MEDIA CONTACT:
Odette Keeley
NAM Awards Chair - California
okeeley@newamericamedia.org

Join NAM Thursday, July 19th, 2012 for the Northern California & Central Valley Ethnic Media Awards Gala Ceremonies at the KQED Studios

When: Thursday, July 19th, 2012 at 5:30 pm

Where:
KQED Studios
2601 Mariposa Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

Click here to register for the Awards Gala. Registration closes on July 18th. Please note that we can only accept payments online prior to the event, and not onsite at the KQED Studios. You can also find the registration link on our NAM website.

SAN FRANCISCO -- New America Media (NAM), the nation's largest association of ethnic media outlets, this week announced the winners of its 2011/2012 NAM Ethnic Media Awards for Northern California & Central Valley, honoring exceptional contributions to journalism by members of the ethnic media. It's a privilege to celebrate this special event at KQED, with welcoming remarks from the President of KQED Public Media, John Boland. NAM is also honored to have Bay Area journalism icon and the multi-awarded TV host of KQED9's "This Week in Northern California," Belva Davis, as our Awards Gala emcee and honoree.

"We are extremely honored to have received outstanding journalism work comprising more than a hundred individual entries from the increasingly vibrant and diverse range of ethnic and youth media in Northern California and the Central Valley," said NAM Awards Chair for California Odette Keeley. "These media outlets are serving African-American, Latino, Middle Eastern and Asian communities, and their stories are magnifying issues that are largely unexplored."

NAM received 112 entries for 11 categories covering print, broadcast, and online platforms, ranging from Investigative/In-Depth Reporting to Community Blogging. Distinguished judges from a variety of media outlets and organizations, including NAM veteran editors and staff, selected the winners, who will be honored at the Awards Gala on Thursday July 19th at 5:30 pm at the KQED Studios in San Francisco.

"From a Latino newspaper in San Francisco taking us to the heart of the human battles on the U.S.-Mexican border; to a South Asian paper reporting on the foreclosure crisis with a case study in Silicon Valley; to a radio podcast in the East Bay discussing discrimination of black women among the black diaspora and; a Filipino TV network in the Peninsula showcasing the richness of Filipino literature --- this is only a sampling of the compelling stories from ethnic media journalists in the region and we are proud to salute them," said Keeley.

"In a fractured media landscape it's more important than ever that we cover each other's communities, not just our own," said Sandy Close, NAM's executive director. "This year PG&E is sponsoring a special award for diversity reporting. It goes to KTSF Channel 26 and the San Francisco Chronicle for collaborating to report on how blacks and Asians are increasingly sharing a once all black neighborhood."

"NAM is also announcing a new award for community advocacy in honor of the late Chauncey Bailey.This year it goes to Willie Ratcliff and the San Francisco BayView for being the first and sometimes only voice challenging the official version of police shootings in their community," said Close.

Awards Chair Keeley adds, "We are grateful to also have the opportunity to honor Pov Xyooj and Hmong TV Network based in Fresno, with an Emerging Media Award during the gala, having created a television platform for the Hmong community in the Central Valley, where there was none."

Below is a complete list of the winners for the 2011/2012 NAM Ethnic Media Awards for Northern California & Central Valley:

Outstanding Hyperlocal Report/Feature:

English-Language Publications:
First-Place Winner - Jaya Padmanabhan - India Currents
Runner-Up - Leslie Layton - Chico Sol

In-Language Publications:
First-Place Winner - Weijiang Huang - Sing Tao Daily
No Runner-Up

Outstanding Investigative/In-Depth Story:

English-Language Publications:
First-Place Winner - Rebecca Plevin - Vida en el Valle 
Runner-Up - Rhony Laigo - Balita Media
Honorable Mention - Maria Kari - ILLUME Media Inc.

