FRESNO, Calif. – The KVPR newsroom walked away with a prestigious Golden Mike Award at a gala in Los Angeles on Saturday. Hosted by the Radio Television News Association of Southern California, the annual event celebrated its 75th year of recognizing broadcast and digital journalism from San Diego to Fresno.
KVPR’s award came in the investigative reporting category. The winning entry included the station’s coverage of the scandal surrounding the resignation of Fresno’s police chief last June. The series of stories delved behind the headlines to reveal that an elected official had tried to pressure at least one member of the Fresno city council to push the police chief to resign.
KVPR News Director Cresencio Rodriguez-Delgado said he is proud that the Golden Mikes recognized the station’s ability to produce investigative reporting.
“The reporting that this award recognizes was not easy and it took many days and hours to put together. It was also done with rigorous editing and with our audiences in mind as we tried to explain a story of high public interest,” he said. “The newsroom understands the mission of journalism and public media is to always keep audiences informed and interested in their own communities.”
The award was in the “Division B” category, which is open to small radio station newsrooms. In past years, KVPR has won numerous awards for news and features that tackled some of the biggest stories in the San Joaquin Valley.
“We're very proud of the accomplishments of the KVPR news department in producing investigative journalism that serves the public interest,” KVPR President and General Manager Joe Moore said. “The Golden Mikes honor excellence in broadcast journalism and we are grateful for this incredible recognition from our peers.”
This year, KVPR was also a finalist in four other categories, including entertainment reporting, business and consumer reporting, and podcast news reporting.
You can find all 75th Golden Mike Award radio and broadcast winners here.
This report was produced by Samantha Rangel as part of an internship program through Fresno State’s Media, Communications and Journalism department.