Excellence in Written Reporting, News
ABOUT THE PROJECT: The author writes: “Our coverage of the Monterey Park mass shooting and its aftermath brought attention to some of the issues in the Asian American community that had been rarely discussed by the mainstream media -- Such as isolation and loneliness among Asian American elders, and the rise in gun ownership among Asian Americans. With an intimate understanding of the Asian American community, our reporters were able to include perspectives that had often went unheard, such as Chinese-speaking police officers working long hours to translate the survivors' testimony and Asian American gun shop owner.”
Jeong Park is now an assistant metro editor covering breaking news for The Seattle Times. Before, he covered the Asian American community for The Los Angeles Times, California labor and economy for The Sacramento Bee and inland Orange County cities for The Orange County Register. A 'parachute kid' who immigrated to Southern California from Seoul, South Korea, at the age of 11, Park graduated from UCLA.
Anh Do, community engagement editor at the Los Angeles Times, works across the newsroom to spotlight its journalists and journalism, bringing its diverse talent closer to the audiences it serves through live and virtual events. She's also on the recruiting team and represents the paper in communicating with the public who have questions about journalistic standards and practices. Before this job, she spent 11 years in the Metro section covering Asian American issues and general assignments. A second-generation journalist, she has reported for the Seattle Times, the Orange County Register and Nguoi Viet Daily News. Born in Saigon, Do is a graduate of USC with degrees in journalism and English. Her writing on culture and trauma has won awards from Columbia University and AAJA. She received Yale’s Poynter Fellowship in Journalism, and in 2016, was part of The Times team that won a Pulitzer Prize for breaking news coverage of the San Bernardino terrorist attacks.
Debbie Truong is a former higher education reporter for the Los Angeles Times. Previously, she covered PK-12 education for WAMU-FM, the NPR affiliate in Washington, D.C., and the Washington Post. She attended Syracuse University and received a master’s degree in journalism from American University. She grew up in the San Gabriel Valley.
Cindy Chang is a deputy Metro editor. She came to the Los Angeles Times in 2012, first covering immigration and ethnic communities before moving to the L.A. County sheriff’s beat and then the LAPD. Previously, she was at the New Orleans Times-Picayune, where she was the lead writer for a series on Louisiana prisons that won several national awards. A graduate of Yale University and NYU School of Law, she began her journalism career at the Pasadena Star-News.
Judges’ comments: "Inspired story-telling on a breaking news cycle. Highlights how one single event affects whole communities and the way they think and relate to larger society and each other. Especially noteworthy was the focus on mental health, repression and guns.”
Honorable Mention: Deborah Lee, “Persecution in the Name of the Lord,” Esquire and Economic Hardship Reporting Project
New or renewing members will be acknowledged at Gala and may not be reflected here.