Seattle Channel was honored with five first-place NATOA Awards of Excellence on Thursday, Oct. 5, in Long Beach, Calif. Seattle Channel, the City of Seattle’s municipal television station, received 31 Government Programming Awards, including five first-place Awards of Excellence, at the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) annual conference awards ceremony this week held in Long Beach, California. The station also took home 17 Awards of Distinction and nine Awards of Honor for its civic and cultural programming. 2023 marks the 38th year NATOA has been celebrating the achievements of local government programmers across the nation.
“The Seattle Channel is a fantastic asset for our city and a national leader in government television,” said Mayor Bruce Harrell. “This latest recognition is well-deserved for their outstanding work to elevate residents’ stories, voices, and news, and support our One Seattle vision for a more connected, informed, and engaged community.”
Seattle Channel won first-place Awards of Excellence in the categories of education and schools, ethnic experience, animal services, environmental issues, and public health. In addition, the station received Awards of Distinction in sports programming; election coverage; diversity, equity and inclusion; arts and entertainment; documentaries; business profile and more. The team was recognized with additional Awards of Distinction and Awards of Honor in more than a dozen wide-ranging categories, from use of social media to editing and storytelling. Several other Western Washington municipal stations received recognition at the awards ceremony including King County TV, Pierce County, the City of Kent, City of University Place, City of Tacoma, and City of Vancouver, WA.
The winning programs include a feature on a Seattle community college training a new generation of winemakers; a look at the past, present and future of Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center, the cultural hub for the region’s Indigenous community; a spotlight on the Seattle Animal Shelter’s outreach program that provides resources to pet owners experiencing homelessness; an underwater exploration of the Puget Sound’s kelp forests; and a spotlight on the new lifesaving 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Scroll down this page to watch all of the Seattle Channel’s award-winning programs.
“This recognition affirms the Seattle Channel’s commitment to creating informative, engaging, and award-worthy programming,” said Seattle City Councilmember Sara Nelson, citywide, chair of the Council’s Economic Development, Technology & City Light Committee, which oversees the Seattle Channel. “I have always been a fan of the Seattle Channel, and now that I’m on the City Council, I’m even more grateful and proud of the fantastic work that they do. Congratulations, Seattle Channel team!”
This year, NATOA recognized the work of government agencies across the nation in 70 categories. These include familiar categories such as community events, documentaries, public affairs, interview or talk shows, performing arts, sports, and election coverage, as well as several new categories for programming focusing on ethnic experience and diversity, equity, and inclusion; storytelling; and an award for best use of social media platforms and website.
“Every year, the Seattle Channel continues to reimagine government television production in telling the stories of City Hall and our community,” said Seattle’s Interim Chief Technology Officer Jim Loter. “I’m proud of the team’s work to cover civic topics that other media outlets aren’t reporting on.”
“Congratulations to the Seattle Channel team for this recognition by our government access peers,” said Shannon Gee, Seattle Channel’s general manager. “We are honored to be a part of the government access television station and media ecosystem, which is a vital part of the local media landscape and provides important municipal information and rich stories to residents not generally found anywhere else.”
NATOA is a national association representing local governments’ needs and interests in communications, broadband, and technology. Its annual Government Programming Awards (GPAs) honor excellence in broadcast, cable, multimedia, and electronic programming produced by local government agencies. A complete list of the award winners is available on NATOA’s website.
Here is a list of Seattle Channel’s 2023 NATOA awards and award-winning programs:
Awards of Excellence:
Category 11 – NEW! Education/Schools: “CityStream: The NW Wine Academy at South Seattle College”
Category 18 – Ethnic Experience: “CityStream: Daybreak Star: Programs, Powwows & New Connections”
Category 22 – Animal Services: “Seattle Animal Shelter Outreach Program”
Category 25 – NEW CATEGORY! Environmental Issues: “Restoring the Kelp Forest”
Category 31 – Public Health: “City Stream: 988 mental Health Hotline”
Awards of Distinction:
Category 3 – Edited Community Event Coverage: “Welcome Back Bash Celebrates County and City Employees”
Category 8 – Sports Programming: “CityStream: Resurrecting Seattle’s Baseball Glory”
Category 9 – Children/Young Adults: “CityStream: New Mariners Training Center Encouraging Diversity”
Category 14 – Election Coverage: “City Inside/Out: Crisis Care Levy”
Category 20 – Special Audiences: “Path with Art”
Category 21 – Diversity/Equity/Inclusion: “Community Stories: Climbers of Color”
Category 22 – Animal Services: “Kitty Hall”
Category 30 – Arts and Entertainment: “Art Zone with Nancy Guppy”
Category 38 – Profile of a Resident, Business or Organization: “Railspur”
Category 41 – Documentary – Event Coverage: “D’vonne Pickett Jr.’s Legacy of Love & Positivity”
Category 42 – Documentary: “Community Stories; Running with Paint: Rosalie Fish”
Category 52 – Best Use of Video on Social Media: “Seattle Channel: Running with the Paint”
Category 55 – News Series: “City Inside/Out”
Category 56 – Magazine Format Series: “CityStream”
Category 62 – Videography
Category 65 – Storytelling
Category 70 – Overall Excellence (Operating Budget Over $1,000,000)
Awards of Honor
Ethnic Experience: “Arte Noir”
Parks & Recreation: “CityStream: Cheasty Greenspace Project”
Profile of a City/County Dept. or Employee: “Meet the Director: Hamdi Mohamed”
Promotion of a City/County Seattle Channel Staff: “Thank You City of Seattle & King County Employees!”
Documentary: “CityStream: The Squire Shop Rides Again!”
Public Education: “City Inside/Out: Protecting Seattle’s Shrinking Tree Canopy”
Visual Effects: “Community Stories: Those Who Helped Us”
Use of Social Media Platforms & Website: Follow Seattle Channel on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok
Editing
Seattle Channel is an award-winning municipal television station that reflects, informs, and inspires the community it serves with a local mix of news, analysis, stories, and perspectives you won’t find anywhere else. Watch Seattle Channel on cable television channel 21 on Comcast (321 HD) and Wave (721 HD) for cable subscribers in Seattle. Programming is also available online on Seattle Channel’s website, YouTube, or find older videos in the Seattle Municipal Archives Digital Collections. Follow Seattle Channel on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
