The 54th Annual Southern California Journalism Awards Gala Dinner was held at the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles June 24, 2012.
The event, attended by over 500 journalists including the famed Watergate-exposing duo of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, marked Denise Anne Duffield and this reporter’s return to the awards show since last competing in 2008 where we won 2007 Online Journalists of the Year along with several other honors.
We were accompanied by the Duffield family which had just attended the 2012 Toxie Awards for Bad Actor Chemicals at the Silent Movie Theatre in Hollywood where Denise Anne stunned the audience as Fracking Chemical Cocktail. ‘Frackie‘ wowed the crowd as she won Worst Performance in a Mystery for her use of 600+ chemicals used in fracking that the gas industry refuses to reveal citing “trade secrets.
We were delighted to be part of the Los Angeles Press Club awards activities again in the glittering Crystal Ballroom of the historic and gorgeous Biltmore Hotel. There we were greeted by the ever-radiant press club executive director Diana Ljungaeus, a multi-award-winning Swedish journalist and theatre producer, who is a longtime friend and colleague. Of course, no gala would be complete without a hoot and holler or two with the delightful LA Weekly managing editor Jill Stewart who I’ve known since 1998 and is my editor at the paper. Jill and Denise Anne get on famously as our fun photos of the pair show.
The gala honored 2011 work and was especially gratifying for us because EnviroReporter.com won First Place for Website – News Organization – Exclusive to the Internet. This win was in a category populated by other strong contenders such as Hollywood heavyweight Nikke Finke’s Deadline.com along with Zuade Kaufman and Robert Scheer’s Truthdig.com.
Judges’ comments: “A wealth of resources when it comes to our environment. From investigations to videos to exclusives, EnviroReporter.com is one interactive site that should be clicked on everyday.”
Our awards entry emphasized the work EnviroReporter.com did in response to the Fukushima triple meltdowns that began March 11, 2011. That work has continued and expanded into 2012 as the disaster steadily worsens. EnviroReporter.com‘s entry focused on this work knowing full well that mainstream and alternative media in the United States has paid scant attention to the meltdowns’ fallout and contamination of North America.:
Since 1998, the environmental reporting that led to this website’s creation has stopped $6 billion of unsafe development on contaminated land. Other victories have protected and enhanced the public health and the environment.
That has been shown in many of our investigations that are ongoing. 2011 presented us our greatest challenge of all: triple meltdowns in the worst radiological accident since Chernobyl.
Four days after the Fukushima meltdowns began, EnviroReporter.com started its Fukushima coverage. We have approached this project as investigative journalists fortunate enough to have the scientific background and instruments to undertake this investigation.
Having investigated contamination with advanced radiation monitors since 2000, and knowing that the government could not (and would not) provide this kind of coverage to an anxious public, we started Radiation Station Santa Monica.
This news coverage included:
• 24/7 online radiation readings streaming for Los Angeles & Glendale
• Dozens of articles and posts
• Over 1,500 radiation tests documented online and in video in 2011
• Air, rain, food, drink and other media tested in four states and in jets
• News feed created for EnviroReporter.com on every page
• Online community created in comments and chat – invaluable reporter’s resource
• Safe food information
• Multiple radiation stations now operating across AmericaThe result of this investigation by the end of 2011 was that we had established that radiation from the Fukushima meltdowns had significantly impacted Southern California and the United States.
The impact of EnviroReporter.com’s investigation on the body of knowledge about the literal fallout of Fukushima’s triple meltdowns can be measured in many ways. These would include the amount of investigation and material output as a result; revealing new phenomena related to this disaster and its impact here; and the extent of contamination across the land and in all medias.
We measure the impact by the extraordinary response from people across the region, nation and world to getting understandable and trustworthy information about the Fukushima meltdowns and the resultant fallout. All the while, we have continued to cover our other investigations.
Along with winning the best online-only news organization website award, Denise Anne and I placed third for Online Journalist of the Year and third for Online Investigative for our “Fukushima Meltdowns” entry.
These awards are as much a triumph for the people who have come to EnviroReporter.com and have helped make it the go-to site for original reporting on the Fukushima disaster, Rocketdyne, Runkle Canyon and a host of environmental issues that we cover. We salute the raddies of the Radiation Nation for helping make this win possible!
Hey’ Congratulations Michael and Denise for achieving these Awards. I’m totally awed by this. Would have never thought you guys were up for any awards like these. Well deserved! Because of the exposure here I Hope more people can come aboard as more Radiation Stations across America are very much needed. Glad to be a part. Keep on “ticking.”
Radiation Station Harrisburg NC
It is so great for the community to have such wonderful people like Micael and Denise out there informing people and giving in-depth information that is so crucial to the well-being of all. Thank you for continuing to do such good work.
Barbara
Well deserved recognition for both of you. Denise, love that dress! Congrats!
Superb achievement. I’m very happy for the two of you. The L.A. Press club has recognized you for what we Raddies have known for a long time, EnviroReporter.com rocks! Michael Collins, and Denise Duffield, a job very well done!
Very cool! 🙂
Congratulations to you both for your awards!! Well deserved!