2009 National Ethnic Media Awards Winners

Race and Interethnic Relations

Winner

"Neighborhood Watch"
Julie Ha, KoreAm Journal

Runner Up

"The Changing Face of Faith"
Gabriela Gonzalez, La Prensa

Honorable Mention

"Eating Dirt in Ireland and Haiti"
Brian Concannon Jr., Boston Irish Reporter/Boston Haitian Reporter

Race and Interethnic Relations

Winner: Julie Ha, "Neighborhood Watch," KoreAm Journal (Los Angeles, California)

Julie Ha always wanted to tell stories of communities that have been historically underrepresented in the media.

In 2003 she left the mainstream media for KoreAm Magazine, driven by the need for ethnic communities to "tell our stories on our own terms."

"Neighborhood Watch" is Ha's account of large numbers of Koreans moving into the Los Angeles neighborhood known as Little Tokyo, one of the last Japantowns left in California. She describes the Japanese reaction and the community organizers who stepped in to quell the tensions. It is a delicate subject — Japan once colonized Korea.

Ha's article shows that a reporter's deep understanding of cultural nuances is crucial to telling the story as fully as possible. "Anyone can come into Little Tokyo, but you have to take your shoes off before you come in," one of her interviewees, a third-generation Japanese American, told her.

In contrast, some mainstream papers just fueled the fire. "One headline read, "From Sushi to Kimchi."

Ha says her special affinity to ethnic media probably has "something to do with scars from all the sensational and unfair coverage of Korean Americans during the 1992 Los Angeles riots and even the period before then, when the term 'black-Korean conflict' emerged in mainstream headlines." She says she appreciates "the time and space offered by an ethnic magazine like KoreAm to tell [her] story with some context, minus the sensationalism."

Her passion for telling community stories started young. Right out of high school, Ha took an internship at the English-language Korea Times Weekly. The editor, K.W. Lee, was a veteran investigative reporter whose series of stories in the 1980s led to the exoneration of a Korean immigrant wrongly convicted of murder.

"His passion for the truth and telling the stories of the voiceless lit a fire inside me," says Ha.

Runner-up: Gabriela Gonzalez, "The Changing Face of Faith," La Prensa (Riverside, Calif.)

Honorable Mention: Brian Concannon, Jr., "Eating Dirt in Ireland and Haiti," Boston Irish Reporter/Boston Haitian Reporter (Dorchester, Mass.)


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Testimonials

About NAM's First National Ethic Media Awards
Washington, D.C., 2006

Hillary Rodham Clinton

I want to congratulate the honorees who are receiving the equivalent of the “Pulitzer Prize.” Every generation brings so many voices to the debate. Ethnic media represent the way the new Washington needs to connect to the new America.

Len Downie, Executive Editor, Washington Post

I was very pleased that I could be at the awards ceremony. New America Media is a very significant journalistic organization and you are doing important work.

Michael Jack, VP of Diversity, NBC Network

Congratulations for pulling off such a successful event. It is not easy to do anything for the first time, but you managed to do just that. The well deserving recipients truly appreciated the acknowledgement.

Brant Houston, Executive Director, Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc.

Thanks for including us in this great project.

Lorena Hernandez, Bay Area Director of Communications, Comcast

Congratulations on the successful National Ethnic Media Events in DC!

Juliet K. Choi, National Partnership Development Senior Associate, American Red Cross

Congratulations on a beautiful inaugural Ethnic Media Awards – and kudos for getting Senator Clinton to show!

Julie H. Sun, Corporate Relations and Housing Outreach Manager, Freddie Mac

We were very happy to be engaged.

Pat Lawson Muse, Anchor, NBC4

Congratulations for pulling off such a successful event. Many of the stories that generated awards were so moving. The well de- serving recipients truly appreciated the acknowledgement.

Anna Lefer, U.S. Programs Program Officer, Open Society Institute

Congratulations on a hugely successful awards ceremony. After scanning the crowd of journalists and executives from ethnic and mainstream media, elected officials, international dignitaries and diplomats, and DC insiders, it is quite clear that NAM is a part of the political fabric down in DC.

Pam Larson, Executive Vice President, National Academy of Social Insurance

Being part of NAM’s gathering and associated events was a true honor and thrill for us! . . . You’ve got a real eye for the future -- and for making a better “present” for many people, too!

Ellen Hume, Senior Research Fellow, UMASS Boston

Congratulations to everyone. Our delegation just met here at UMASS Boston to recount how inspiring the NAM awards and work- shops were. Everyone is glowing.

Jon Funabiki, former deputy director of the Media, Arts and Culture with Ford Foundation

New America Media truly has changed the nation by bringing the power of ethnic news media into focus and making people take notice. NAM has changed the course of history.