Warren Olney Named Radio Journalist of the Year

KCRW Wins LA Press Club Awards for Best Personality Profile, Public Affairs, Documentary & Entertainment Shows

SANTA MONICA, June 24, 2013 — Warren Olney earned Journalist of the Year in the radio category at the 2013 LA Press Club Awards. Of the win, the LA Press Club noted, “Olney and his team did a masterful job of remembering a traumatic period in the city’s history. Great job.” Olney was previously named Best Radio Journalist of the Year in 2001 when his signature show, “Which Way, LA?” also won Best Talk/Public Affairs Show.

This year, the “Which Way, LA?” team, led by Warren Olney and Managing Producer Sonya Geis, was also awarded best public affairs show for its special 20th anniversary coverage of the LA Riots. The five show series, which explored how Los Angeles has changed over the past 20 years, featured listener stories, special guests, and an interview by KCRW DJ Raul Campos with band Ozomatli about the riots’ effect on the LA music scene. The series can be found here.

In the radio documentary category, KCRW won for “The Couple in 303,” produced by Gideon Brower and Eric Drachman about a quiet, Santa Monica couple who turned out to be gangster Whitey Bulger and his wife. The entire piece first aired on UnFictional and was funded through the Independent Producer Project. The story can be heard here.

Host Kim Masters and Producer Darby Maloney and of KCRW’s The Business took second place in two categories: Best Entertainment Reporting for “The Hollywood-China Connection” and Best Personality Profile for their interview with “Beasts of the Southern Wild” director Benh Zeitlin.

KCRW contributors also won awards at this year’s ceremony. Gene Maddaus was named Print Journalist of the Year for his work at LA Weekly, while Gustavo Arellano won for Best Newspaper/Print Business Feature for his work at the OC Weekly.

All 2013 LA Press Club winners can be found here.

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