Channel 2 News Wins 6 Golden Mike Awards

KCBS-TV Channel 2 swept the television division of the 38th annual Golden Mike Awards for excellence in local news broadcasting, winning six awards including those for best 30- and 60-minute newscast.

The Radio and Television News Assn. of Southern California honored the station in ceremonies Friday night for its 5 and 11 p.m. newscasts.

The CBS-owned station also picked up Golden Mikes for best live coverage (for its reporting on the Oct. 1 earthquake); best investigative report (for “Franchise Scam”); best special news programming (for “Earthquake: Preparing for the Big One”); and best news videotape (for footage of a pit bull attack).

KTLA-TV Channel 5 captured four awards, including best 60-minute newscast among stations with a news staff of fewer than 100 full-time employees.

KNBC-TV Channel 4 earned top honors for its sports segment, while KTTV Channel 11 won two awards including best documentary for its program “Trail of Greed, Trail of Death,” about the drug connection between Mexico and Los Angeles. KHJ-TV Channel 9 earned the award for best feature reporting.

Public television station KCET Channel 28 won best documentary honors among stations with fewer than 30 full-time news employees for “Prison of the Streets,” a program that focused on how special task forces deal with paroled felons. KGTV-TV Channel 10 in San Diego earned the top prize for best news commentary and best station editorials.

Entries in the television division were submitted by stations from Santa Barbara to San Diego and were originally broadcast between Nov. 1, 1986, and Oct. 30, 1987. The Radio and Television News Assn. selected winners from 211 television and 129 radio entries.

In the radio division, KNX-AM (1070) won six awards including best newscast over 15 minutes for the 17th straight year. KNX also won for best newswriting, best sports segment, best use of spot sound, best editorial series and best documentary (for “Amnesty: Opportunity for the Here and Now.”)

Public station KPCC-FM (89.3) in Pasadena was awarded best newscast over 15 minutes among stations with a news staff of fewer than six full-time employees. KLON-FM (88.1) in Long Beach took home three awards including best documentary at a small station, best news reporting and best special news broadcast, while KRTH-FM (101.1) won the award for best newswriting among small radio news staffs.

News station KFWB-AM (980) won two awards, for best sports reporting and best spot news story. KFI-AM (640) garnered top honors for best feature reporting and best radio newscast under 15 minutes. KWXY-AM/FM in Cathedral City won for best newscast under 15 minutes among stations with less than six news employees.