2 INQUIRER.net columnists win top honors in California journalism awards

Benjamin Pimentel and Emil Guillermo

MANILA, Philippines – Two columnists of INQUIRER.net clinched top honors in the journalism awards in Northern California and Central Valley, America’s largest association of ethnic media outlets announced Thursday.

New America Media’s Ethnic Media Awards for Northern California and Central Valley said Benjamin Pimentel and Emil Guillermo both won first prize in NAM’s language publications categories for their exceptional contributions to journalism.

Pimentel’s winning column “How My Sons Lost their Tagalog, Sulat Kay James Soriano” appeared on INQUIRER.net’s Global Nation section on August 31, 2011.

“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 of communities 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 selected the winners, who will be honored at the Awards Gala on Thursday July 19th at 5:30 p.m. at the KQED Studios in San Francisco. NAM is also honored to have Bay Area journalism icon and the multi-awarded TV host of KQED’s “This Week in Northern California,” Belva Davis, as our Awards Gala emcee and honoree.

“From a Latino newspaper in San Francisco taking us to the heart of the human battles on the US-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 – we are proud to salute these journalists and their compelling work,” said Keeley.

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

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

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

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 – “Adobo Nation” producers –”Voices of the Filipino/Fil-Am Authors” -The Filipino Channel

• Honorable Mention –  Racquel Rendon-Walker – “Sustainable Farming” – “Adobo Nation”, The Filipino Channel

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 AWARD – Sponsored by PG&E – KTSF 26 & San Francisco Chronicle

• EMERGING MEDIA AWARD – Pov M. Xyooj, Hmong TV Network