KCET Original Productions and Content Nominated for 54 Southern California Journalism Awards

KCET received a total of 54 nominations for the 62nd annual Southern California Journalism Awards presented by the Los Angeles Press Club. The tally ranked KCET as earning more nominations than any other local broadcast organization. The organization’s nominations include 23 nods for the 10th season of the acclaimed news documentary series "SoCal Connected" in categories that include “Talk/Public Affairs Program” (with two nominations), “Activism Journalism in a Broadcast Program” and “Crime Reporting.” Presenting a mix of investigative reporting and richly textured narratives, the program has developed from what was originally a newsmagazine format into a “docu-series” that has built a reputation for its change-making journalism.

Three original KCET series received five nominations apiece, including KCET’s new series "Broken Bread," co-produced by Tastemade and hosted by James Beard Award winning Chef Roy Choi (nominated in the Anchor/Host category), which explores complex social justice issues through organizations and individuals who use food as a platform for activism. Also nominated for five awards was KCET’s historical series "Lost LA," a co-production with the University of Southern California Libraries where host Nathan Masters (also nominated in the Anchor/Host category) explores the region’s hidden past through documents, photos and other rare artifacts from California libraries and archives. The third series to be honored with five nominations was environmental series "Earth Focus" produced in partnership with the Thomson Reuters Foundation featuring investigative reports and in-depth stories about the changing environment and how it affects people around the world.

Additional recognition went to KCET’s multi-media arts and culture series "Artbound,"  the Southern California aerospace miniseries "Blue Sky Metropolis" from filmmaker Peter Jones and the original documentary "Nightshift" co-produced by Artifact Nonfiction, with each garnering four nominations.

The 2020 Southern California Journalism Awards will be presented on Saturday, August 29 via a virtual ceremony.

The full list of the 62nd Annual Southern California Journalism Awards nominations for KCET are listed as follows.

ANCHOR / HOST

• Roy Choi, Broken Bread
• Nathan Masters, Lost LA

TALK / PUBLIC AFFAIRS: Single program on news, talk or public affairs

• Karen Foshay, Vince Beiser and Andy Viner, SoCal Connected – "It's Not Easy Being Green"
• Karen Foshay, Michael Bloecher, Dennis Nishi and Tori Edgar, SoCal Connected – "The New Normal"

FEATURE DOCUMENTARY – Over 25 Minutes 

• Artifact Nonfiction and Juan Devis, Justin Cram, Nightshift
• Peter Jones, Brian Tessier, Juan Devis, Michael Riley and Matthew Crotty, Blue Sky Metropolis
• Raphael Sbarge, Thomas Cassetta, Rick Pratt, Matthew Crotty and Angela Boisvert, LA Foodways

ACTIVISM JOURNALISM – Broadcast 

• Matt Bass, Juan Devis, Matthew Crotty, Nathan Masters and Angela Boisvert, Lost LA – "Operation Bootstrap" and "The Shindana Toy Company"
• Karen Foshay, Vince Beiser, Andy Viner and Dennis Nishi, SoCal Connected – "Who Killed Josiah?"
• KCET, Tastemade and Roy Choi, Broken Bread – "Watts"

PUBLIC SERVICE NEWS OR FEATURE 

• Ben Bergman, Michael Bloecher and Tori Edgar, SoCal Connected – "Access Denied"
• Karen Foshay, Vince Beiser and Andy Viner, SoCal Connected – "It's Not Easy Being Green"

CONSUMER NEWS OR FEATURE 

• KCET, Tastemade and Roy Choi, Broken Bread – "Access"

SOLUTIONS JOURNALISM – Broadcast

• KCET, Tastemade and Roy Choi, Broken Bread – "Waste"
• KCET, Thomson Reuters Foundation and Artifact Nonfiction, Earth Focus – “Dairy Alternatives”

GENDER / LGBTQ REPORTING

• Peter Jones, Brian Tessier, Juan Devis, Michael Riley and Matthew Crotty, Blue Sky Metropolis – "Women in Aerospace"

CRIME REPORTING

• Ben Bergman, Karen Foshay, Andy Viner and Denise Chan, SoCal Connected – "Cannabis Country"
• Karen Foshay, Vince Beiser, Andy Viner and Dennis Nishi, SoCal Connected – "Who Killed Josiah?"

INVESTIGATIVE: Reports showing enterprise, initiative, research. Single report or a series

• Ben Bergman, Michael Bloecher and Tori Edgar, SoCal Connected – "Access Denied"

NEWS FEATURE – Over 5 Minutes

• Karen Foshay, Michael Bloecher, Dennis Nishi and Tori Edgar, SoCal Connected – "The New Normal"
• Gina Pollack, Andy Viner, Denise Chan and Tori Edgar, SoCal Connected – "Life in Plastic"

NEWS FEATURE – Under 5 Minutes 

• Denise Chan, SoCal Connected – "The Power & Influence Behind the World of Recycling"
• Tori Edgar and Michael Ray, SoCal Connected – "Behind the LA Teacher's Strike"

MINORITY / IMMIGRATION REPORTING, TV

• Matt Bass, Juan Devis, Matthew Crotty, Nathan Masters and Angela Boisvert, Lost LA – "Operation Bootstrap" and "The Shindana Toy Company"
• Karen Foshay, Vince Beiser, Andy Viner and Dennis Nishi, SoCal Connected – "Who Killed Josiah?"

