Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 38, Number 9, 1 September 2021 — Ka Wai Ola Honored with Four Native American Journalists Association Awards [ARTICLE]

Ka Wai Ola Honored with Four Native American Journalists Association Awards

By Ed Kalama The Office of Hawaiian Affairs' monthly publication Ka Wai Ola News has received four 2021 National Native Media Awards from the Native Ameriean Journalists Association (NAJA), the association announced recently. The annual competition recognizes excellence in reporting by Indigenous and non-Indigenous journalists from across the U.S. and Canada. NAJA received more than 730 entries this year with Ka Wai Ola News competing in the "Indigenous Entrants Professional Division" for publications with circulations above 10,000. Ka Wai Ola News' print edition has been serving up news for the lāhui since 1980, covering the people, issues and events important to the Native Hawai-

ian community. Injanuary 2020, OHA - launched kawaiola.news, an aeeompanying digital version of the publication that includes bonus videos, photo albums and an archival section that eontains digitized versions of Ka Wai Ola News since its 1980 inception. The digital platform makes 41 years of contemporary Hawaiian history available to the world. The publication has a large following, counting 51,000 print subscribers and 20,000 digital subscribers from across the country and an average 16,000 online readers visiting the site eaeh month. Ka Wai Ola News was acknowledged as one of the best Indigenous digital publications and honored with a General Excellence award. Graphic designer Kaleena Patchco took home a sec-ond-place award for Best Layout and

KWO editor Pua Fernandez's "Caring for Our Kūpuna" article took second in the Best Elder Coverage category. "I am so pleased and grateful that our Ka Wai Ola News team members have chosen to share their talents here at OHA and continue in the strong traditions of Native Hawaiian storytelling. It's easy to see why Ka Wai Ola News is consistently honored - we won seven of these awards last year - because this is an outstanding publication whieh we know is serving as a platform for the sharing of key information from not only our own staff but from a host of community voices important to our lāhui as well," said OHA CEO/Ka Pouhana Dr. Sylvia Hussey. ■

Second Plaee Ka Wai Ola News Aliee Malepeai Silbanuz, Puanani Fernandez-Akamine, Kaleena Patcho, Ed Kalama, Jason Lees, Jhewel Felipe, Josh Koh, Ku'ualohapau'ole Lau and William "Trip" Rems Third Plaee Ka Wai Ola News Aliee Malepeai Silbanuz, Puanani Fernandez-Akamine, Kaleena Patcho, Ed Kalama, Jason Lees, Jhewel Felipe, Josh Koh, Ku'ualohapau'ole Lau and William "Trip" Rems Second Plaee Ka Wai Ola News Kaleena Patcho Second Plaee Caring For Our Kupuna: An Act of Aloha Ka Wai Ola News Puanani Fernandez-Akamine, Kaleena Patcho, and Jason Lees