About 250 ethnic media, community leaders, communications specialists and government decisionmakers attended the banquet celebration of outstanding journalism at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento the evening of Wednesday, August 28.
Twenty-two judges reviewed a record 310 entries in 12 languages covering print and online, broadcast, English and in-language outlets statewide across nine categories including Outstanding Sports Coverage, The Struggle for Rights in California, Health and Health Care, Coming of Age in a Polarized Society and — receiving the most entries — California’s Culture of Diversity.
And the winners are…
Outstanding Sports Coverage
- WINNER | Print/Online | El Tecolote | Mara Cavallaro | Just Goals: Immigrants, Activists Find Hope, Liberation through Soccer
- WINNER | Broadcast | FNX | Sahar Khadjenoury, Frank Blanquet, Anthony Papa | Indian Rodeo: Voices from the Indian National Finals Rodeo
- RUNNER-UP | Print/Online | Hmong Daily News | Macy Yang | USA National Sepak Takraw Team Wins Gold at the King’s Cup in Thailand
California’s Culture of Diversity
- WINNER | Print/Online | Sacramento Observer | Jared Childress | The 8 Limbs of the Black Yogi
- WINNER | Broadcast | KTSF | Christino Choi | Three features on Chinese-owned San Francisco small businesses Canton Bazaar, Nam Kue Chinese School, and YC Wong Kung Fu Studio
- RUNNER-UP | Print/Online | Saigon Nho News | Doan Trang | The story of a boat person who opened a successful medical school in America
Making It in California
- WINNER | Print/Online | India Currents | Ritu Marwah | Undocumented And Abandoned. The Story Of The Punjabi Farmworker
- RUNNER-UP | Print/Online | Kiosko News | Nora Estrada | She is 70 years old and makes a living selling nopales on the street … And she is doing very well!
Health and Health Care
- WINNER | Print/Online | Vida En El Valle / The Fresno Bee | Maria G. Ortiz-Briones | Doctors from Mexico help meet the needs of some patients in the Central Valley
- RUNNER-UP | Print/Online | Los Angeles Blade | Christopher Kane | New data shows HIV infections dropped – mostly among whites and The new mission to fight HIV devastation in rural America
The Rise in Hate Crimes and Efforts to Find Healing
- WINNER | Print/Online | ChicoSol | Natalie Hanson | Activists turn from personal pain to community healing
- WINNER | Broadcast | EST Media / Eastern Standard Times | Keshia Hannam, Ryan Alexander Holmes | Monterey Park: How Do We Heal Our Community?
- RUNNER-UP | Broadcast | World Journal – Los Angeles | Jian Zhao | Reporting series of the 2023 Monterey Park mass shooting
The Struggle for Rights in California
- WINNER | Print/Online | The San Fernando Valley Sun / El Sol | Semantha Raquel Norris: Right-Wing Protestors Prevent Drag Queen Storytime at San Fernando Public Library
- WINNER | Broadcast | Little Saigon TV | Kayla Nguyen, Ngoc Lan, Jenny Vo: LGBTQIA+ Rights Against Vietnamese Americans
- RUNNER-UP | Print/Online | Al Enteshar Newspaper | Dahlia M. Taha, Fatmeh Bakhit | Breaking the Chains of Fear: Empowering Muslim and Arab Americans to Speak Up and Report Hate Crimes
Coming of Age in a Polarized Society
- WINNER | Print/Online | Sing Tao Daily | Justin Ma | For One Adoptee, Xi-Biden Meeting at APEC is ‘Personal’
- WINNER | Print/Online | The Contra Costa Pulse | Ronvel Sharper | The Internet Brings Out the Worst In Us
- RUNNER-UP | Print/Online | Black Catholic Messenger | Nate Tinner-Williams | How one Black Catholic fought racism at her Catholic high school—and what’s next in her journey
Politics and Public Policy that Foster Change
- WINNER | Print/Online | Korea Daily | Inseong Choi, Hyoungjae Kim, Suah Jang | Six months after state of emergency, homelessness persists in Koreatown, not concentrated but scattered
- WINNER | Print/Online | Black Voice News | Breanna Reeves | Reporting series California’s Marijuana Reform: Progress Made, But Challenges Persist for Black Communities
- RUNNER-UP | Print/Online | palabra | Aitana Vargas | Disrupting the School-to-Prison Pipeline
Connecting Global With Local News
- WINNER | Print/Online | Community Media Alliance | Eduardo Stanley | The “Other” Incarcerated Japanese and Kidnapping of the Naganuma Family in Peru
- WINNER | Print/Online | Indian Voices / Indigenous Network | Veronica Wood | Between The Rains: A Documentary About the Climate Crisis in Kenya for Indigenous Peoples
Special Awardees
- Career Achievement | Viji Sundaram
- Media Innovator | Manuel Ortiz Escámez
- Conveners of Community | Nichi Bei News, Inland Valley News
- Collaborating Across Racial and Ethnic Divides | Philippine News Today, Myanmar Gazette, Community Alliance Newspaper, Asian American News, Impulso News, El Popular
Communications Champions
Several individuals were honored with a “Communications Champions Award” for their work in government agencies, business, communications, academia, and the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors to promote ethnic media. Honorees included:
- Maricela Rodriguez, senior adviser for civic engagement at Governor Gavin Newsom’s office;
- Jon Christensen, adjunct assistant professor at the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at UCLA
- Imara Canady, national director of community engagement at the AIDS Health Foundation
- Fiona Chan, marketing and communications principal at PG&E
- David Littlefield, public affairs manager at the California Wellness Foundation
- Debra Nakatomi, president and CEO of Nakatomi PR
- Tracy Arnold, assistant director at the Department of Health Care Services.
