Connie Chung commends ethnic media; Ippies winners announced

 

Connie Chung keynotes 2012 Ippies Journalism Awards

When Connie Chung’s father, an intelligence officer under Chiang Kai Shek, fled his native China, his main source of news in the U.S. 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

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

Best editorial/commentary: Presents a convincing and compelling perspective

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

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

Best photograph: Goes beyond headshots or posed formal shots

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

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

Best multimedia package: One that integrates multiple elements

 

Feet in 2 Worlds wins a harvest of four awards for writers Von Diaz, Lan Trinh, Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska (not in photo), Mohsin Zaheer and Cristina DC Pastor. Executive Producer John Rudolph is second from right.



4 Comments

  1. […] The FilAm, whose founding editor Cristina DC Pastor won second place for an editorial she wrote for Feet in 2 Worlds, highlighted keynote speaker Connie Chung’s speech at the Ippies. 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. […]

  2. […] FilAm, whose founding editor Cristina DC Pastor won second place for an editorial she wrote for Feet in 2 […]

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