For Immediate Release
December 4, 2009
A group photo of the winners of 2009 Ippies Awards. -- Photo by Lotus Chau
NEW YORK: The New York Community Media Alliance held the 2009 Ippies Awards ceremony at Baruch College on Thursday December 3. The Ippies are the only journalism awards in NYC that honor reporting in English and languages other than English in the ethnic and community press. 2009 marks the 8th consecutive year that the NYCMA has presented the awards.
This year's keynote speakers were Neal Shapiro, President and CEO of WNET.ORG; Fatima A. Shama, Commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs; and Mark Hallett, program officer in the journalism program at the Chicago-based McCormick Foundation.
In all, 33 awards were given in ten different categories. This year's judges for the editorial category were June Foley, the Writing Program Director at New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study; David E. Moore, veteran journalist and former editor and publisher of Connecticut and Westchester Business Journals and International Business magazine; and Rafael Pi Roman,Thirteen/WNET's prime-time host and the Executive Producer and co-host of "Inside Trenton," one of Thirteen's news and public affairs programs.
The three graphic judges for the 2009 Ippies were India Amos, art director at Nextbook and managing editor of Seven Stories Press and PEN America; Jane Seymour, Photo Editor at Shape Magazine and creative director for the social shopping site StyleSalt.com; and Stewart Cauley, who designs print and electronic books for a wide range of independent publishers.
Laura Flanders was master of ceremonies. -- Photo by Mohsin Zaheer
Laura Flanders is a respected journalist, writer and host of GRITtv the new news and culture discussion program online, on satellite TV, and public and cable TV.
(From L to R) Bob Isaacson, Ex. Dir. CUNY TV; Neal Shapiro, President, CEO WNET.ORG; Juana Ponce de León, Ex. Dir. NYCMA; Benay Rubenstein, Dir. College Initiative; Mary McCormick, Presindent Fund for the City of New York; Nazli Parvazi from the Mayor's Office; Rob Stein, Senior Producer HBO; Mark Hallett Program Officer McCormick Foundtaion; Fatima Shama, Commissioner Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs; and Linda Prout, Senior Producer, CUNY TV at the Ippies. -- Photo by Ansar Lovlu
A large number of public officials, representatives of foundations including North Star Fund and Deutche Bank, journalists, writers and intellectuals representing New York's diverse ethnic and community media and from different walks of life attended the colorful awards distribution ceremony. They included New York City Comptroller Bill Thompson, City Comptroller-elect John Liu, Fund for the City of New York's President Mary McCormick.
In her welcome address, NYCMA Executive Director Juana Ponce de Leon explained the significance of celebrating the great work of New York's diverse and powerful ethnic media. She congratulated all the winners and thanked the guests, funders and supporters for making the event a great success.
The keynote speakers congratulated NYCMA for organizing the event. They acknowledged the strength, power, influence and reach of the ethnic and community media and pledged to work even more closely with this vital media sector.
WNET.ORG's President and CEO Neal Shapiro speaking at the Ippies. -- Photo by Ansar Lovlu
In his speech, Neal Shapiro highlighted WNET.ORG/Thirteen's programming. He said he was impressed by the recent poll figures showing 50 million Americans turning to ethnic and community media sector for news. He said the ethnic and community media had a bright future and pledged to work closely with this media sector. He congratulated the winners of this year's Ippies.
Commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs Fatima A. Shama, addressing the Ippies Awards ceremony. -- Photo by Ansar Lovlu
Commissioner Fatima Shama in her speech highlighted the diversity of New York and explained at great length the functions of her office. She said the Bloomberg administration attached great importance to this media sector. She congratulated the Ippies winners and promised to go extra mile to work with this media sector.
Mark Hallett, Program Officer, McCormick Foundation explaining his Foundation's work at the Ippies. -- Photo by Ansar Lovlu
Mark Hallett, the third and last keynote speaker of the evening, said the McCormick Foundation recognized the importance of this media sector and was working with it very closely. He explained the different programs that the Foundation was running for the promotion of ethnic and community media.
(From L to R) Rong Xiaoqing, Reporter Sing Tao Daily; Rick Ho, Manager Sing Tao Daily; New York City Comptroller Bill Thompson; Lotus Chau, Chief Reporter Sing Tao Daily and Comptroller-elect John Liu at the Ippies Awards. -- Courtesy Sing Tao Daily
At the end, the Ippies' winners were announced in different categories. Following is the list of this year's Ippies' winners.
