KCETLink Honored with 2013 Casey Medal for "Courting Disaster"
SoCal
Connected investigation into the cramped courtrooms of Los Angeles Dependency
Court wins first place in short-form video category.
KCETLink's
exclusive investigation on the economic crisis inside Los Angeles Superior
Court entitled "Courting Disaster" which revealed a courtroom where lives stand
still, clogged in the largest judicial system in the nation, was honored with a
first place 2013 Casey Medal for
Meritorious Journalism by the Journalism Center on Children andFamilies (JCCF) at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of
Maryland. Winning in the "Short Form Video" category, the "Courting Disaster" segment aired during
season five of SoCal Connected,
KCETLink's news and public affairs program.
Produced by Karen
Foshay, with correspondent Jennifer London, and editor Michael Bloecher, the "Courting
Disaster" segment took viewers inside courtrooms throughout L.A., including
unprecedented access to children's dependency court. The investigation found
that whether it's fighting for custody, filing for divorce or arguing a traffic
ticket, everyone is courting disaster.
With the Casey Medals, JCCF judges
sought journalism that packed a punch, stirred the conscience and made an
impact; meticulously reported, powerfully delivered stories that shined a
spotlight on issues, institutions and communities that rarely receive media
attention.
The Casey Medals are a project of the
Journalism Center on Children and Families at the Philip Merrill College of
Journalism, University of Maryland. JCCF and the Medals program are funded by
the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Twelve winners will receive $1,000 at an awards
ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 26. Two honorees will receive additional
prizes of $5,000 from the America's Promise Alliance, a coalition of more than
350 national organizations dedicated to improving the lives of children and
youth.
An excerpt from JCCF's
announcement is below:
VIDEO: Short form
courtrooms of Los Angeles Dependency Court, life-changing decisions can be made
in a matter of minutes, sometimes by judges who have no experience with
juvenile court or knowledge of the cases. California's fiscal crisis has led to
deep budget cuts that are devastating and paralyzing the courts, resulting in
soaring caseloads for attorneys and social workers, and greater vulnerability
for desperate families. The judges praised the reporter for successfully
gaining camera access to the courtroom and called this investigation an
alarming piece of local news reporting that shines a vital light on the impact
of California's budgetary crisis on families. This story got the attention of
court officials, legislators and advocates throughout the state.
Season five
of SoCal Connected was made
possible through the generous support of The Ahmanson Foundation, serving the
Los Angeles community since 1952; Jim and Anne Rothenberg; The Maddocks-Brown
Foundation; The John Randolph Haynes & Dora Haynes Foundation; The City of
Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and UCLA.
ABOUT KCETLink
KCETLink,
formed by the merger between KCET and Link Media, is a national independent, nonprofit, digital and
broadcast network that provides high-quality, culturally diverse programming
designed to engage the public in innovative, entertaining and transformative
ways. With a commitment to independent perspectives, smart global
entertainment, local communities, and opportunities for engagement and social
action, KCETLink depicts people and the world through a lens unavailable
elsewhere in U.S. media. A viewer-supported 501(c)(3)
organization, KCETLink content is distributed via
satellite on DirecTV 375 and DISH Network 9410, in Southern and Central California
via broadcast, as well as through various digital delivery systems. KCET
and Link TV are services of KCETLink. For additional information about
KCET and Link TV productions, web-exclusive content, programming schedules and
community events, please visit kcet.org or linktv.org.
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