California Connected Newsroom

Executive Producer Bret Marcus rejoices at recent duPont-Columbia awards.

We at California Connected are very proud of winning our first duPont Columbia Award recently in New York. We won a “silver baton” for our half-hour special on veterans of the Iraq War with traumatic brain injuries, called “War Stories from Ward 7-D”.

If you’re not familiar with the duPonts, they’re often called the Pulitzer Prize for broadcasting. We were among only 14 winners – out of more than 500 submissions. And we were in very good company: NBC News won for its coverage of Hurricane Katrina, as did a number of small TV stations in the hurricane area. There were three winners for stories related to Iraq: HBO’s “Baghdad ER”, NPR Radio, and us. And there was one unlikely pick: Director Martin Scorsese won for his documentary on Bob Dylan. It was all a very humbling experience.

So why is this duPont important?

First, we produced “War Stories from Ward 7-D” to educate the public about one of the terrible tragedies of the War in Iraq – Traumatic Brain Injuries. Not a lot is known about this injury – it’s misunderstood and often misdiagnosed. A national duPont award – and the ensuing publicity – focuses attention.

Secondly, the duPont – not just for us but for all the winners – validates serious reporting and serious journalism. In a world dominated by “American Idol” and tabloid journalism, this award recognizes the commitment to real journalism. At the ceremony in New York, presenters Scott Simon from NPR and Lisa Meyers from NBC News repeatedly praised the winning organizations for having the guts – and for spending the money – to do serious reporting.

Thirdly, as you probably know, “California Connected” is produced by four public TV stations and funded by four foundations. Quite frankly, we need foundation and corporate funding to go on – to stay on the air. This award makes a difference – both to our present funders and to possible new ones.

And finally, it was a great honor and thrill for those of us who worked on this program. It doesn’t get much better than this.

It also gave some of us an excuse to visit New York (my home until a year ago). We got a taste of real winter (not what “passes” for winter out here in Southern California) and a taste of some wonderful Northern Italian food at a place I heartily recommend “Cesca” on the upper west side of Manhattan. Note to self: next trip to New York, bring back the homemade olive oil from Cesca. Some of us also engaged in “retail therapy”, but that’s another story.

• War Stories from Ward 7-D: At the Polytrauma Unit of the VA medical center in Palo Alto, we follow four soldiers with Traumatic Brain Injury who are working to rehabilitate their bodies and their minds.
• Military Recruiting: California Connected visits Sonora and San Francisco to get a firsthand look at the challenges facing today’s Army recruiters.
• Military Marriage Counseling: Marriage counseling for returning soldiers provided en masse in auditoriums.
• Twentynine Palms: The city of Twentynine Palms hosts the largest live-fire military base in the world. While Marines from the base are in on the frontlines of the war in Iraq, the community is trying to keep its economy out of the red.