KCET and PBS SoCal Win Nine Southern California Journalism Awards Including Six for Arts & Culture Series 'Artbound'
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JP Shields
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Burbank, Calif. – June 27, 2022 – PBS SoCal and KCET, Southern California’s flagship PBS stations, announced today nine First Place Wins at the 64th Annual Southern California Journalism Awards presented by the Los Angeles Press Club on Saturday, June 25, 2022. Six of the nine first-place awards went to the award-winning arts and culture series ARTBOUND for five episodes from the last season which premiered in fall of 2021. The stations' nine wins placed it second among all regional television stations. In addition to the nine wins, PBS SoCal and KCET also received nine second-place honors -- including Senior Director of Production Angela Boisvert's runner-up position as “Television Journalist of the Year” --- along with four third-place honors.
Awards were allocated to multiple winners from a variety of PBS SoCal and KCET on-air and online original programming content. This year, 35 nominations were spread across 27 different categories and honored three separate, locally produced series/productions from KCET and PBS SoCal. A complete list of winners can be found at lapressclub.org
The Original Emmy® award-winning arts and culture series ARTBOUND took top honors in six categories (including two wins by the production team of “Con Safos” for both categories Entertainment Personality/Profile or Interview and Entertainment News or Feature) during Saturday’s reveal of the nominations in all print, radio, podcast, TV and online categories. ARTBOUND captures the spirit of the burgeoning arts and culture community in California and explores how Art is shaping California as the creative capital of the world. This past season focused on demographically diverse issues expressed through art and innovators making an impact in California and beyond. All of the ARTBOUND honorees’ work can be seen on kcet.org/artbound as well as pbssocal.org/artbound and on the free PBS video App.
ARTBOUND is supported in part by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, Vision Maker, the Frieda Berlinski Foundation and other generous institutional funders. More information on ARTBOUND can be found below.
Two of the organization’s wins went to the special broadcast of TENDING NATURE, “Indigenous Land Stewardship,” an hour-long documentary produced in partnership with the Autry Museum of the American West that honored Indigenous knowledge in a broader context: as a way of life centering around resilience, revival and renewal. The special wrapped up three seasons of the series that shined a light on the importance of preserving environmental knowledge and ecological practices of Indigenous peoples across California. The series took top honors in the Religion/Spirituality Reporting and Videographer categories.
And finally, with a total of five nominations (including one for Host Rosey Alvero), SOCAL WANDERER took the top award in the category of “Lifestyle Feature” for the series with support from Wurwand Foundation’s FOUND/LA initiative that explores the rich culture, history and landscape of Southern California.
The organization’s nine wins (along with the Judges’ comments for why each show was recognized) are listed as follows:
EDUCATIONAL REPORTING
"ARTBOUND: Arts Education"
Angela Boisvert, Matt Bass, Juan Devis, Jacqueline Reyno and Kathy Kasaba
Judges’ comment: This was a great documentary about the power of arts education.
ENTERTAINMENT PERSONALITY PROFILE/INTERVIEW
"ARTBOUND: Con Safos"
Juan Devis, Ruben Guevara III, Dan Kwong, Nic Cha Kim, Mike Vargas and Moni Vargas
Judges’ comment: Fascinating story on Ruben Guevara. Well told, well edited. This category was filled with tremendous work, but this submission stood out due to its overall excellence in every aspect.
ENTERTAINMENT NEWS or FEATURE (under 5 minutes)
"ARTBOUND: The Story of Rubén Guevara and Frank Zappa"
Juan Devis, Ruben Guevara III, Dan Kwong, Nic Cha Kim, Mike Vargas and Moni Vargas
Judges’ comment: Terrific nostalgic piece that still feels relevant.
GENDER AND SOCIETY (includes LGBTQ reporting)
"ARTBOUND: Mustache Mondays"
Juan Devis, Nic Cha Kim, Julieta Messmer, Marianne Amelinckx and Angela Boisvert
Judges’ comment: This work opened the doors of opportunity for learning and emotional growth. The storytelling and raw video from the club helped aid in the audiences’ understanding and investment in the piece.
HUMAN INTEREST FEATURE (over 5 minutes)
"ARTBOUND: Life Centered: The Helen Jean Taylor Story"
Don Hahn, Juan Devis, Laura Hull, Georgie Kajer and Lori Korngiebel
Judges’ comment: A beautiful and in-depth portrait of an interesting woman that showcases the importance of arts education.
GRAPHIC
"ARTBOUND: The Curiously Magical Air of Los Angeles"
Vera Valentine
Judges’ comment: What could seemingly be more evanescent and formless than air? Yet, Vera Valentine's illustrations brightly and concretely establish themselves as necessary elements of this essay on the "magical air" of Los Angeles.
RELIGION/SPIRITUALITY REPORTING
"TENDING NATURE: Indigenous Land Stewardship"
Juan Devis, Matthew Crotty, Laura Purdy, Anna Rau and Corbett Jones
Judges’ comment: Great interviews tell a fascinating narrative. Breathtakingly beautiful shots, good editing, video and sound.
VIDEOGRAPHER (Any news, feature, sports or documentary videographer)
"TENDING NATURE: Indigenous Land Stewardship"
Corbett Jones
Judges’ comment: Put aside the gorgeous landscapes and beautiful detail shots, this piece captured rarely seen, intimate moments that felt emotional and alive.
LIFESTYLE FEATURE
"SOCAL WANDERER: Crème Caramel LA"
Juan Devis, Jaime Morgan Munoz, Rosey Alvero, Marley Lister and Robert McDonnell
Judges’ comment: Beautiful story of a little bakery that adapted in the pandemic and is thriving. The spirit of the owner jumped off the screen. Terrific work.
About PBS SoCal and KCET
PBS SoCal and KCET are both part of the donor-supported community institution, the Public Media Group of Southern California. PBS SoCal is the flagship PBS station for diverse people across California and delivers content and experiences that inspire, inform and educate. PBS SoCal offers the full slate of beloved PBS programs including MASTERPIECE, NOVA, PBS NewsHour, FRONTLINE, and a broad library of documentary films with works from Ken Burns; as well as educational content including PBS KIDS programs like DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD and CURIOUS GEORGE. KCET showcases the best of PBS and is a leading source for arts, culture, and news in Southern California. Through innovative storytelling, KCET explores and expresses our dynamic local communities helping residents understand and connect with the region's diverse communities and ideas. For additional information about both KCET and PBS SoCal productions, web-exclusive content, programming schedules and community events, please visit kcet.org and pbssocal.org KCET Originals and PBS programming are available to stream on the FREE PBS App on iOS and Android devices, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, and Chromecast. KCET is also available to watch live on YouTube TV.