At the 61st Annual Southern California Journalism Awards, USC Annenberg was well represented among the winners and nominees.
Hosted by the Los Angeles Press Club at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday, June 30, the ceremony recognized the year’s best work in Southern California media — print, broadcast and online.
A list of all those in the USC Annenberg family honored this year follows. For a complete list of winners, check out the Los Angeles Press Club website.
Current Annenberg Student Media and Students
Multimedia Package (All Media Platforms)
1st place: JOVRNALISM staff, JOVRNALISM, “Homeless Realities.”
Regularly Scheduled Newscast (TV/Film)
2nd place: Chris Cheshire, Courtney Burke, Nick Alfano and Cici Pan, USC Annenberg Media, “ATVN Newscast: Woolsey Fire.”
3rd place: Savannah Sinfield, Keith Demolder and Raina Singh, USC Annenberg Media, “See It Live: Borderline Shooting.”
Investigative (TV/Film)
3rd place: Cole Sullivan and Sam Bergum, USC Annenberg Media, “Warning Signs: Student threatened USC professor more than a year before killing him.”
Talk/Public Affairs (TV/Film)
2nd place: Ryan Thompson, Taylor Edghill and Ali Main, USC Annenberg Media, “The Current International: The War in Yemen.”
Lifestyle Feature (Radio)
3rd place: Jasmine Espy, Ampersand, USC Annenberg Media, “To the Buddha Bowl and Beyond.”
Entertainment Reporting (Radio)
2nd place: Devika Girish and Melissa Duenas, USC Annenberg Radio News, “Demystifying Bollywood.”
Use of Sound (Radio)
3rd place: Megan Manata, USC Annenberg Radio News, “Synthesizer sound bath turns up the volume for a vibrating meditation.”
Minority/Immigration Reporting (Online)
1st place: JOVRNALISM, “The Deported: Life Beyond the Border.”
Sports News or Feature (Online)
2nd place: JOVRNALISM Staff, JOVRNALISM, “Immersed in the Winter Games.”
Website, News Organization Exclusive to the Internet (Online)
1st place: JOVRNALISM, jovrnalism.io/.
Best Use of Social Media To Enhance and/or Cover a Story – by a Group (Best Use Of Social Media)
1st place: JOVRNALISM Staff, “Homeless Realities: Snapchat experiences.”
Best News Website (Student Media)
1st place: Devika Girish and Vivian Medithi, Ampersand, USC Annenberg Media, AMPERSAND.
Best News Writing – Print or Online of the moment (Student Media)
2nd place: Ruby Yuan, USC Annenberg Media, “Woman Sentenced to Life in Beating Death.”
Best Personality Profile – Any Platform (Student Media)
3rd place: Trevor Sochocki, USC Annenberg Media, “Los Angeles Artist.”
Best Tv Reporting (Student Media)
3rd place: Savannah Sinfield, Keith Demolder and Raina Singh, USC Annenberg Media, “See It Live: Borderline Shooting.”
Best Radio or Podcast (Student Media)
1st place: Marcela Valdivia, USC Annenberg Radio News, “Día de los Muertos celebration at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.”
2nd place: Jon Reed, Ampersand, USC Annenberg Media, “Between Music and Movies: How a Film Composer Works.”
3rd place: Megan Manata, USC Annenberg Radio News, “Animals displaced by fires find shelter in animal sanctuaries.”
USC Annenberg Faculty and Media Center Fellows
(Note: Where the winners were part of a group, the name of the USC Annenberg-affiliated winner is underlined.)
Public Service News or Feature (All Media Platforms)
1st place: Deepa Fernandes, Lata Pandya, Alberto Arce, Austin Stoecklein and Dennis Nishi, KCET, “Stolen Paychecks.”
Environmental Reporting (All Media Platforms)
2nd place: Stuart Sender, Grisha Alasadi, Guy Livneh, Tori Edgar and Michael Ray, KCET, “Heat.”
Minority/Immigration Reporting (Broadcast)
3rd place: Deepa Fernandes, Lata Pandya, Alberto Arce, Austin Stoecklein and Dennis Nishi, KCET, “Stolen Paychecks.”
Anchor/Host (Television/ Film)
3rd place: Leon Krauze, KMEX.
Investigative (TV/Film)
2nd place: Deepa Fernandes, Lata Pandya, Alberto Arce, Austin Stoecklein and Dennis Nishi, KCET, “Stolen Paychecks.”
Use of Sound (Radio)
1st place: Tena Rubio and Danny Bringer, KSJV Radio Bilingue, “Drumming in Corrections.”
Investigative (Online)
2nd place: Aaron Mendelson and Mary Plummer, LAist, “134 Cases, $36 Million: Inside Sexual Misconduct at America's Biggest County Government.”
Soft News Feature – General News (Online)
1st place: Eric Pape, Capital and Main, “Will the Cost of Living Push Millennials Into a Generation War With Baby Boomers?”
Gender/LGBTQ Reporting (Online)
3rd place: Lata Pandya, KCET, “Hundreds of Torture Survivors Adjust to New Life in SoCal with Organization’s Help.”
Website, News Organization Exclusive to the Internet (Online)
2nd place: Zuade Kaufman and Robert Scheer, Truthdig.
USC Annenberg Alumni
(Note: Where the winners were part of a group, the name of the USC Annenberg-affiliated winner is underlined.)
Medical/Health Reporting (All media platforms)
1st place: Harriet Ryan and Matt Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, “More than 20 women accused a prominent Pasadena obstetrician of mistreating them. He denied claims and was able to continue practicing.”
Investigative/Series (Daily/Weekly Newspapers)
1st place: Harriet Ryan, Matt Hamilton and Paul Pringle, Los Angeles Times, “A Scandal at USC.”
Entertainment News or Feature (Daily/ Weekly Newspapers Under 50,000 circulation)
3rd place: Christina Campodonico, The Argonaut, “A Place to Play: 50 Years of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Venice.”
USC Annenberg Staff
In-House Publication or Corporate Publication, Magazines
Finalist: Staff, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, USC Annenberg Magazine, “Fall 2018.”
Design, Magazines
2nd place: Staff, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, USC Annenberg Magazine, “Fall 2018.”