Media Appreciation Night 2006

Party 'Til the Cows Come Home or at least until the cowboys round'em up!

Thursday, July 27
5:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Location: Clovis Rodeo Grounds
Award Presentation: 6:30 p.m.

Fresno County Farm Bureau Salutes Journalism Excellence

Fresno County Farm Bureau announced the recipients of its 12th annual Journalism Awards at the organization’s Media Appreciation Night held Thursday, July 27 at the Clovis Rodeo Grounds.

Recognized for excellence in agriculture reporting were:

General Print Media

First place:

Terry Kibler, Selma Enterprise, for “A bountiful tradition,” a descriptive feature article about the “U-pick” harvest program at the J&K Farley Farm, south of Kingsburg. Sept.7, 2005

Second place:

Major Rogers, Fresno Magazine, for “Home grown – fresh from the Central Valley,” April 2006

Third place:

Joan Obra, The Fresno Bee, for “New hope amid fewer black farmers,” Feb.22, 2006

Honorable mention:

James Olinger, Central Valley Business Street
Gabriel Alexander, Clovis Independent
Ingeborg Martin, Sanger Herald
Joan Obra, The Fresno Bee

Agricultural Print Media

First place:

Patrick Cavanaugh, American Vineyard Magazine, for “Sun-Maid increasing dialog on labor shortages,” February 2006, a comprehensive review of last season’s worker shortage to harvest raisins and what the industry is doing to help resolve the problem.

Second place:

Don Curlee, three editorial columns appearing in various publications from February –May, 2006

Third place:

Vicky Boyd, The Grower Magazine, for “A mite-y big problem,” February 2006

Honorable Mention:

Patrick Cavanaugh, Pacific Nut Producer Magazine
Vicky Boyd, The Grower Magazine

Electronic Media

First place:

KFSN-TV 30 – Aurora Diaz producer, Keith Allen photojournalist and Luis Ramentas editor, for “Land of Opportunity,” April 19, 2006, a historical review of agriculture’s impact on people then and now, as part of the Fresno County’s 150th sesquicentennial observance.

Second place:

KQED Public Radio – Sasha Khokha, for The California Report, “California farmers head to Washington to address labor shortage,” March 15, 2006

Third place:

KVPR Radio (NPR) – Dennis Hart, for “Agriculture under pressure,” Sept. 28, 2005

Honorable mention:

Nancy Osborne, KFSN-TV 30

Entries were received from regional publications. The criteria for the awards are: awareness of agriculture’s importance in the Valley, demonstration of knowledge, educational element for the non-farm public, and thorough and objective coverage of the issue. News articles or stories published or broadcast from June 30, 2005 to June 30, 2006 were eligible.

Serving as judges were: Jerry Prieto, Jr., Fresno County Agricultural Commissioner; Pat Ricchiuti, FCFB President; Ken Tatami, FCFB Ag Education Chairman; Ann Schmidt of the California Farm Bureau Federation; and Gayle Surabian, Fresno County Public Information Officer.

“The quality of the entries made the selection process difficult. Each entry was worthy of recognition. This was some of the best work we have seen in years,” said Ricchiuti.

This year, Fresno County Farm Bureau paid tribute to all Fresno media outlets for their responsible reporting and handling of this spring’s discovery of Peach Fruit Flies and the subsequent quarantine. FCFB’s Ricchiuti said the Peach Fruit Fly news reports clearly demonstrated responsible journalism at its best.

“This is one example, in particular, as to why we are so lucky to have the media outlets we have in the Valley,” said Ricchiuti. “Specifically, the tone in which the story was covered, the placement of the story, the thoroughness of the reporting, and the effort to help raise the awareness among residents of the importance of NOT bringing fruit into the Valley all helped report the news in a responsible and conscientious manner,” he added.

Ricchiuti also recognized Fresno County Agricultural Commissioner Jerry Prieto for his professional and forthright handling of the Peach Fruit Fly finding. His daily updates with the media provided a comprehensive and uniform way to disseminate information and field questions. “There was a lot at stake with the possible loss of foreign and domestic markets and the potentially detrimental impacts from buyers and consumers should the wrong information or over-reactions become common perception. Jerry and those of us in agriculture appreciate your understanding of this dilemma,” Ricchiuti told members of the media who were at the event.

As a result, FCFB is making a donation in honor of the Fresno media to Fresno State’s Mass Communications and Journalism Department scholarship program to be used to further responsible journalism among our upcoming reporters and editors, Ricchiuti announced.

More than 200 people were on-hand for the annual media appreciation event.