: Alexandra "Sandy" Close".
  16. ^ "MacArthur Fellows Program: Sandy Close".
  17. ^ Wiley Interscience
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