NON-ENTERTAINMENT PERSONALITY PROFILE / INTERVIEW 

• Matt Bass, Juan Devis, Matthew Crotty, Nathan Masters and Angela Boisvert, Lost LA – "Paul Revere Williams"

SPORTS

• Karen Foshay, Michael Ray and Helki Frantzen, SoCal Connected – "Born to Run"

DOCUMENTARY SHORT – Under 25 Minutes 

• Matt Bass, Juan Davis, Matthew Crotty, Nathan Masters and Angela Boisvert, Lost LA – "Three Views of Manzanar"
• Karen Foshay, Vince Beiser, Andy Viner and Dennis Nishi, SoCal Connected – "Who Killed Josiah?"
• Anna Rau, Corbett Jones, Juan Devis, Matthew Crotty and Laura Purdy, Tending Nature – "Rethinking the Coast with the Ti’at Society"

HUMAN INTEREST FEATURE – Over 5 Minutes 

• Artifact Nonfiction and Justin Cram, Nightshift
• Karen Foshay, Vince Beiser, Andy Viner and Dennis Nishi, SoCal Connected – "Who Killed Josiah?"
• Karen Foshay, Michael Ray and Helki Frantzen, SoCal Connected – "Born to Run"
• Gina Pollack, Tori Edgar and Michael Bloecher, SoCal Connected – "Under Pressure"

HUMAN INTEREST FEATURE – Under 5 Minutes

• Michael Ray and Tori Edgar, "Local Heroes: Pastor Stephen Cue Jn-Marie"

LIFESTYLE FEATURE 

• Artifact Nonfiction and Justin Cram, Nightshift
• Dignicraft, Juan Devis, Matthew Crotty and Jacqueline Reyno, Artbound – "Día de Los Muertos"
• KCET, Tastemade and Roy Choi, Broken Bread – "Future of Food"

ENTERTAINMENT NEWS OR FEATURE

• Eric Fernandez, Michael Bloecher and Michael Ray, SoCal Connected – "Jazz City"
• Dr. Daniel E. Walker, Juan Devis, Matthew Crotty, Jacqueline Reyno and Wrong Creative, Artbound – "How Sweet The Sound - Gospel In Los Angeles"

ENTERTAINMENT PERSONALITY PROFILE / INTERVIEW

• Alex Stapleton, Heron Bourke, Juan Devis, Matthew Crotty and Jacqueline Reyno, Artbound – "Jeffrey Deitch's Los Angeles"

SCIENCE REPORTING 

• Judith Lewis Mernit, Earth Focus – “Thick and Viscous: California Oil Production Among the Dirtiest in the Country”

TECHNOLOGY REPORTING

• Peter Jones, Brian Tessier, Juan Devis, Michael Riley and Matthew Crotty, Blue Sky Metropolis – "Space Technology Innovation"

LOCAL POLITICAL / GOVERNMENT REPORTING 

• Karen Foshay, Vince Beiser and Andy Viner, SoCal Connected – "It's Not Easy Being Green"

ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING, Broadcasting

• Ben Bergman, Michael Bloecher and Tori Edgar, SoCal Connected – "Access Denied"

PHOTOJOURNALIST / VIDEOGRAPHER

• Osceola Refetoff, KCET

VIDEOGRAPHER

• Dennis Nishi, SoCal Connected – "The New Normal"
• Vincent Venturella, Earth Focus – "Dying Oceans"

FEATURE PHOTO

• Osceola Refetoff, Earth Focus – "Jim, Windle and Maddie standing behind Elks Lodge – Trona, California"

PHOTO ESSAY (Single Topic) – Culture / Entertainment

• Kwasi Boyd-Bouldin, Nightshift – "In the Dark: Los Angeles at Night"

PHOTO ESSAY (Single Topic) – News / News Feature

• Osceola Refetoff, Earth Focus – "Trona's Boom, Bust and Uncertain Future"

ILLUSTRATION 

• Henry Cram, Blue Sky Metropolis – "An Illustrated History of Aviation in Southern California"

OBITUARY / IN APPRECIATION – Politics / Business / Arts Personalities 

• Carribean Fragoza, Artbound – "I Am a Mexicano: The Legacy of Chicano Journalist and Activist Raul Ruiz"

BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA TO ENHANCE and/or COVER A STORY

• Denise Chan, SoCal Connected – "Five Tips For Buying Legal Cannabis"