Written Journalism Awards 2021
(Works Produced in 2020)
Excellence in Written Reporting, News: Cecilia Lei
Excellence in Written Reporting, Features: Ann Babe
Excellence in Written Reporting, News - Works Produced in 2020
ABOUT THE PROJECT: In 2020, news coverage spotlighted the plight of small businesses throughout the country. In the Bay Area, Asian cultural hubs depend on small businesses to provide both a sense of cultural belonging and a foundation for communities to thrive. Cecilia’s reporting as an on-call reporter for KQED spotlighted how the closure of small businesses could equal the extinction of historical cultural neighborhoods, like Chinatown and Japantown in San Francisco. The reporting in these three stories built upon one another.
The first story focused on how Chinatown restaurants -- particularly the remaining banquet restaurants in San Francisco -- were pivoting to support low income families in order to survive. While that story displayed the Chinatown community's resilience, my second story was a larger look at the role of Asian cultural hubs in the city and what kind of ripple effect it could have on the larger Bay Area if they went away. It was a unique look that combined spotlights on Chinatown, Japantown and SOMA Pilipinas, which displayed the unique characteristics of each neighborhood. That story garnered a lot of community reaction -- in particular around the danger of the expiring city's eviction moratorium, which threatened the remaining retail businesses in Japantown. Lei broke the news of the battle between Japantown businesses who were fighting against a corporate landlord. Many other outlets, including Eater, picked up the story to launch their own reporting. The story also rallied social media campaigns, from grassroots organizers to Japantown community members, to protest the commercial landlord to provide rent relief. More importantly, it helped motivate the San Francisco's board of supervisors to extend the eviction moratorium. Community organizers from both Chinatown and Japantown said that the story was influential in getting the hundreds of phone calls, public comments and emails to motivate city officials. The third story in the series about the eviction moratorium decision and Japantown was a follow up to this well-received story.
RUNNER UP: Sonia Paul, “How Hindu Nationalism Could Shape the Election,” Politico Magazine
Cecilia Lei
(Host/producer, San Francisco Chronicle's Fifth and Mission podcast; AAJA-SF Bay Area president)
CECILIA LEI is the host and producer of the San Francisco Chronicle's daily news podcast, Fifth and Mission. Her reporting has focused on the Bay Area AAPI community, and she's covered issues of race, immigration and criminal justice. Her audio and written work has been published on Vox Media, NPR, the San Francisco Chronicle, KQED and the East Bay Express. Cecilia has served as president of the AAJA-SF Bay Area chapter since 2021, and she's an alum of AAJA Voices.
Watch her acceptance video below:
Cecilia Lei accepts the 2020 Excellence in Written Reporting - News award.
Excellence in Written Reporting, Features - Works Produced in 2020
Ann Babe, “Tune In, Drop Out,” Rest of World
ABOUT THE PROJECT: "Tune In, Drop Out" goes deep into South Korea's honjok, or "alone tribe," subculture — and the economy that's springing up around it. Published six months into the Covid-19 pandemic, the article came at a notable time, illuminating a way of life that many young South Koreans, pushed to the edge by social and professional pressures, were already choosing, but would eventually become familiar to us all. As one of Rest of World's top performing (most widely read and linked to) articles of 2020, this work cultivated much awareness of an often marginalized population. It also appeared on Longreads' Top 5 Longreads of the Week, Longform, the POLITICO Playbook, Study Hall's Longread of the Week, and several podcasts. The result has been increased interest, understanding, and, ultimately, empathy for those who resist and retreat from conventional society.
RUNNER UP: Tracy Jan, "What Reparations Mean to One American Family,” The Washington Post
Ann Babe
(Freelance Journalist)
ANN BABE is a long-form journalist who writes about the lives of women, and the systemic inequities that shape them. Her work has been supported by the International Women's Media Foundation, the International Reporting Project, and the Pulitzer Center, where she is also part of its 2022 inaugural cohort of AI Accountability Fellows. She is based between South Korea and the U.S.
