For Immediate Release: October 20, 2005
Contacts: Eva Martinez 415-648-1045
San Francisco, October 20, 2005 -- KALW general manager Nicole Sawaya was named Journalist of the Year by the Northern California chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists for her important contributions to the diversity and availability of news programming in the Bay Area.
As general manager of KALW-FM, Sawaya created a local news department and beefed up original programming at the station, garnering two national awards for locally produced shows. The station focuses on in-depth feature and investigative reporting on ethnic communities, economic disparities and environmental justice issues at a local level. Despite meager resources, Sawaya has created an impressive new voice to enhance Bay Area journalism and serve democratic exchange.
The prized Public Service Awards went to:
• The Target Bayview Team of CBS 5 Eyewitness News for their extraordinary
Bayview- Hunters Point project. By examining the history and wider social and
economic context of gang violence, interviewing countless residents about their
lives and concerns, and broadcasting live a remarkable civic forum at the Bayview
Opera House, the team brought an intensely human dimension to the story of a
community plagued by violence.
• Daniel Vasquez and David Yarnold of the San Jose Mercury News for their
groundbreaking series of investigative news editorials, which exposed systemic
unethical practices by elected leaders and lobbyists in San Jose’s City
Hall. The series revealed the shocking extent to which money played a longtime
and hidden role in governance, and how lobbyists were able to avoid rules requiring
them to register and identify themselves as such.
Ellin O’Leary, executive director of Youth Radio, receives this year’s honor for Distinguished Service for her commitment to building a project that not only trains budding journalists and teaches them life skills, but also sets an example for all of us in bringing diverse, seldom-heard perspectives onto the air.
Career Achievement went to Ben Bagdikian (print) and Bob MacKenzie (broadcast). Bagdikian was recognized for his six-decade career, during which he served as an editor for the Washington Post during Watergate, the dean of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and as an acclaimed author whose work includes an ongoing and influential critique of corporate consolidation in the news media.
MacKenzie was recognized for an impressive news career spanning both newspaper and television over 40 years. At KTVU, he made his mark with memorable feature stories and graceful writing and was instrumental in the development of the popular Segment 2, which provides a longform platform for journalists to tell their stories.
The Unsung Hero Award was bestowed on Penny Duckham, Executive Director of the Media Fellowship Program at the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, for her work in shaping and expanding a program that has educated hundreds of journalists over the years. The John Gothberg Award for outstanding service to the SPJ chapter went to former board member Bernice Yeung for her tireless work in facilitating the chapter’s awards process and in organizing the lively SPJ mixers, which helped to raise the profile of the organization.
The John Gothberg Award for outstanding service to the SPJ chapter went to former board member Bernice Yeung for her tireless work in facilitating the chapter’s awards process and in organizing the lively SPJ mixers, which helped to raise the profile of the organization.
The judging committee was chaired by Eva Martinez, executive director of Acción Latina, and Paul Kleyman, editor of Aging Today.
Full List of Winners:
Breaking News
• Therese Poletti, Dean Takahashi, Michelle Quinn, Sam Diaz, Nicole Wong,
Mike
Langberg, and John Boudreau, San Jose Mercury News, for their comprehensive,
multidimensional coverage of Hewlett-Packard’s ousting of CEO Carly Fiorina.
