A WRAL documentary, The Journey Alone, was awarded The Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. WRAL is the CBS affiliate in Raleigh, N.C., owned by Capitol Broadcasting. Considered the broadcast equivalent of the Pulitzer Award, also administered by Columbia, The Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award honors excellence in broadcast and digital […]
A WRAL documentary, The Journey Alone, was awarded The Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
WRAL is the CBS affiliate in Raleigh, N.C., owned by Capitol Broadcasting.
Considered the broadcast equivalent of the Pulitzer Award, also administered by Columbia, The Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award honors excellence in broadcast and digital journalism in the public service.
Here is what The Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award had to say about The Journey Alone in its announcement.
In this excellent example of local reporting, WRAL reporter Leyla Santiago and photographer Zac Gooch traveled from North Carolina to the Rio Grande Valley where tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors illegally crossed the border from Mexico into the U.S.
The team traced the children’s journey to find out how they got there, what kind of care they received and how the crisis is impacting North Carolina.
It is commendable that WRAL devoted the resources to a project so far away from North Carolina, but there is a local connection: many of the refugees resettle into towns like Raleigh or Charlotte.
The program is well shot and well paced, and expertly tackled a humanitarian and political issue of both national and local importance. The station also hosted a live web chat immediately following the broadcast, and posted resources for viewers online.
For the documentary, WRAL News reporter Leyla Santiago and photojournalist Zac Gooch traveled to the Rio Grande Valley where more than 52,000 children crossed the border alone. The journalists traced the path of the children and investigated how the crisis impacted North Carolina.
“Leyla and Zac did an amazing job in Texas and back here, capturing the many layers and perspectives surrounding children crossing alone into the U.S.” said Rick Gall, WRAL’s news director.
Click here to see the complete list of 2016 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Awards winners.
To see some of Santiago’s behind-the-scenes photos, video blogs, etc, on Twitter, click here.
Click here to see a robust online presentation of the story, including the full “The Journey Alone” documentary.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es8e0l5bZ5I
BEHIND THE SCENES: The Journey AloneVideo blog #3: Unknown remains Watch WRAL documentary The Journey Alone TONIGHT at 7 p.m.
Posted by Leyla Santiago on Sunday, August 3, 2014
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