PBS SoCal and KCET Nominated for 14 Golden Mike Awards

PBS SoCal and KCET received a total of 14 nominations for the 73rd Annual Golden Mike Awards®. The awards will be presented in-person by the Radio & Television News Association (RTNA) of Southern California on Saturday, March 25. The Golden Mike Awards® is the longest running broadcast news awards show in America and among the most distinguished with top journalists across America appointed as judges.

The KCET Original Emmy^® award-winning environmental series 'Earth Focus' was nominated five times in four categories for spotlighting a variety of topical issues from pollution and wildfires, to mental health and Type 2 diabetes.

See below for the full list of nominees.

Best Video Editing Of A Hard News Story, Series, Or Special

• Earth Focus — Fighting for Air

Over the last decade, the Inland Empire has become the most polluted city in the United States.  As e-commerce has exploded, so have toxic pollutants in the air. Tracing the supply chain from the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, all the way to the Inland Empire, this film investigates the struggle for clean air, where grassroots organizations are coming together to fight polluting giants. Watch Now.

Best Sports Reporting

• Lost LA — How Basketball Helped Revitalize the Yellow Brotherhood

Nick Nagatani played on the Dorsey High basketball team as a teenager and went on to use the sport as a way to renew the Yellow Brotherhood as an adult. Nagatani, alongside Nathan Masters, revisits his old stomping grounds to shoot hoops and reflect on his experience as a Japanese American growing up in Crenshaw. Watch Now.

Best Long Form Program Or Documentary

• Tending Nature — Indigenous Land Stewardship

Multiple perspectives and voices from Indigenous communities across California who are striving to keep the practices of their heritage alive. From coming-of-age rituals, seasonal food harvests, basket weaving and jewelry making, the documentary shares how traditional practices can be protected and maintained as a way of life for future generations. Watch Now.

Best Light News Series

• SoCal Wanderer

"SoCal Wanderer" is an insider's guide to the land of sunshine. Through online articles and videos, "SoCal Wanderer" uncovers the rich culture, history and landscape of Southern California, from local neighborhoods to the outer reaches.

Best Serious Feature Reporting, 5 Minutes Or Less

• Earth Focus — California's Wildfires

Best Entertainment Reporting, 10 Minutes Or Less

• Artbound — The Story of Ruben Guevara and Frank Zappa

What was once a piece of rock theatre called Ruben and the Jets became reality, and then developed into something more thanks to a collaboration between Rubén Funkahuatl Guevara and Frank Zappa. Listen to Guevara recount his work with the cultural iconoclast. Watch Now.

Best Business And Consumer Reporting, 10 Minutes Or Less

• SoCal Wanderer — Mingles Tea Bar

Rosey meets with Lara Curtis of Mingle's Tea Bar. The two discuss the intricacies of tea — the caffeine buzz of black tea or the soothing effect of chamomile — and how love, community and family helped start the unlikeliest of businesses. Watch Now.

Best Medical And Science Reporting, 10 Minutes Or Less

• Earth Focus — Struggling with Mental Health During the Pandemic

Farmers Randy Roecker and Brenda Statz drew on their own experiences with mental health crises to create a support network for farmers struggling with depression. The Farmer Angel Network breaks through the silence around mental health and shares resources for getting help. Watch Now.

• Earth Focus — Type 2 Diabetes & Limb Preservation

How do doctors prevent limb amputations? Dr. Brian Johnston and Dr. Jose Ponce give a tour and explain the work of the limb preservation unit of Adventist Health White Memorial in Boyle Heights. Meet a diabetic patient who is now managing his condition and was able to salvage his limbs due to the work of the clinic. Watch Now.

Best News Videography Of A Hard News Story, Series, Or Special

• Earth Focus — California Wildfires

Best News Videography Of A Feature Story, Series, Or Special

• The Migrant Kitchen — Russian Food

In Portland, Oregon, a long-misunderstood culture of Russia finds a fresh audience and following at Katchka, a restaurant that celebrates both chef Bonnie Morales’ roots as well as the particular Pacific Northwest bounty. Watch Now.

• Tending Nature — Indigenous Land Stewardship

Multiple perspectives and voices from Indigenous communities across California who are striving to keep the practices of their heritage alive. From coming-of-age rituals, seasonal food harvests, basket weaving and jewelry making, the documentary shares how traditional practices can be protected and maintained as a way of life for future generations. Watch Now.

Best Video Editing Of A Feature Story, Series Or Special

• The Migrant Kitchen — Taiwanese Food

Taiwanese food is poised for a renaissance in Los Angeles, where chef Jon Yao of Kato draws on his experience growing up in the San Gabriel Valley, fusing his heritage with produce from Southern California's cutting-edge farmers while educating diners on the nuances of this unique regional cuisine. Watch Now.

Best Digital News Reporting

• Kristina Wong — Mask-Making Heroes in the Pandemic

Performance artist Kristina Wong became a "Sweatshop Overlord" (as she cheekily dubbed herself), when she rallied together a grassroots mutual aid network of people who made potentially life-saving facemasks using their sewing machines during the pandemic. She called her network the Auntie Sewing Squad. 800 aunties in 33 states sewed 350,000 masks and gave them to asylum seekers, Indigenous tribes and other vulnerable communities. Watch Now.