Best radio news or interpretation of international affairs
AWARD YEAR: 2005
AWARD NAME: The Lowell Thomas Award 2005
RECIPIENTS: Rachel Louise Snyder, Sarah Koenig, Ira Glass
AFFILIATION: WBEZ; Public Radio International
HONORED WORK: “This American Life: Dreams of Distant Factories”
“Dreams of Distant Factories” managed the feat of making the listener care about a remote corner of the world through the power of good storytelling. Its reporting on the problems encountered by Cambodia’s garment industry as it tries to adapt to the ever-changing rules of global trade was thorough and nuanced. Interwoven with the main David-and-Goliath theme were subtle, well-made points about the irony of unintended consequences and the differing expectations of new and old democracies. The unpretentious delivery let the humanity of the reporters’ subjects come through.
Citation for Excellence:
Sean Cole
WBUR-FM Boston
“Inside Out: South Africa’s Kwaito Generation”