Submitted by Bates Technical College
The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) honored Tom Layson, producer and host of KBTC’s Emmy Award-winning Northwest Now, with an Excellence in Journalism Award. The awards, which recognize the best in journalism, were announced at a ceremony in Seattle on May 17.
Winning first place in the General News category for an episode covering the battle over Initiative 522, Layson also took second and third places for episodes that featured the Seattle mayoral race, and an exclusive one-on-one with Gov. Jay Inslee about a special session related to The Boeing Corporation, respectively. KBTC Creative Services Director Michael Peters was the videographer on all three programs, which were hosted and shot on location in Carnation, Olympia and Seattle.
“I am humbled and honored to be recognized by members of the Society of Professional Journalists,” said Layson. “It highlights the level of commitment Bates Technical College and the management and staff at KBTC have to the community, since that is what Northwest Now is all about— convening a smart conversation to take a closer look at the issues that affect us all here in Western Washington,” he said.
For this year’s SPJ contest overall, judges in Oklahoma, Long Island, Indiana and Utah judged more than 1,800 entries from 269 news outlets to make their determinations. To find out more about the awards, please click here.
For more information about Northwest Now, a weekly, locally-produced public affairs program, email NorthwestNow@kbtc.org, or visit KBTC’s website here.
