Cal State Long Beach’s KBeach Radio show “Daily 49er News” won its first Golden Mike Award for the Best Radio News Public Affairs Program from the Radio and Television News Association of Southern California.
Once a week, the show invites Daily 49er staff members and university professors to discuss local and campus news, according to Daily 49er Radio Producer James Delahoussaye.
“We can’t cover national news as well as NPR does, … so we focused on presenting a show about our campus and the surrounding community because nobody else is really doing that,” Delahoussaye said. “Our goal is to produce something for the students.”
“Daily 49er News,” which airs on Wednesday mornings, was submitted under the category of Best Radio News Public Affairs Program, Division B for the competition.
In order to be eligible for the award, the show must have five full-time staffers or fewer and also be a “regularly-scheduled, issue-oriented public affairs series produced by the News Department,” according to the Radio and Television News Association website.
Delahoussaye said the show was submitted for the award with the help of KBeach Radio, Associated Students Inc. and Daily 49er Radio Assistants Shereen Lisa Dudar and Enedina Cisneros.
“We’ve had so much help [from KBeach’s] Danny Lemos, one of the advisers, and Jeff Kaufman, a long-time broadcaster who is volunteering,” Delahoussaye said. “[They have] given us expert-level advice for nothing. They’ve taken such an active role in guiding us and mentoring us.”
Delahoussaye said this is the first time KBeach Radio and the Daily 49er have won this award.
The last time CSULB won a Golden Mike Award was in 2002, when KKJZ-FM won for Best Economic Reporting, Division B.