KCLU radio station won 11 trophies at the 74th Annual Golden Mike Awards, an event hosted by the Radio and Television News Association of Southern California on March 30.

According to a press release published by KCLU, News Director Lance Orozco won six, including awards for political, business and live coverage reporting. Reporter and Producer Caroline Feraday won three including best entertainment, best writing and best reporting for her coverage of the death of a pilot. Podcast and Digital Content Producer Michelle Loxton won the remaining two for her podcasts, including her podcast, The One Oh One.

“The RTNA is a non-profit group that represents all the radio and TV stations in Southern California. So Channel Two, or Channel Four, all the LA stations, all the radio stations, big stations, little stations, we are all a part of it.” Orozco said. “We have an annual competition where we honor the best with awards, the best in journalism in Southern California. It’s the 74th year and we are the oldest journalism award show in Southern California so we are proud.”

Orozco said stations all over Southern California submit stories that they think are good for certain categories such as best podcast, best business, consumer reporting and more. Additionally, these selections take place over the course of a year, from the month of October to the following year. Orozco said they are then voted on by a panel of judges selected by the association, and the panel consists of radio and television reporters from all over the country. 

“There is nobody local, the judges are from New York, Chicago, and Denver, and that makes it mean a little more to us, because it’s our peers from around the country that are actually doing the judging,” Orozco said. 

Feraday said the Golden Mike Awards also provide a great opportunity for networking in the industry, and it’s how Feraday herself was introduced to Orozco and the KCLU station. 

“I didn’t grow up here, I was on the radio in the UK for a long time, and I moved to Los Angeles full time in 2013. One of the very first things I did when I didn’t know anyone here really, was I bought myself one ticket to the Golden Mike Awards,” Feraday said. “I went, and I made two friends, and there was this guy, who kept winning that year who’s name I didn’t fully know how to say, Lance Orozco, my now boss.” 

This is also not the only time KCLU radio has won trophies at the Golden Mike Awards. Last year, the station won 11 trophies as well, Orozco won four, Feraday five, and Loxton two. 

Associate Vice President and General Manager at KCLU Mary Olson said the station has won over 400 trophies throughout its long career. 

“Awards are nice, but that’s not what I am most proud of, I am so proud of over 30 years of consistently upholding the mission of KCLU,” Olson said. “The mission of KCLU is to provide educational, informational, and cultural programming to the residents that we serve. Lance, Caroline, and myself, and the entire KCLU team, we take that mission very seriously.”