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Weijia Jiang
Born
Weijia Jiang

(1983-06-06) June 6, 1983 (age 41)
Xiamen, Fujian, China
Alma materCollege of William & Mary (BA)
Syracuse University (MS)
Occupation(s)News reporter, television journalist
Years active2006–present
Notable credit(s)WCBS-TV New York correspondent (2012–2015)
CBS News White House Correspondent (2018–present)
TitleWhite House Correspondent
Spouse
  • Luther Lowe (m. 2018)
Children1
Parents
  • Liya Wei (mother)
  • Huade "John" Jiang (father)
Weijia Jiang
Traditional Chinese姜偉嘉
Simplified Chinese姜伟嘉
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinJiāng Wěijiā
Wade–GilesJiang1 Wei3jia1

Weijia Jiang (Chinese: 姜伟嘉; pinyin: Jiāng Wěijiā; born June 6, 1983) is a Chinese-American television journalist and reporter.[1] She is based in Washington, D.C., and has served as the Senior White House Correspondent for CBS News since July 2018.[2] Jiang's question to President Donald Trump about the COVID-19 testing program in the United States[3] during a White House press briefing[4] received global attention and coverage.[5][6]

Early life

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Born in Xiamen, Mainland China to parents Liya Wei and Huade "John" Jiang, Jiang was two when the family immigrated to the United States.[7] She was raised in Buckhannon, West Virginia where her parents, who are now retired, owned and operated Chinatown Restaurant.[8] At age 13, Jiang became interested in journalism after encouragement from her eighth-grade teacher, Dianne Williams. Together, they prepared a home-made TV show to submit to a competition run by the national student broadcast Channel One, leading to an opportunity for Jiang to intern as a student anchor and reporter in Los Angeles for two weeks. During high school, Jiang worked on the high school video news staff under the mentorship of her teacher Julia Conley.[9]

In 2005, Jiang graduated from the College of William & Mary with a bachelor's degree in Philosophy and a minor in Chemistry. She worked on the student-run television station WMTV, and credits the university for developing her curiosity.[10] She earned a Master's in broadcast journalism from Syracuse University, graduating in 2006.[8][11] She was also recognized for her contributions in the field of communications as an inductee of Newhouse School of Public Communication's Professional Gallery in 2012.[12][13]

Career

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During a press conference on May 11, 2020, CBS News White House Correspondent Weijia Jiang asked in reference to Coronavirus testing, "Why is this a global competition to you if every day Americans are still losing their lives?", Trump tells her to "They're losing their lives everywhere in the world. And maybe that's a question you should ask China. Don't ask me, ask China that question, OK?"[14][15]

After completing her degree in broadcast journalism and from 2006 to 2008, Jiang was a reporter for WBOC-TV in Salisbury, Maryland. From 2008 until 2012, she worked at WJZ-TV, Baltimore. From 2012 to 2015, Jiang worked on WCBS-TV, New York City as a general assignment reporter and fill-in anchor where she covered major stories such as the Boston Marathon bombings,[16] the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings,[17] and the Hurricane Sandy.[18]

In 2013, WBZ-TV, Boston, won a regional Emmy award in the 34th News & Documentary Emmy Awards for the spot news coverage of the Newtown Tragedy[19] which Jiang was involved in reporting.[20] In 2014 Jiang was the Gala Dinner MC for the Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business Gala Dinner which also featured letters of support from then-president Barack Obama, Andrew Cuomo and Bill de Blasio.[21]

In 2015, Jiang moved to Washington, D.C., to become a correspondent for Newspath, the 24-hour news gathering service for CBS News. As part of her role she has covered major political stories such as the 2016 United States presidential elections,[22] the funeral of the First Lady of the United States Barbara Bush,[23][24] and the congressional baseball shooting,[25] also extensively reporting on both the Obama and Trump administrations. In 2018, Jiang became CBS News correspondent for the White House,[26] following her coverage of President Donald Trump's G-7 Summit[27] and the Trump administration's 'zero tolerance' policy.[28] Jiang traveled with President Trump on many occasions, including on-board Air Force One, and has covered stories including Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin's historic summit in Helsinki,[29][30] the Mueller Probe, the 2020 United States presidential elections,[31] and president Trump's first and second impeachments.[2]

Jiang is a member of the Asian American Journalists Association.[32] In June 2023, Jiang was elected to an at-large board seat of the White House Correspondents' Association for 2023-2026 and will serve as the organization's president in 2026.[33]

She continues to cover the White House as a senior White House Correspondent for CBS News during the Biden administration.[34]

Confrontations with President Trump

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As a White House Correspondent during the Trump administration, Jiang had several high-profile clashes with then-President Trump. Trump often reacted insensitively to her line of questioning, in one instance abruptly ending a press conference when she pushed back on his refusal to answer a question.[35][36][37] Trump's interactions with her were widely criticized as racist and emblematic of his hostility to the press.[35]

Memoir

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Jiang is authoring her memoir titled "Other", set to be published by One Signal Publishers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.[38] She will explore her personal trajectory from her childhood in West Virginia, to being part of newsrooms lacking representation, and her role as the only Chinese-American reporter to regularly correspond with the White House. Through her narrative, she hopes to capture her lived experiences of difference and diversity in growing up as an Asian-American woman and a Chinese-American reporter living and working in the United States. Explaining the title, Jiang contextualises "Other" as the violence of discrimination and hate from a lack of knowledge and intolerance towards difference, also expressing her deep concerns about AAPI hate and its negative impact on AAPI communities.[39]

