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KCETLink Honored with 2013 Casey Medal for "Courting Disaster"

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SoCal

Connected investigation into the cramped courtrooms of Los Angeles Dependency

Court wins first place in short-form video category.

Burbank, Calif. - June 30, 2013 -

KCETLink's

exclusive investigation on the economic crisis inside Los Angeles Superior

Court entitled "Courting Disaster" which revealed a courtroom where lives stand

still, clogged in the largest judicial system in the nation, was honored with a

first place 2013 Casey Medal for

Meritorious Journalism by the Journalism Center on Children and

Families (JCCF) at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of

Maryland. Winning in the "Short Form Video" category, the "Courting Disaster" segment aired during

season five of SoCal Connected

,

KCETLink's news and public affairs program.

Produced by Karen

Foshay, with correspondent Jennifer London, and editor Michael Bloecher, the "Courting

Disaster" segment took viewers inside courtrooms throughout L.A., including

unprecedented access to children's dependency court. The investigation found

that whether it's fighting for custody, filing for divorce or arguing a traffic

ticket, everyone is courting disaster.

With the Casey Medals, JCCF judges

sought journalism that packed a punch, stirred the conscience and made an

impact; meticulously reported, powerfully delivered stories that shined a

spotlight on issues, institutions and communities that rarely receive media

attention.  

The Casey Medals are a project of the

Journalism Center on Children and Families at the Philip Merrill College of

Journalism, University of Maryland. JCCF and the Medals program are funded by

the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Twelve winners will receive $1,000 at an awards

ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 26. Two honorees will receive additional

prizes of $5,000 from the America's Promise Alliance, a coalition of more than

350 national organizations dedicated to improving the lives of children and

youth.

An excerpt from JCCF's

announcement is below:

VIDEO: Short form

WINNER: "Courting Disaster," KCET, Karen Foshay, Jennifer London and Michael Bloecher (ed.)

Inside the cramped

courtrooms of Los Angeles Dependency Court, life-changing decisions can be made

in a matter of minutes, sometimes by judges who have no experience with

juvenile court or knowledge of the cases. California's fiscal crisis has led to

deep budget cuts that are devastating and paralyzing the courts, resulting in

soaring caseloads for attorneys and social workers, and greater vulnerability

for desperate families. The judges praised the reporter for successfully

gaining camera access to the courtroom and called this investigation an

alarming piece of local news reporting that shines a vital light on the impact

of California's budgetary crisis on families. This story got the attention of

court officials, legislators and advocates throughout the state.

Season five

of SoCal Connected was made

possible through the generous support of The Ahmanson Foundation, serving the

Los Angeles community since 1952; Jim and Anne Rothenberg; The Maddocks-Brown

Foundation; The John Randolph Haynes & Dora Haynes Foundation; The City of

Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and UCLA.   

ABOUT KCETLink

KCETLink,

formed by the merger between KCET and Link Media, is a national independent, nonprofit, digital and

broadcast network that provides high-quality, culturally diverse programming

designed to engage the public in innovative, entertaining and transformative

ways. With a commitment to independent perspectives, smart global

entertainment, local communities, and opportunities for engagement and social

action, KCETLink depicts people and the world through a lens unavailable

elsewhere in U.S. media. A viewer-supported 501(c)(3)

organization, KCETLink content is distributed via

satellite on DirecTV 375 and DISH Network 9410, in Southern and Central California

via broadcast, as well as through various digital delivery systems. KCET

and Link TV are services of KCETLink. For additional information about

KCET and Link TV productions, web-exclusive content, programming schedules and

community events, please visit kcet.org or linktv.org.

###

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