Excellence in Arts & Culture / Entertainment Reporting
ABOUT THE PROJECT: The author writes: “We are the first media covering celebrity chef Peter Chang’s undocumented past. Peter Chang reposted it on his social media with comments, ‘I'm fortunate to be encountering a good time for the transformation of Chinese food in America; I am fortunate to have met many noble foodies; I am fortunate to have many media attention on the ‘low-end industry’ and ‘low-end people’ of the restaurant industry, so that people like me can also attract foodies. I am very honored to receive the attention. So much so that I can only be grateful, roll up my sleeves and do my best to move forward.’”
Alex Zhang is the founding director of 歪脑|WHYNOT, a Mandarin digital news magazine tailored for young generation of Mandarin speakers. Since its launch in 2020 with the vision of creating “in-depth, visual, and uncensored” content, 歪脑|WHYNOT has provided valuable alternative perspectives and opinions to its readers and audiences around the world. Previously, Alex led Radio Free Asia Mandarin Service’s video team and won numerous awards including Edward R. Murrow for Excellence in video.
Yijo Shen is a digital content producer at WHYNOT, Radio Free Asia. Her lens mainly explores humankind and underrepresented communities who mainly navigate the intersection of their heritage under the prevailing mainstream cultural milieu. Born and raised in Taiwan, she was deeply exposed to the transmission from the older era to innovations in every aspect.
Judges’ comments: “I love this series. It reminds me of stuff Anthony Bourdain used to do, except it's centered on Chinese food and Chinese-American culture. And in that sense it's just so unique, and I also feel so seen. Tremendously well-done in terms of reporting, storytelling, and how it's woven together. But most of all, this makes an impact too. These sorts of food/sociology documentaries aren't that common, and it's cool and very gratifying to see my culture and my culture's food history being represented in this way.”
Honorable Mention: Peiyue Wu, “How a Tibetan Village Became a Giant Factory for Buddhist Art,” Sixth Tone
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