Journalism: My journalism career started in the late 1970s with a success perm and an internship at The Village Voice. Once I got into Columbia J-School, my mom was finally proud of me and forgave me for marrying outside of the race. Back in the 1980s and 1990s, I was the first Asian American at every newspaper that hired me. I am a founding member of the New York Chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association.

Nearly half of my 17-year, full-time journalism career was at The New York Daily News. It was a wild ride. I’ve interviewed alleged murders in maximum security prisons, done investigative pieces, delivered celebrity scoops and tasted my way through food stories. Like the rest of the media in the last century, I covered a big mouth, local real estate developer named Donald. He was the same person that he is today. The future 45 used to call me “Betty Lou,” which I hated. (“Liu” is pronounced “Lee-YOU.)

Some of my proudest moments:

• Breaking stories about Newsday’s legendary columnist Jimmy Breslin, for calling his young Korean American newsroom colleague a “yellow cur,” “slant-eyed” and “c – – -.” The coverage led to his two-week suspension and a public apology.
• Scooping the entire world and convincing John F. Kennedy Jr. to give me his first-ever interview.
• Starting a personal blog were my post tiger mom Amy Chua’s new memoir went a bit viral. I enjoyed calling her out as “prestige-whoring” Asian American parent.
• Spending a year as a full-time digital reporter at Newday in 2013. After making my name in a prehistoric era without internet or cell phones (we had beepers), I wanted to see if I was still competitive. I felt good about breaking big stories about the Sandy Hook massacre, the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy, and the huge, new Tappan Zee Bridge project.

Fast forward to 2021, when I started coaching journalists at NYU’s online journalism graduate degree program. Our students include journalistm professionals who came back to sharpen their skills, professionals from other fields who are going for their dream careers as storytellers, and recent college grads. As their Life & Work Coach, I help them process daily stresses, much of which dates back to childhood difficulties and earlier traumas. Coaching also involves analyzing their stories and reporting for clues about who they are. My goal is to help journalists lead their best lives by making sure that they have the tools to self-care and do their best storytelling.