(daily
print, over 100,000)
• Ina Fried and Stephen Shankland, CNET News.com, for their coverage of
Apple's June
decision to use chips made by Intel instead of IBM. (online)
Depth Reporting
• Vanessa Hua, Christian Berthelsen and Todd Wallack, San Francisco Chronicle,
for their
incisive reporting on the campaign finance scandal involving a Chinatown political
mover
and shaker and former Secretary of State Kevin Shelley. (daily print, over 100,000)
• Sean Holstege and Jill Tucker, Oakland Tribune, for their coverage of
the multi-billion
dollar Bay Bridge earthquake retrofit (daily print, under 100,000)
• Robert Gammon, East Bay Express, for his story on the East Bay freeway
sniper, which
delved into the California Highway Patrol's flawed investigation of its prime
suspect. (nondaily
print)
• Holly Kernan, Ben Trefny and Eric Wayne, KALW, for their exemplary radio
report on
how the post WWII G.I. Bill transformed America. (broadcast)
• John Borland, Mike Yamamoto and Karen Said, CNET news.com, for their
groundbreaking analytical series on homeland security. (online)
Feature Writing
• Heidi Benson, San Francisco Chronicle, for her compelling account of
famed author Iris
Chang’s difficult life journey and subsequent suicide (daily print, over
100,000)
• Tad Whitaker, Marin Independent Journal, for his highly original "Marin's
Gadflies"
profiling a handful of Marin's colorful civic watchdogs. (daily print, under
100,000)
• Lucia Hwang, California Lawyer, for “The rise and Fall of the
Trevor Law Group a welltold
story about how greedy lawyers can easily abuse the law. (non-daily print)
• Sarah Varney, KQED-FM, for her delightful meditation on Thanksgiving
dinner.
(broadcast)
• Ina Fried, CNET news.com for “Microsoft meets the hackers,”
which revealed the edgy
confrontation that occurred when Microsoft security honchos invited hackers
to a secret
meeting. (online)
Opinion
• Will Harper, East Bay Express, for "What Media Monopoly?"
a well-researched critique
of journalism icon Ben Bagdikian's The New Media Monopoly. (print)
Outstanding Student Journalist
• Keli Dailey, UC Berkeley, whose skill in print, radio, television and
photo journalism
gives a sense of not just a talented reporter of tomorrow but perhaps the future
of
journalism.
Outstanding Emerging Journalist
• Alicia Parlette, San Francisco Chronicle, for a 7-part series on her
personal battle with
cancer in which she exposes the promise and failures of healthcare in America
and the
resiliency of the human spirit. (daily print, over 100,000)
• Edward Carpenter, The Daily News, for his story documenting neglect
and abuse at
Woodside Terrace, a senior care facility in Redwood City. (daily print, under
100,000)
• Rachel Swan, East Bay Express, for her a deft ability to dig deep in
communities that
have not been widely covered. (non-daily print)
Photojournalism
• Jim Gensheimer, San Jose Mercury News, for his photo essay “War
Without End,” which
clearly illustrates the impact of explosives left behind by American soldiers
during the war
in Vietnam 30 years ago. (daily print)
In addition to co-chairs Kleyman and Martinez, the judging committee included:
Susan
Stern, Bernal Beach Productions; Adi Gevins, Real Reality Research; Chul Heo,
San
Francisco State University BECA; Juan Gonzales, City College of San Francisco
Journalism Dept.; Rose Arrieta, El Tecolote; Janet Kornblum, USA Today; Venise
Wagner,
San Francisco State University Journalism Dept.; Jon Rochmis, City College of
San
Francisco Journalism Dept.; Katherine Griffin, Yoga Journal; Joyce Slaton, Freelance
Journalist; Ted Glasser, Stanford University Journalism Dept.; Brian Shott,
Pacific News
Service; Randy Alfred, freelance writer; Janet Mandelstam, Freelance writer/editor;
Oliver
Wang, Freelance writer; Andrew De Vigal, San Francisco State University Journalism
Dept.; Rick Rocamora, Freelance Photojournalist; Neil Henry, University of Berkeley
School of Journalism; Doris Owyang, Center for Integration and Improvement of
Journalism; Pueng Vongs, New California Media; and Cristina Azocar, Ph.D., Center
for
Integration and Improvement of Journalism.
Winners will be honored at the SPJ Excellence in Journalism Awards dinner on
Tuesday,
November 15, 2005, at the Yank Sing Restaurant, One Rincon Center, 101 Spear
St. (at
Mission), in San Francisco. Cocktails and silent auction begin at 6 PM, dinner
at 7 PM, and
program to follow. For information on ticket or table purchase, please contact
Bill Chiang
at 415-706-9971or by e-mail at qwerty94107@yahoo.com.