Fil-Am among winners of journalism awards in US

source: gmanetwork.com

When Connie Chung’s father, an intelligence officer under Chiang Kai Shek, fled his native China, his main source of news in the US was the Chinese language newspapers.

The TV journalist said her father spoke little English, but through the Chinese ethnic press, he kept himself informed about what was going on in China and the world.

“My father loved reading his Chinese newspapers,” she told an audience of community media publishers and journalists who gathered April 12 for the 2012 Ippies Journalism Awards, recognizing independent ethnic media.

Chung commended the ethnic media for its “fortitude” in reporting the news despite limited resources and bare-bones operations. She said immigrant journalists who write for the mainstream press could be “very effective in raising (immigrants) voices.” In some news reporting about Muslim and Asian immigrants, she said the mainstream media is “not doing its job.”

“You write with more details,” Chung said.

Chung also took potshots at the mainstream media for gender bias and too much “negativism.” While there may be more women and minority journalists in the mainstream media, “they have not reached a level of parity” in executive positions.

She also said the “creeping negativism” in media “is just plain wrong.” She would like to see the return of good old-fashioned reporting in the news and not too many opinions.

For this year’s Ippies, a record 46 publications, plus a few freelancers, submitted more than 240 entries for the 10 categories in which prizes are given. This is the 10th anniversary of the awards, and the first time the CUNY Journalism School has been their host.

Cristina DC Pastor, founding editor of The FilAm, won second place for an editorial she had written for Feet in 2 Worlds. The essay, “The Seductive Frenchman and a Feisty Hotel Maid,” examines whether the credibility of asylum seekers as court witnesses will always be in doubt following the dropping of sex assault charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

The rest of the winners are:

Best investigative/in-depth story: Investigates an issue overlooked by mainstream media or one that has great community impact

1st place: Meng Fang, Tu Yichen and Law Wai Ki for “Aftermath of September 11: New York’s Chinatown Ten Years On (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3),” World Journal (Translations coming soon)
2nd place: Jacky Tik Wong for “Private Danny Chen Allegedly Subjected to Physical Abuse and Racial Taunting before Death,” Sing Tao Daily New York (Translation coming soon)
3rd place: Megan Finnegan (Our Town) and Stephon Johnson for “Elite Racism,” New York Amsterdam News

Best article on immigration or social justice: Critical look at economic, political or social issues that affect disenfranchised communities

1st place: Dan Coughlin and Kim Ives for “Washington Backed Famous Brand-Name Contractors in Fight Against Haiti’s Minimum Wage Increase,” Haïti Liberté
2nd place: Yuwei Zhang for “Talent hunters mean business,” China Daily USA
3rd place: Neil deMause for “One Woman’s Plan to Beat Poverty,” City Limits

Best editorial/commentary: Presents a convincing and compelling perspective

1st place: Marco Salazar for “Scam U,” YCteen
2nd place: Cristina Pastor for “Looking Back at the Scandal of 2011: The Seductive Frenchman and a Feisty Hotel Maid,” Feet in 2 Worlds
3rd place: Kung Li­ for “A History of Georgia’s 1%: Why You Must Face Race to Occupy Atlanta,” Colorlines

Best overall design of print publication: Use of typography, art, images and layout in conveying a publication’s editorial message

1st place: Kurt Hoffman, The Forward
2nd place: Nick Sadowski, Nowy Dziennik
3rd place: Anthony Smyrski, City Limits

Best overall design of an online publication: Use of typography, art, images and layout in conveying a publication’s editorial message

1st place: Nick Sadowski, Nowy Dziennik
2nd place: Gabrielle Birkner, The Forward
3rd place: Phong Bui and Walter Chiu, The Brooklyn Rail

Best photo essay or online slideshow: Photographic series that best conveys a storyline or concept

1st place: A. Jesse Jiryu Davis for “The LD Presents ‘Strangers,’” The Lo-Down
2nd place: Peter Yan and Rick Ho for “911: The 10th Anniversary – At Ground Zero: Then and Now,” Sing Tao Daily
3rd place: Elizabeth Borda, Amelia Holowaty Krales, Ashley Marinaccio and Julie Turkewitz for “We Contain Multitudes,” The Indypendent

Best photograph: Goes beyond headshots or posed formal shots

1st place: Karsten Moran for his photo accompanying the story “Albany Votes to Approve Same-Sex Marriage,” The Riverdale Press
2nd place: Carl Glassman for his photo accompanying, “Parting Shots: A Beloved Tribeca Ping Pong Club Shuts Down,” The Tribeca Trib
3rd place: Andrew Stern for his photo accompanying “Taking it to the Street,” The Indypendent

Best video: Best use of visual storytelling to highlight an issue of importance to a local community

1st place: Nate Lavey for “Living Apart in Crown Heights,” The Forward
2nd place: Nate Lavey for “Naming Mushky,” The Forward
3rd place: Lan Trinh for “Immigrants and Native-Born Seek Chinese Language Instruction in NYC Public Schools,” Feet in 2 Worlds

Best audio: Best use of audio storytelling to highlight an issue of importance to a local community

1st place: Monica Miller for “Newark Roll Call,” WBGO 88.3FM
2nd place: Von Diaz for “LGBT Immigrant Youth Struggle in New York,” Feet in 2 Worlds
3rd place: Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska, with help from Mohsin Zaheer, for “With an Eye on the Sky, Immigrants Revive Practice of Pigeon Tending in New York,” Feet in 2 Worlds

Best multimedia package: One that integrates multiple elements

1st place: DNAinfo.com staff for “Crime and Safety Analysis Delivers Surprises Across the Five Boroughs,” DNAinfo.com
2nd place: Gal Beckerman for “Crown Heights 20 Years Later,” The Forward
3rd place: El Diario team for “Sept. 11 – the Latino experience,” El Diario/La Prensa

- The FilAm

source: gmanetwork.com