Awards

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Personal life

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On March 17, 2018, Jiang married Travis Luther Lowe, an executive at Yelp and a donor to Democratic Party candidates and causes,[43] in Palm Springs, California. Civil rights activist Jim Obergefell led the ceremony, which also featured a Chinese tea ceremony. Jiang and Lowe had met in college, where they co-hosted a weekly campus television show.[44] In January 2019, she gave birth to their daughter.[45]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Asian American journalists on what it's like reporting on the pain in their community". CBS News. March 26, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Weijia Jiang". CBS News. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  3. ^ "U.S. has world's biggest COVID-19 testing programme, says Donald Trump". The Hindu. PTI. July 14, 2020. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  4. ^ "Trump gets in spat with Asian American reporter". BBC News. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  5. ^ "Trump abruptly ends press conference after spat with reporters". The Hindu. AP. May 12, 2020. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  6. ^ Sandford, Alasdair (May 12, 2020). "'Don't ask me, ask China': Trump clashes with reporter on US tests". euronews. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  7. ^ "Weijia Jiang". Washington Week. April 30, 2020. Archived from the original on May 24, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Weijia Jiang, Luther Lowe". The New York Times. March 1, 2018. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  9. ^ "CBS News reporter to serve as parade marshal". The Record Delta. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  10. ^ "Covering COVID-19: W&M alumni reporting from front lines of pandemic". William & Mary. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  11. ^ "Conversation with White House correspondent Weijia Jiang G'06". cusecommunity.syr.edu. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  12. ^ "40 Newhouse alumni inducted into the school's Professional Gallery Nov. 10". Newhouse School | Syracuse University. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  13. ^ "Newhouse School Professional Gallery induction ceremony will be held Nov. 10". SU News. October 23, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  14. ^ Barnes, Patricia (May 12, 2020). "The Tiresome Taunting Of President Trump". Forbes. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  15. ^ Gabbatt, Adam; Smith, David (May 12, 2020). "Trump accused of racism after clash with Asian American reporter". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  16. ^ "Surviving Boston Bombing Suspect Hospitalized As Questions Persist". April 20, 2013. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  17. ^ "Visitors Continue Streaming In To Memorial In Front Of Sandy Hook Elementary School". December 18, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  18. ^ "Rapid Repairs Work Completed On More Than 10K NYC Storm-Damaged Homes". January 21, 2013. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  19. ^ "WBZ-TV Wins Emmy Award For Outstanding Regional Spot News". October 1, 2013. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  20. ^ "Bells Toll In Newtown 26 Times For Victims Of Sandy Hook Shooting". December 21, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  21. ^ "Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business 2014 Gala Dinner" (PDF). June 19, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 14, 2021. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  22. ^ "Inside 4 battleground states that could determine the 2016 election". CBS News. October 10, 2016. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  23. ^ "Barbara Bush Eulogized As 'First Lady Of The Greatest Generation'". Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  24. ^ Boedeker, Hal (April 21, 2018). "Barbara Bush: TV carries her funeral". orlandosentinel.com. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  25. ^ "Scalise's Condition Improves, But More Surgery May Be Needed". Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  26. ^ de Moraes, Lisa (July 9, 2018). "CBS News Ups Weijia Jiang To White House Correspondent". Deadline. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  27. ^ "Group photo masks underlying tension at G-7 summit". CBS News. June 8, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  28. ^ "What happens now to 2,000 kids already separated from families? It's unclear". CBS News. June 21, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  29. ^ "Trump-Putin summit in Helsinki: 'Journalist' Sam Husseini kicked out of press conference for raising protest sign". Firstpost. July 17, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  30. ^ "Reporter kicked out of Trump-Putin press conference in Helsinki". CBS News. July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  31. ^ "Weijia Jiang's schedule for AAJA19". aaja19.sched.com. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  32. ^ "AAJA Stands with Journalists Pressing for Accountability in Coronavirus Response, Asian American Journalists Association". Asian American Journalists Association. May 13, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  33. ^ Tamanaha, Akemi (July 1, 2023). "Weijia Jiang elected White House correspondents president". AsAmNews. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  34. ^ Johnson, Ted (January 15, 2021). "CBS News Sets D.C. Lineup: Nancy Cordes Tapped As Chief White House Correspondent; Ed O'Keefe And Weijia Jiang Also On POTUS Beat". Deadline. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  35. ^ a b Washington, Adam Gabbatt David Smith in (May 1, 2020). "Trump accused of racism after clash with Asian American reporter". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  36. ^ Scott, Dylan (March 1, 2020). "Trump's new fixation on using a racist name for the coronavirus is dangerous". Vox. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  37. ^ "Weijia Jiang asked a question that left Trump unable to respond. So let's talk about what the answer actually is". The Independent. May 1, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  38. ^ "CBS White House reporter Weijia Jiang is writing a memoir". ABC News. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  39. ^ "CBS News Correspondent Weijia Jiang Reflects On Growing Up In West Virginia, Being An 'Other'". WVPB. March 2, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  40. ^ "PBS Washington Week Profiles: Weijia Jiang". Washington Week. Archived from the original on May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  41. ^ "2008 Regional Edward R. Murrow Award winners". www.rtdna.org. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  42. ^ "WBOC Wins 11 Awards in AP Contest; WBOC.com Named Outstanding Web Site". www.wboc.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  43. ^ "Travis Lowe – $48,636 in Political Contributions for 2016". www.campaignmoney.com.
  44. ^ "Weijia Jiang, Luther Lowe". The New York Times. March 1, 2018. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  45. ^ "Weijia Jiang: 5 Things About The Female CBS Reporter Who Donald Trump Ordered To 'Keep Your Voice Down'". Hollywood Life. April 2, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
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