Univision 34 Los Angeles Most Nominated In 2005 Southern California Journalism Awards.

Univision 34 Los Angeles was awarded the top prize in the Television Entertainment News category at the Los Angeles Press Club’s 2005 Southern California Journalism Awards. The wining story, “Dirty Allegations Against Paulina Rubio” blended investigative journalism and news feature reporting on the alleged misbehavior of the currently most popular Mexican singer Paulina Rubio. The award was presented on Saturday, June 11th in a ceremony at the Renaissance Hotel in Hollywood.

Univision 34 Los Angeles was a finalist in 10 categories, more than any other television station in Los Angeles. The station received 2nd Place for its 6:00 and 11:00 p.m. newscasts. The station also received three honorable mentions in the “Television Feature,” “Breaking News,” and “Investigative Series” categories.

Reporter/producer Cecilia Bogran and photographer/editor Sal Garcia were the authors of the winning story, “Dirty Allegations Against Paulina Rubio.” Bogran covers the film and music industries for Univision 34 Los Angeles. She is a well-known name among entertainment publicists and her reputation has gained her access to top celebrities including Russell Crowe, Antonio Banderas, Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Jennifer Lopez, Salma Hayek, Uma Thurman, Julia Roberts, Benicio del Toro and many others. In the musical scene, Bogran has also interviewed every major Latino celebrity including Alejandro Fernandez, Shakira, Ricky Martin, Thalia, Juan Gabriel, Cristian Castro, Jose Jose, Mana, Enrique Iglesias, and Alejandra Guzman. Bogran’s voice is especially respected in the Hispanic entertainment community, as a sincere validation of “what’s good.”

Sal Garcia is one of the most seasoned daily news photographers at Univision 34 Los Angeles, with 11 years of photojournalism experience. He has covered breaking news stories like Hurricane Mitch in Central America as well as socially delicate news features.

Three stories were recognized with Honorable Mentions. In the “Breaking News” category the segment called “Redadas” (Immigration Raids), led by hard news and investigative reporter Oswaldo Borraez received the Honorable Mention. The jury recognized the one-month effort of the Univision news team, to cover and address the community’s anxiety over the sudden searches, arrests and instant deportations of undocumented immigrants that took place in June of 2004 throughout Southern California. Borraez was a finalist in the category of Television Journalist of the Year. The segment “No Man’s Town,” by reporter Francisco Ugalde and photographer Christopher Alvarez received the Honorable Mention in the “News Feature” category. The segment, shot in Mexico within the special series “Mexico en La Piel” (Mexico Under the Skin), aired in May 2004 after several weeks of production and shooting in seven Mexican states. The report depicts the growing socioeconomic reality of the Mexican towns where a big percentage of the men flee to the United States to work and the heartbreaking solitude of the women who are left behind. “Pasando a Gente” (Crossing People), the 3-part series by Tijuana-San Diego border veteran correspondent Carmen Escobosa and photographer Hector Gonzalez, on the latest smuggling techniques employed by the coyote, received the Honorable Mention in the “Investigative Series” category.