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In an emotional ceremony, the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism honored members of the independent ethnic and community media for excellence on Thursday evening, March 28, 2013. This was the 11th annual presentation of the IPPIES (Independent Press Association) Awards and the second organized by CUNY’s new Center for Community and Ethnic Media (CCEM). The judges reviewed 183 entries from a record 56 publications and a handful of freelance journalists. Winners received cash prizes totaling $8250.

CCEM Executive Director Garry Pierre-Pierre said, “Ethnic media outlets provide a cultural, political, and educational lifeline to the 37 percent of the city’s population who speak little or no English. Although I spent much of my career in the mainstream media, I appreciate the fact that ethnic media serve as a bridge between new arrivals and more established immigrants and ensure that the next generation, though assimilated, remains connected to its heritage.”

According to the New York Press Association (NYPA), the combined circulation of 95 ethnic papers in New York City is 2.94 million, or about 28 percent of the city’s population, and the combined circulation of 80 weekly community newspapers is 1.6 million.

A CCEM census of New York City’s ethnic and community media cites 270 publications that serve the immigrant and minority populations, published in 36 languages. Eighteen of them are daily papers that are published in nine languages.

The keynote address was delivered by S. Mitra Kalita, commentary editor of the Atlantic Monthly’s new business website, Quartz, and the author of "Suburban Sahibs: Three immigrant families and their passage from India to America." She asserted that digital journalism has brought ethnic and mainstream media closer together, but she praised the Ippies’ winners for their groundbreaking coverage of stories that the mainstream media has missed.

And the winners were:

• Best Multimedia Package: “Ripple Effect: Bethpage’s Toxic Plume Creeps Closer to Contaminating More Public Drinking Water Supplies,” by Long Island Press -- http://www.longislandpress.com/specialreport/ripple-effect/ripple-effect.php
• Best Video: “Chinatown After the Storm,” by Fan Bu, Melody Cao, Mumi Zhao and Tian Tian, SinoVision -- http://video.sinovision.net/?id=9144
• Best Photograph: Joseph Tabacca, DNAInfo.com – of the funeral for 13-year old Ronald Wallace, a Brownsville boy who was shot in August 2012. http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20120831/brownsville/hundreds-mourn-slain-13-year-old-brownsville
• Best Design of a multi-media publication: Long Island Press.com, Chris Twarowski http://www.longislandpress.com
• Best overall design of a print publication: Nueva Luz, a journal of fine art and documentary photography published three times a year, Mirian Romais, Olga Omelchenko, Carla Williams and Quiana Mestrich
• Editorial/Commentary: “Inmate to College Student,” by Marlo Scott, Represent Magazine http://www.representmag.org/issues/FCYU108/From_Inmate_to_College_Student.html?story_id=FCYU-2012-04-18
• Best article on a social issue: “Education in the Bronx,” by Patrick Wall, DNAInfo.com http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20121121/claremont/bronx-high-school-students-go-entire-semester-without-math-or-english#ixzz2Kcz1ROPj
• Best story about an immigrant community: “Divided by Affirmative Action,” Rong Xiaoqing, Sing Tao Daily http://ny.stgloballink.com/community/201212/t20121226_1840457.html
• Best Investigative or In-Depth Story: “Big Trouble for Chinatown Lawyers,” by Shuman Deng, China Press

Judges for the IPPIES Awards included Jennifer Gonnerman of New York Magazine, Ilya Maritz and Marty Goldensohn of WNYC, Andy Hawkins of Crain’s New York Business, Martin Gee of Huffington Post, Ivylise Simones of Harris Publications, freelancer Preston Merchant, Aaron Adler of Straus News, Judith Escalona of City College, Angela Harden of WHCR, Shazna Nessa of the AP, Ju-Don Roberts of Everyday Health and CUNY School of Journalism faculty members Tom Robbins, Indrani Sen, Lonnie Isabel, Rebecca Leung, Rob Williams, Jere Hester, Scotti Williston, Emily Laber-Warren, Gred David, Sandeep Junnarkar John Smock, Jennifer Altman, Linda Prout, Tina Mamintuan, Monica Miller and Adam Glenn.

Resources:

http://www.journalism.cuny.edu/

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