In-Language Publications:
First-Place Winner - Wei Wei Ren - Sing Tao Daily
Runner-up - Erika Cebreros - El Mensajero

Outstanding Commentary/Editorial Essay:

English-Language Publications:
First-Place Winner - Emil Guillermo - AALDEF Blog
Runner-Up - Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan - India Currents

In-Language Publications:
First-Place Winner - Benjamin Pimentel - INQUIRER.net
No Runner-Up

Outstanding International Reporting:

English-Language Publications:
First-Place Winner - Sunita Sohrabji - India West
Runner-Up - Raywat Deonandan - India Currents

In-Language Publications:
First-Place Winner - Ricardo Ibarra - El Mensajero
No Runner-Up

Outstanding Arts, Culture, & Entertainment Story:

First-Place Winner - Fanny Chiang - Sing Tao Daily
Runner-Up - Ricardo Ibarra - El Mensajero

Outstanding Sports Story:

First-Place Winner - Juan Esparza Loeva - Vida en el Valle
Runner-Up - Shawn Liu - World Journal

Outstanding Photojournalism:

First-Place Winner - Manuel Ortiz - El Mensajero
Runner-Up - Jose Luis Aguirre - El Mensajero
Honorable Mention - Weijiang Huang - Sing Tao Daily

Outstanding Youth Voice:

First-Place Winner - Yee Leng Vang - The Know Youth Media
Runner-Up - Kevin Shelton - The Know Youth Media
Honorable Mention - Youth Radio - Sayre Quevedo & Derek Williams

Outstanding Community Reporting - Radio:

First-Place Winner - Jenee Darden - Mental Health & Wellness Radio
Runner-Up - Shuka Kalantari - produced in line with a NAM fellowship - aired on KALW Public Radio

Outstanding Community Reporting - Television:

First-Place Winner - Jo Wan, KTSF 26
Runner-Up - Pia Lopezbanos-Carrion; Jeremiah Ysip; Mitos Briones; and Mike Carrion - "Adobo Nation" - The Filipino Channel - for "Voices of the Filipino/Fil-Am Authors" feature
Honorable Mention -  Racquel Rendon-Walker - "Adobo Nation" - The Filipino Channel - for "Sustainable Farming" feature

Outstanding Community Blogger:

No First-Place Winner
Runner-Up - Lorna Dietz - NaFFAAR8.com
Honorable Mention - Ben Fong-Torres - AsianConnections.com

SPECIAL RECOGNITIONS DURING THE AWARDS GALA:

CHAUNCEY BAILEY COMMUNITY ADVOCACY AWARD - Willie Ratcliff and the San Francisco Bayview

DIVERSITY / INTER-ETHNIC RELATIONS COVERAGE AWARD - Sponsored by PG&E - KTSF 26 & San Francisco Chronicle

EMERGING MEDIA AWARD - Pov M. Xyooj, Hmong TV Network

Please join us and our esteemed judges as we salute the outstanding journalism work of these ethnic and youth media outlets in the region for the past year, during our much-awaited Awards Gala, co-hosted by KQED at their San Francisco studios on July 19, 2012 at 5:30 pm.

Click here to register for the Awards Gala. Please use the "Register" link to register yourself and/or guests for the gala ceremonies event on July 19th at 5:30 pm. You can also find the registration link on our NAM website.

Nominees, winners, and judges will receive more information about their tickets to the Awards Gala.

ABOUT KQED:
KQED (kqed.org) has served Northern California for more than 50 years and is affiliated with NPR and PBS. KQED owns and operates public television stations KQED 9 (San Francisco/Bay Area), KQED Plus (San Jose/Bay Area) and KQET 25 (Watsonville/Monterey); KQED Public Radio (88.5 FM San Francisco and 89.3 FM Sacramento); the interactive platforms kqed.org and KQEDnews.org; and KQED Education. KQED Public Television is the producer of local and national series such as QUEST; Check, Please! Bay Area; This Week in Northern California; Truly CA; and Essential Pépin. KQED's digital television stations include KQED 9, KQED Plus, KQED Life, KQED World, KQED Kids and KQED V-me, and are available 24/7 on Comcast. KQED Public Radio, home of Forum and The California Report, is one of the most-listened-to public radio stations in the nation with an award-winning news and public affairs program service delivering more than eighteen local weekday newscasts and news features. KQED Interactive provides KQED's cross-platform news service, KQEDnews.org, as well as several popular local blogs, video and audio podcasts and a live radio stream at kqed.org. KQED Education brings the impact of KQED to thousands of teachers, students, parents and the general public through workshops, community screenings and multimedia resources.