Student Excellence in Audio Storytelling

Kathy Ou, “Chinese seniors find community with ping pong at a NYC park,” AsAmNews

ABOUT THE WORK: While ping pong tables are part of the urban landscape in New York City, the role they play in the immigrant community had never been documented. The particular table that this story unfolds around is a fairly new addition, known only to some neighbors and those who frequently play nearby. While some interviewees had expressed concern that a story would bring unwanted attention to this community space, the story proved popular with local community members, who shared the link and appreciated being represented in the media.

On the AsAmNews website, the English version of the story was viewed over 400 times and the Chinese version over 200 times. On Twitter, the post has a total of over 800 views and seven reposts, comments or likes.

Kathy Ou is a bilingual multimedia freelance reporter and film critic writing in English and Chinese. Her work is driven by an interest in localized community-building, grassroots organizing and arts with a focus on documentaries. Her film writings have appeared in The Amp, Offscreen, Frame Rated and Aotu Doc凹凸镜. She was a 2023 VOICES Fellow and collaborated on a multimedia feature on the distinct struggles and collective identity of three Chinatowns in the U.S. She graduated from Occidental College in 2022 where she worked at the student newspaper The Occidental for four years, and is a current master's candidate of Cultural Reporting & Criticism at New York University Journalism Institute.

Judges’ comments: “Ou's piece introduces us to an eclectic group of people who gather in a public park in lower Manhattan to play ping pong. The variety of voices and sounds, coupled with Ou's excellent narration, makes listeners feel deeply immersed in the scene.”

Honorable Mention: Sajina Shrestha, “Momos As a Form of Resistance,” AudioFiles

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