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Sacramento, Calif. – January 31, 2018: Ezra David Romero, who joined Capital Public Radio as its Environment Reporter in November 2017, is the recipient of two 2017 Golden Mike awards for exceptional radio news reporting.
Contaminated: Dirty Water In California's San Joaquin Valley won the award for Best Hard News Series Reporting, and Under Review: What's At Stake In The Giant Sequoia National Monument? won for Best News Reporting at a radio station with five or fewer full time news staff members. Romero completed both projects while working as the environment reporter at Valley Public Radio in Fresno.
“Contaminated,” which Romero worked on in collaboration with reporter Kerry Klein, came about after the state released data on contaminants and pollution in communities. The series, reported over 10 months, gives the data a human face by telling the stories of people in those communities.
“I grew up in the area where lots of these places with contaminated water are,” Romero says, “so it was nice to be able to tell stories from communities that mean so much to me.”
“Under Review,” which looks at the potential regional impact of a Trump administration proposal to restrict national monuments, was inspired by Romero’s love of the sequoias.
“I love that the series and the sequoia story showcase voices that aren’t heard from often,” says Romero. “They’re not talking heads from a university; they’re the voices of farmworkers, mothers, and advocates fighting for change, and their rivals.”
CapRadio’s Senior News Editor Nick Miller says the station is thrilled for Romero. “We’re proud of his accomplishments and are excited to keep up the tradition of delivering award-winning journalism to our audience,” Miller said.
Romero, who grew up in Fresno, describes himself as a “farm kid” who came to reporting with a background in agriculture and a college minor in geography. Though he began as a general assignment reporter at Valley Public Radio, he was quickly drawn to environment reporting.
Romero has now earned seven Golden Mike wins. He says he is especially proud of his prize for "Contaminated." The award was open to all Southern California stations, yet went to his small newsroom in Fresno.
At Capital Public Radio, Romero will have more opportunity to cover issues that impact all of California. He says he’s excited about enterprising science and environment stories for a statewide audience. “I hope to continue reporting on the human face of climate change,” he says.
Since joining CapRadio, he’s already covered innovations in conservation, climate change policy, solar energy, the regional impact of a warming world and more. Find more of Romero’s work here and follow him on twitter @ezraromero.
The Golden Mike awards are given by the Radio and Television News Association of Southern California. Read more about the awards here.
