.Dear BBN Members, Visitors and Supporters: We are proud to announce BBN is the recipient of the 2009 Ippy Award honoring excellence in ethnic and community journalism in the category of Best Editorial for the commentary 'Take Note: News Corp Quietly Owns NYC Neighborhood Newspapers.'
The Ippies Awards is the only journalism awards in New York City to honor reporting in English and in languages other than English by the ethnic and community press. The Ippies are considered a benchmark of journalistic excellence and are a coveted prize for the publishers, editors and reporters in New York City's ethnic and community press.
The Ippies Awards ceremony was held on Thursday, December 3rd in New York City where members of New York City’s ethnic and community press gathered to celebrate the stories that aren’t covered in mainstream press.
photo r: Just good people from CUNY-TV It is estimated that more than 140 languages are spoken in New York City by people from countries throughout the world. Ethnic and community press is critical to the flow of information to these diverse communities.
We thank the New York Community Media Alliance for the award program and the work they do to advocate on behalf of ethnic and community press. And BBN congratulates our peers and colleagues for their victory!
The Judges
Thirty three awards were presented in ten different categories. This year's judges for the editorial category were June Foley, the Writing Program Director at New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study; David E. Moore, veteran journalist and former editor and publisher of Connecticut and Westchester Business Journals and International Business magazine; and Rafael Pi Roman, Thirteen/WNET's prime-time host and the Executive Producer and co-host of “Inside Trenton,” one of Thirteen's news and public affairs programs.
(photo L: Sharon, BBN's proud managing editor)
The three graphic judges for the 2009 Ippies were India Amos, art director at Nextbook and managing editor of Seven Stories Press and PEN America; Jane Seymour, Photo Editor at Shape Magazine and creative director for the social shopping site StyleSalt.com; and Stewart Cauley, who designs print and electronic books for a wide range of independent publishers. And, Laura Flanders, host of RadioNation, the nationally-syndicated weekly radio program of the Nation Magazine, was the Master of Ceremony.
(photo r: we love this photo with the guy in the back raising his fist)
Following is the list of 2009 Ippy winners:
Editorial Category 1: Best Investigative or in-depth story
1. First place: “Silenced in the Classroom”, by Seth Wessler, ColorLines
2. Second place: “Home Front: NYC's Public Housing Struggles to Survive”, by Jarrett Murphy, City Limits
3. Third place: “One Man Goes to Prison, and Many Suffer” (Part 2 of a 3-part special report on the effects of the Rockefeller Drug Laws), by Evelyn Hernández, El Diario La Prensa
4. Honorable Mention: “Armory Could Bring More Than a Shopping Mall”, by Alex Kratz, Norwood News
Editorial Category 2: Best Feature
1. First place: “The Anti-Bloomberg: Inside Reverend Billy's Quixotic Mayoral Campaign”, by Jacob Scheier and John Tarleton, The Indypendent
2. Second place: “The True Story of Ah One: Inside the Life of a Chinatown Gang Lord”, by Iwen Chu, World Journal
3.Third Place: “A Fragile Union: Why Racial Justice Matters in the Fight For Gay Marriage”, by Kai Wright, ColorLines
4. Multimedia: “Writing in My Father's Footsteps”, by Jonathan Kesselman, The Forward
Editorial Category 3: Best Editorial / Commentary
1. First place:Take Note: News Corp Quietly Owns NYC Neighborhood Newspapers here, by Sharon D. Toomer, BlackandBrownNews.com
2. Second place: “Chinese Contender Opens Curtain on 20th District Race”, by Wang Di, Sing Tao Daily
3. Third place: “The Indian Thing To Do”, by Seema Khaneja, Little India
4. Honorable Mention: “Inner-City Yoga”, by Mona Mohan, Little India
Editorial Category 4: Best Article on labor issues
1. First place: “Which Side Are We On? Jews Lead Fight For and Against Key Labor Bill”, by Nathaniel Popper, The Forward
2. Second place: “Day Laborers Go From Off-the-Books to Homeless”, by Andrew Silverstein, City Limits
3. Third place: “Bronx Bakery Battle”, by Sarah Secunda, The Indypendent
4. Honorable Mention: “Historic Union Torn Apart in Messy Divorce”, by Nathaniel Popper, The Forward
Editorial Category 5: Best Article on immigrant issues, racial or social justice
1. First place: “University of Kitchen: My Dad's Decision Will Determine the Future of My Education”, by Orubba Almansouri, New Youth Connections
2. Second place: “Dharamsala: Permanence of Exile”, by Saransh Sehgal, Little India
3. Third place: “Obama Starts a New Era for the Comedy Industry”, by Rong Xiaoqing, Sing Tao Daily
4. Multimedia: Third place: “Domestic Violence in Ethnic Communities”, Independent Sources/CUNY-TV
Editorial Category 6: Best coverage on education issues
1. First place: “Urban Girls Jump Into the Title IX Gap”, by Carla Murphy, Women's eNews
2. Second place: “DOE's International Schools: A Place For Recent Immigrant Students”, by Mohsin Zaheer, Sada-e-Pakistan
3. Third place: “A Quarter of Bronx Schools Are Without Gyms”, by James Fergusson, Mount Hope Monitor
4. Honorable Mention: “Too Many Schools: Moving Every Year Makes It Hard to Graduate”, by Akeema Lottman, Represent
Graphic Category 1: Best Overall Design
1. First place: The Forward, by Kurt Hoffman and Richard Harrington
2. Second place: The Indypendent, by Ryan Dunsmuir and Anna Gold
3. Third place: La Voz, by Pilar Roca Requena
Graphic Category 2: Best Photo Essay
1. First place: “Refugees: The aftermath of the Lebanon War”, by Rania Matar, Nueva Luz
2. Second place: “Latinos and Mexican Americans – On the verge of majority in Houston”, Chuy Benitez, Nueva Luz
3. Third place: “Operation Appalachian Spring”, Antrim Caskey, The Indypendent
Graphic Category 3: Best Photograph
1. First place: “Murdered Toddler Remembered”, James Fergusson, Mount Hope Monitor
2. Second place: “Protecting Her Family”, Karen Yi, The Indypendent
3. Third place: “Angry Exchange”, by Ariel Jankelowitz, The Forward
BBN Thanks New York Community Media Alliance. Please visit their site for more information about the urgent and important work they do.
