Gina Chua to deliver 2022 IRE Conference keynote

Investigative Reporters and Editors is pleased to announce that Gina Chua will deliver the keynote address at the 2022 IRE Conference in Denver, June 23-26. 

The incoming executive editor for a media startup founded by Justin and Ben Smith will address conference attendees in Denver on Saturday, June 25 at the awards luncheon. The keynote address and awards ceremony will be livestreamed and recorded.

“On behalf of the IRE board of directors, we are thrilled to welcome a journalist of Ms. Chua’s stature to give our conference keynote address,” IRE board president Mark Walker said. “Her dedication to journalism and the organization made the board’s decision an easy one.” 

Chua is a longtime newsroom manager with a career spanning three decades and five countries. Most recently at Reuters, Chua was executive editor, responsible for editorial operations. Before she transitioned, Chua — then Reg — held a number of other roles in the newsroom, including overseeing the graphics department and helping set up the data journalism team.  She was previously editor-in-chief of the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong and spent 16 years at The Wall Street Journal in Manila, Hanoi, Hong Kong and New York. 

“Gina has been a steadfast supporter of IRE and investigative journalism for years, and her reputation for mentoring and training journalists precedes her,” said Cindy Galli, board member and conference committee chairwoman. “She’s a trailblazer in so many areas, and we’re thrilled to welcome her in Denver this June to address our members.”

Chua created and found funding for a fellowship to bring Asian journalists to New York University for a masters’ degree in business and economic reporting.  She speaks regularly on changes in the industry and ways to rethink and restructure journalism and newsroom processes; some of her writings are at Structure of News.  She transitioned in late 2020, making her one of the most senior transgender journalists in the industry.