KQED News Team Recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists With Several Excellence in Journalism Awards

The Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California Chapter has recognized several KQED reporters and producers with 2016 Excellence in Journalism Awards. These awards honor outstanding reporting that embodies the Society of Professional Journalist’s ideals of initiative, integrity, talent and compassion. Among the award highlights bestowed onto KQED staff, technical producer Ceil Muller received the Unsung Hero Award; the SF Homeless Project, an ongoing collaboration between over 70 media organizations and spearheaded by the KQED and San Francisco Chronicle news teams, received a Public Service Award distinction; and news editor Alex Emslie was recognized as Outstanding Emerging Journalist. KQED also received honors in the Breaking News; Arts and Culture; and Science, Environment and Health Reporting categories.

“We couldn’t be more excited to have so many of our journalists, reporters and projects recognized for their outstanding work,” says KQED Executive Editor for News Holly Kernan. “Whether it’s the expansive SF Homeless Project, or the amazing Ceil Muller, whose creativity touches nearly everything we do, or Alex Emslie being recognized for his expertise on the criminal justice beat or Steven Cuevas and Victorian Mauleons’ coverage of the Latino punk scene in Los Angeles, KQED aspires not only to inform and enlighten, but to make an impact on our communities and inspire them.”

Awards

UNSUNG HERO: Ceil Muller Technical producer Ceil Muller is regarded within the KQED newsroom as a skilled producer who can be relied upon to infuse audio reporting with a creative flair and a clean edge. She considers herself to be a public radio “lifer,” and has worked for National Public Radio, the National Council for the Traditional Arts and others in addition to KQED.

PUBIC SERVICE: SF Homeless Project The SF Homeless Project is a collaboration of more than 70 news organizations working together to bring attention to the persistent challenges of homelessness in the San Francisco Bay Area. Organized by the San Francisco Chronicle and KQED, participating media organizations collaborated to publish and broadcast, during one week in June, more than 300 stories about various aspects of homelessness and efforts to address them. The SF Homeless Project is a sign of a new era in journalism in which news outlets join their forces to fight for a better society.

ARTS & CULTURE (radio/audio): Steven Cuevas and Victoria Mauleon for “Los Punks,” which moves along with fantastic energy to capture a fresh underground music scene in Los Angeles. BREAKING NEWS (print/online): Alex Emslie, Dan Brekke, Adam Grossberg and David Weir for their up-to-the-minute coverage of a local story of national significance: the killing of Mario Woods by San Francisco police officers.

BREAKING NEWS (radio/audio): April Dembosky, Sukey Lewis and Alex Emslie for going in-depth beyond quick headlines and soundbites to cover the devastating Lake County Fire and keenly exploring the tough recovery ahead.

OUTSTANDING EMERGING JOURNALIST: Alex Emslie demonstrates a mastery of the police beat and goes beyond the usual coverage to investigate with tenacity and produce significant articles about homicides and officer-involved shootings. His cross-functional approach to storytelling is impressive, including radio stories and television appearances.

SCIENCE, ENVIRONMENT and HEALTH REPORTING (radio/audio): April Dembosky and Ingrid Becker for State of Mind, a seven-part series examining the chronic shortage of affordable mental health care in California. This gripping series revealed the roots of a systemic failure of the medical establishment.

SCIENCE, ENVIRONMENT and HEALTH REPORTING (TV/video): Gabriela Quirós, Mia Zuckerkandel, Lincoln Else and Linda Peckham for “Giant Sequoias Struggle With Drought,” which shows, with brilliantly illustrated in-depth storytelling and animation, the effects of global warming and drought on California’s iconic giant sequoias.

For a full list of 2016 Excellence in Journalism winners, read the Society for Professional Journalists’ press release here.

ABOUT KQED KQED serves the people of Northern California with a public-supported alternative to commercial media. An NPR and PBS affiliate based in San Francisco, KQED is home to one of the most listened-to public radio stations in the nation, one of the highest-rated public television services and an award-winning education program helping students and educators thrive in 21st-century classrooms. A trusted news source and leader and innovator in interactive technology, KQED takes people of all ages on journeys of exploration — exposing them to new people, places and ideas.