EDITORIAL CATEGORIES
Editorial Category 1: Best Investigative or in-depth story
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First place: "Silenced in the Classroom", by Seth Wessler, ColorLines
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Second place: " Home Front: NYC's Public Housing Struggles to Survive", by Jarrett Murphy, City Limits
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Third place: "One Man Goes to Prison, and Many Suffer" (Part 2 of a 3-part special report on the effects of the Rockefeller Drug Laws), by Evelyn Hernández, El Diario La Prensa
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Honorable Mention: "Armory Could Bring More Than a Shopping Mall", by Alex Kratz, Norwood News
Editorial Category 2: Best Feature
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First place: "The Anti-Bloomberg: Inside Reverend Billy's Quixotic Mayoral Campaign ", by Jacob Scheier and John Tarleton, The Indypendent
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Second place: "The True Story of Ah One: Inside the Life of a Chinatown Gang Lord", by Iwen Chu, World Journal
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Third place: "A Fragile Union: Why Racial Justice Matters in the Fight For Gay Marriage ", by Kai Wright, ColorLines
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Best Multimedia: "Writing in My Father's Footsteps" , by Jonathan Kesselman, The Forward
Editorial Category 3: Best Editorial / Commentary
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First place: "Take Note: News Corp Quietly Owns NYC Neighborhood Newspapers", by Sharon D. Toomer, BlackandBrownNews.com
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Second place: "Chinese Contender Opens Curtain on 20th District Race", by Wang Di, Sing Tao Daily
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Third place: "The Indian Thing To Do", by Seema Khaneja, Little India
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Honorable Mention: " Inner-City Yoga ", by Mona Mohan, Little India
Editorial Category 4: Best Article on labor issues
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First place: "Which Side Are We On? Jews Lead Fight For and Against Key Labor Bill", by Nathaniel Popper, The Forward
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Second place: "Day Laborers Go From Off-the-Books to Homeless" , by Andrew Silverstein, City Limits
- Third place: " Bronx Bakery Battle ", by Sarah Secunda, The Indypendent
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Honorable Mention: " Historic Union Torn Apart in Messy Divorce ", by Nathaniel Popper, The Forward
Editorial Category 5: Best Article on immigrant issues, racial or social justice
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First place: "University of Kitchen: My Dad's Decision Will Determine the Future of My Education", by Orubba Almansouri, New Youth Connections
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Second place: " Dharamsala: Permanence of Exile ", by Saransh Sehgal, Little India
- Third place: "Obama Starts a New Era for the Comedy Industry", by Rong Xiaoqing, Sing Tao Daily
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Best Multimedia: Third place: "Domestic Violence in Ethnic Communities", Independent Sources/CUNY-TV
Editorial Category 6: Best coverage on education issues
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First place: "Urban Girls Jump Into the Title IX Gap", by Carla Murphy, Women's eNews
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Second place: " DOE's International Schools: A Place For Recent Immigrant Students ", by Mohsin Zaheer, Sada-e-Pakistan
- Third place: " A Quarter of Bronx Schools Are Without Gyms", by James Fergusson, Mount Hope Monitor
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Honorable Mention: "Too Many Schools: Moving Every Year Makes It Hard to Graduate ", by Akeema Lottman, Represent
GRAPHIC CATEGORIES
Graphic Category 1: Best Overall Design
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First place: The Forward , by Kurt Hoffman and Richard Harrington
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Second place: The Indypendent, by Ryan Dunsmuir and Anna Gold
- Third place: La Voz, by Pilar Roca Requena
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First place: "Refugees: The aftermath of the Lebanon War", by Rania Matar, Nueva Luz
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Second place: "Latinos and Mexican Americans – On the verge of majority in Houston", Chuy Benitez, Nueva Luz
- Third place: "Operation Appalachian Spring", Antrim Caskey, The Indypendent
Graphic Category 3: Best Photograph
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First place: "Murdered Toddler Remembered", James Fergusson, Mount Hope Monitor
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Second place: "Protecting Her Family", Karen Yi, The Indypendent
- Third place: "Angry Exchange ", by Ariel Jankelowitz, The Forward
The winning articles of this year's Ippies will be available on NYCMA's website www.indypressny.org shortly.
HOW THE MEDIA COVERED THE IPPIES 2009
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