PBS SoCal and KCET Nominated for 10 NAEJ Awards
PBS SoCal and KCET received 10 nominations for the National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Awards presented by the Los Angeles Press Club. The nominations were spread across eight different categories and honored locally produced series/productions from KCET and PBS SoCal. Winners will be announced in all categories presented during a ceremony on Sunday, Dec. 4.
KCET Original arts and culture series "Artbound" received the most recognition with five nominations, three of which highlighted the "Con Safos" episode regarding Rubén Funkahuatl Guevara.
See below to watch all the nominations.
Obituary/In Appreciation, Film and TV Personalities
- KCET & KPCC, KCET – "SoCal Update: Remembering 'The Wire' Actor Michael K. Williams"
In this episode, we remember Michael K. Williams, who struck viewers with his on-screen presence and honesty. KPCC's John Horn recalls a conversation with the acclaimed 'The Wire' actor. Watch Now.
Obituary/In Appreciation, Music and Other Arts Personalities
- KCET, KPCC, KCET – "SoCal Update: The Legacy of Ranchera Icon Vicente Fernández"
In this episode, Vicente Fernández had been hospitalized in his Guadalajara home for over a month, before he passed away in December 2021. KPCC's Adolfo Guzman-Lopez joined the program to explain the legacy of the ranchera icon. Watch Now.
Diversity in Music/Arts
- KCET – "Artbound: Con Safos"
A pioneer of Chicano rock 'n' roll, Rubén Funkahuatl Guevara recounts his life in music, performance art and activism — from his time as lead singer of the doo-wop band The Apollo Brothers, his collaborations with Frank Zappa and Cheech Marin, and his crossover into the Chicano performance art world of the 1960s and 1970s — all of which shaped Mexican American culture. Watch Now.
Pandemic Reporting, Entertainment Subject
- KCET & KPCC, KCET – "SoCal Update: Entertainment Venues Require Proofof Vaccination"
On this episode, as the public faced the highly contagious COVID-19 Delta variant, an increasing number of indoor entertainment venues were requiring proof of vaccination for entry. Watch Now.
Soft News Feature, Arts/Culture – Under 5 Minutes
What was once a piece of rock theatre called Ruben and the Jets became reality, and then developed into something more thanks to a collaboration between Rubén Funkahuatl Guevara and Frank Zappa. Listen to Guevara recount his work with the cultural iconoclast. Watch Now.
Documentary or Special Program – Short under 30 minutes
- KCET – "Lost LA: German Exiles"
During World War II, Los Angeles served as a sunny sanctuary for European artists and intellectuals fleeing Nazi persecution. In this episode, we explore the archive of a German Jewish author at USC’s Doheny Memorial Library, tour a Pacific Palisades house famed for its literary salons and visit the Paramount Pictures studio lot, where exiles set the stage creatively for the filmmaking industry. Watch Now.
Documentary or Special Program – Feature over 30 minutes
- KCET – "Artbound: Life Centered"
Renowned ceramist and educator Helen Jean Taylor has not only crafted timeless artworks inspired by colors found in home gardens, but also helped her students improve their mental health through the art of throwing clay. Watch Now.
- KCET – "Artbound: Imagined Wests"
Southern California's Autry Museum of the American West is working to recontextualize a large mural, dating from the Disney Imagineers-designed museum's opening in the 1980s. It depicts a widely accepted mythology of the West, which prioritizes white settler colonialism at the expense of other perspectives including those of Native Americans, Black settlers, Asian Americans and women. Watch Now.
- KCET – "Artbound: Con Safos"
A pioneer of Chicano rock 'n' roll, Rubén Funkahuatl Guevara recounts his life in music, performance art and activism — from his time as lead singer of the doo-wop band The Apollo Brothers, his collaborations with Frank Zappa and Cheech Marin, and his crossover into the Chicano performance art world of the 1960s and 1970s — all of which shaped Mexican American culture. Watch Now.
Personality Profile, Performing & Other Arts
- Carren Jao, KCET – "Oaxacan Farmworker Turned Artist Reveals Struggles in the Fields Through Portraits on Produce Boxes"
Narsiso Martinez's mixed media installations juxtapose portraits of farmworkers and agricultural landscapes against cardboard produce boxes. Drawing from his own experience as a farmworker, his work amplifies the people who fill produce sections and restaurant kitchens around the country. Read Story.
