New America Media names Inquirer.net US, Balitang America among awardees

SAN FRANCISCO – New America Media announced the winners and honorees of the 2017 NAM California Ethnic Media Awards, which celebrates outstanding journalism on issues ranging from the environment, health, and education to politics, immigration, sports, and arts and culture. Among the recipients are Cecile Ochoa of INQUIRER.net US, and Balitang America of ABS-CBN’s The Filipino Channel. A distinguished group of judges selected 12 first place winners and 13 merit recipients from more than 140 individual entries submitted by African American, Asian American, Latino, and Native American print, online, and broadcast ethnic media outlets. A special panel of youth media practitioners selected the winner of this year’s Emerging Youth Voice award. And the awards committee also selected 4 “Ethnic Media Champions” – individuals who embody the resilience and dedication of the sector. The awards ceremony will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 19, at the PG&E Auditorium in San Francisco, beginning with a reception at 5:30 pm and the presentation of the awards from 6:30 to 8 pm. NAM will pay tribute to its ethnic media founders, original supporters and collaborators, judges, and sponsors, with special thanks to PG&E, the Co-host for the 2017 Awards, and our three Diamond Sponsors: Comcast, The San Francisco Foundation, and the California Health Care Foundation.

A previous NAM awards celebration. NAM

NEWS BEAT CATEGORIES Outstanding Health & Health Care Coverage WINNER SKYLINK TV – ‘Bay Area Today’ program – Danny Wong – “What is Cancer?” episode MERIT RECIPIENT LA OPINION – Araceli Martinez Ortega – “Latinos & Diabetes” [series]

Outstanding Coverage of the Environment WINNER EASTERN GROUP PUBLICATIONS/EGPNews.com – Nancy Martinez – “Exide, Porter Ranch: A Double Standard” MERIT RECIPIENTS: LA OPINION – Jorge Macias – “Thousands in the San Gabriel Valley at Risk for Lead and Arsenic Contamination” SKYLINK TV – ‘Bay Area Today’ program – Danny Wong – “Three-Color Bins” episode

Outstanding Coverage of Politics & the 2016 Elections WINNER KDTV UNIVISION 14 – Maria Leticia Gomez, Joe Perry, Luis Felipe Godinez – “En Espera de la Muerte” [Waiting for Death] MERIT RECIPIENT El TECOLOTE– Alexis Terrazas & Atticus Morris – “Alernate Reality: Growing Acceptance of White Nationalism in Trump’s America” / “Realidad Alterna: Creciente Aceptaciòn del Nacionalismo Blanco en el América de Trump”

Outstanding Coverage of Immigration WINNER SKYLINK TV – ‘Bay Area Today’ program – Danny Wong – “Under the Same Roof” episode MERIT RECIPIENTS CHICO SOL – Bianca Quilantan — “Door of Hope” LA OPINION – Araceli Martinez Ortega – “Stranded on the Border, Without Asylum and Without Hope” [series]

Outstanding Education Coverage TWO WINNERS INDIA CURRENTS – Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan – “How Much Is Too Much?: The Price Of Pushing Kids To Attain Elite Status” SKYLINK TV – ‘Bay Area Today’ program – Jasmine Chen — ‘Relentless Learning” episode

Outstanding Coverage of Arts, Culture & Entertainment WINNER KDTV UNIVISION 14 – Beatriz Ferrari & Eduardo Mancera – “El Pintor de Las Patronas” [The Painter of Las Patronas] MERIT RECIPIENTS INQUIRER.net – Cecile Ochoa – “86-Year-Old Fil-Am to Ride in Biker Rally, If He Ignores His Doc” KDTV UNIVISION 14 – Flavio Lacayo & Eduardo Mancera – “Exodo a La Santeria” [Exodus to Santeria]

Outstanding Sports Coverage WINNER SING TAO DAILY – Mingyue [Flora] Xu – “American Boy Embodies Shaolin Spirit” MERIT RECIPIENTS VIDA EN EL VALLE – Juan Esparza Loera – “Cabada’s Run Fueled by His Past” KDTV UNIVISION 14 – Leon Felipe Gonzalez & Joe Perry – “La Cancha de la Esperanza” [The Field of Hope]

SPOTLIGHT AWARDS Outstanding Coverage of Gender/LGBTQI Issues WINNER MIDPENINSULA COMMUNITY MEDIA CENTER – ‘Talking with Henrietta’ program – Henrietta Burroughs – “In the Aftermath of the Mass Shooting in Orlando” MERIT RECIPIENT SING TAO DAILY – Isabelle Yiu – “Chinese American LGBT Community Asks for Respect for All”

Outstanding Cross-Cultural Reporting WINNER EL TECOLOTE – John Morrison – “Frisco 5” series MERIT RECIPIENT PAKISTAN LINK – Ras Siddiqui – “Jews and Muslims Hold Joint Vigil at the California State Capitol”

Emerging Youth Voice WINNER EL NUEVO SOL – Pilar de Haro, Keila Vizcarra, Grecia Lopez, Curtis Poindexter, Aracelly Solis, Aurabella Hernandez, Lorena Roque, Daniel Shin and Michael Arvizu – “Young Workers/ “Trabajadores Jovenes en Los Angeles” [series] MERIT YOUTH RADIO – Emiliano Villa – “When Economics Divide Siblings”

Outstanding Coverage of Voter Engagement WINNER Balitang America – The Filipino Channel TV – Troy Espera, Danny Manansala, Rommel Conclara, Henni Espinosa, John Caña, Don Tagala, Steve Angeles & Gel Santos Relos – Election Day 2016 newscast and “The Fil-Am Vote” election special

SPECIAL RECOGNITIONS ETHNIC MEDIA CHAMPIONS Regina Brown Wilson – Director – CALIFORNIA BLACK MEDIA Jarrette Fellows, Jr. – Publisher & Editor – COMPTON HERALD Dong Kim – Publisher – HYUNDAE NEWS Joseph Orozco – Manager – KIDE-HOOPA 91.3 FM