KQED Criminal Justice Reporter Alex Emslie wins SPJ Norcal Award

Journalism alumnus Alex Emslie won the 2021 SPJ Norcal award for podcast journalism for ‘On Our Watch', which investigated how the police accountability system operates, who serves it and who protects it. 

The first episode,  ‘Introducing ‘On Our Watch,’  aired on NPR and KQED on May 21, 2021. The podcast touches on many important topics through the episodes and reports on traumatic events that have happened with the police. 

‘Update: Oscar Grant and the California Attorney General’ is the latest episode. It exposes the open case of Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old Black man killed by a BART police officer in Oakland. This tragic event was the first to be filmed on a cellphone and led the people to protest outside of Oakland City Hall on January 14, 2009. 

Emslie, a criminal justice reporter at KQED, is the consulting editor on the podcast and for over a decade has reported on police misconduct. This podcast gives insight with legitimate sources straight from police officers and witnesses shedding light on the truth in the criminal justice system. Take a listen here.