Radio/Audio Journalism Awards
AAPI Excellence: Vietnamese immigrants care for parents with dementia, amidst stigma
Christine Nguyen | KALW
ABOUT THE PROJECT: Infused with personal experience and heartfelt storytelling, Christine Nguyen’s audio reporting explores dementia and its surrounding stigma, as well as the disproportional impact it has on Asian communities. Through the intimate relationship with a Vietnamese immigrant family, Nguyen breaks down the intricacies surrounding the condition from its causes to the responses currently in place.
JUDGES’ REMARKS: Nicely produced piece, with natural weaving of current and past events together. I imagine finding a Vietnamese family that was willing to open themselves up to interview for this piece and building that trust with them was not easy. It deftly avoids similar podcast pratfalls that turns the subject and viewer relationship into one that is patronizing, overly preachy, or overly dramatic. Overall, this was well done and holds its gravitas on multiple listens.
Christine Nguyen, MD is a clinical assistant professor at Stanford University Medical School and an online and audio journalist. She was a Gerontological Society of America Journalists in Aging Fellow. She is studying public health journalism at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health. She writes about people who navigate two worlds.
General Excellence: Building a Wall Out of Red Tape
Sinduja Rangarajan, Teresa Cotsirilos, Brett Myers, Dave Gilson, James West, Al Letson, Jim Briggs, Fernando Arruda, and Amy Mostafa
Reveal News & Mother Jones
ABOUT THIS PROJECT: In this powerful investigative radio documentary, a collaboration between Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting and Mother Jones magazine, Sinduja shares her own story of investigating Trump’s immigration policies while going through the same struggles in her personal life. With its mix of on-the-ground reporting, personal storytelling and original data collection and analysis, this series illuminates the plight of immigrants on H-1B temporary work visas whose lives have been upended under the Trump administration. The package was reported and produced by Sinduja Rangarajan, Teresa Cotsirilos and James West and edited by Brett Myers and Dave Gilson. Al Letson hosted the Reveal episode and original score and sound design was by Jim Briggs and Fernando Arruda with help from Amy Mostafa.
JUDGES’ REMARKS: Well-researched and well-produced, using a personal experience to broaden the overall problem of getting H-1B work visas renewed. Great piece with some hard numbers, enough of the second voice for chemistry/emotion/transitions, and solid tape from interviewees that helped bring this topic to life -- a lot of small things that came well together. This piece towed the line of investigative journalism that is meaningful and creates a connection point with its listeners. Awesome subject matter and tackled in a way that provides for a personal connection especially to Asian American audiences.
Sinduja Rangarajan is the senior data journalist at Mother Jones. She previously worked at Reveal at the Center for Investigative Reporting, where her co-reported series on the lack of diversity in Silicon Valley led to many tech giants publicly releasing their data. Her work has won several awards, including the National Edward Murrow Award in 2019. She wrangles and analyzes datasets to tell stories and finds innovative ways to report on issues by collaborating with academics.