Journalism Highlighting Inter-ethnic Relations Honored at NAM Awards in L.A.
New America Media, News Report, Jun Wang, Posted: Mar 17, 2009
LOS ANGELES – Ethnic media were recognized on March 13 at the 2009 Southern and Central California Ethnic Media Awards organized by New America Media (NAM) and the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication.
Award winners at the 2009 Southern and
Central California Ethnic Media Awards.
Some 100 media professionals gathered at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center for the awards ceremony. Jerry Sullivan, editor and publisher of the Los Angeles Garment & Citizen, a weekly community newspaper covering the downtown Los Angeles area, said he was impressed by the wide range of topics of this year’s award-winning stories. Sullivan, a runner-up in the commentary/editorial category, said, “it’s quite a year,” when Americans experienced record high gasoline prices and had a historical presidential election, and, “the stories reflect all of that.”
“It’s mind-opening to me,” said veteran Sing Tao Daily reporter Charles Ding, who won the best in-depth/investigative reporting award. Ding, who has participated in the competition for the past six years and won twice, talked about connecting himself with other ethnic media through NAM. “It helped me to know more about other ethnic groups and to put more attention to the under-covered and voiceless people.”
Inter-ethnic relationship were central to Ding’s award-winning three-part series about the principal of Temple Intermediate School, C.P. Cheung, who creatively applies Confucian philosophy to teach his diverse student body.
“Cheung graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and later from UCLA,” Ding explained, so he combined the best education practices of the west and the east. At Temple, half of the 400 students are Latino and half are Asian. Most are from low-income families. Cheung regularly meets with the students together with their parents and teachers, and teams students up into after-school study groups. Under Cheung’s leadership, the school’s academic performance index (API) increased from about 600 points to 798 points.
La Prensa Staff Writer Gabriela Gonzalez honored
in the inter-ethnic reporting category.
A new generation of ethnic media journalists was also recognized. Gabriela Gonzalez from the Spanish-language newspaper La Prensa won the inter-ethnic relations category for her trend story of young Latinos converting to Islam. Gonzalez spent two months going to a mosque with a group of 14 Latino youth for her story “The Changing Face of Faith.”
“It is the best gift for my birthday,” said Gonzalez, who turns 26 this month.
NAM received more than 100 entries in five languages – English, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese and Vietnamese –for the competition in Southern California. In addition to regional awards, NAM will host a national ethnic media expo and awards in Atlanta in June, in partnership with the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.
Earlier in the week, NAM Executive Director Sandy Close briefed Pres. Barack Obama’s communications team at the White House about ethnic media across the country. “They are really serious about learning about the ethnic media sector,” she said.
“In our time, we are privileged to be creating a new America, made up of all the tribes, races and religions of the world,” said Saquib Rangoonwala of InFocus News which won two awards. “The ethnic media are the heart and soul of this new nation we are building.”
Below is the complete list of winners for the 2009 Southern and Central California Ethnic Media Awards.
Best In-Depth/Investigative
WINNER: Charles Ding, Sing Tao Daily
Temple Intermediate : Significant Academic Progress (Series)
RUNNER-UP: Shahla Khan, Southern California InFocus
Domestic Violence
RUNNER-UP: Dzung Do, Nguoi Viet Daily News
The Long Road to America (Series)
Health Care and Environment
WINNER: Yurina Rico, La Opinión
More Medical Specialists are Needed
RUNNER-UP: Norma de la Vega, Enlace
Diet? What Diet? (Series)
RUNNER-UP: Rebecca Plevin, Vida en el Valle
Residents Protest Landfill
Arts, Sports and Entertainment
WINNER: Lynda Lin, Pacific Citizen
Behind the Lens: A Spotlight on Asian American Women Filmmakers
RUNNER-UP: Antoinette Bueno, Balita Media
Fight Night Behind the Scenes
Commentary/Editorial
WINNER: Lawrence Swaim, Southern California InFocus
The New Untouchables?
RUNNER-UP: Jerry Sullivan, Los Angeles Garment and Citizen
A Twice-Told Tale of Black, Brown & LAPD Blue
Inter-Ethnic Relations
WINNER: Gabriela Gonzalez, La Prensa
Understanding Islam, The Changing Face of Faith, Islam: Testimony of Change
RUNNER-UP: Julie Ha, KoreAm Journal
Neighborhood Watch
Youth Reporting
WINNER: Rosetta Riley, L.A. Watts Times
Black-Owned Restaurants Go Vegan in South L.A.
RUNNER-UP: Huma Yasmin Attari, India Currents
In Praise of the Hajj Cough
Photojournalism
WINNER: Arindam Mukherjee, Audrey Magazine
Beyond the Burqa
RUNNER-UP: J. Emilio Flores, La Opinión
Returning Empty Handed
Best Community Reporting (Television)
WINNER: Vicky Gutierrez, KVEA Telemundo 52
Farm Kids
RUNNER-UP: Thuy Phan
Bone Marrow Donors, Saigon Broadcasting Television Network
Best Blogger on Ethnic Perspectives
WINNER: Susan D. Anderson, The Loop21
Reparations Chronicles
RUNNER-UP: Jay R. Firestone, The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles
The Importance of Being VideoJew
Related Articles:
Ethnic Media Trade Ideas With Atlanta Mayor
New England Honors Ethnic Media
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User Comments
mglaim@puc.edu on Apr 08, 2009 at 20:23:57 said:
Marilyn,
-->I unexpectedly picked up a first prize for commentary at the New American Media (NAM)awards for central and southern California. (Because the Muslim newspaper I write for is located in southern California.)
You can read the winning column ("The New Untouchables") by scrolling down the page to "Commentary..."