American Wins Japan's Top Broadcasting Award

Maejima Award is Japan's Equivalent to Pulitzer Prize

September 29, 2001 -- Veteran broadcaster, Malcolm W. Adams, has won Japan's Maejima Award for excellence in broadcasting. The award is an annual presentation of Japan's Post and Telecommunications Ministry. It was presented for Adams' documentary on Japanese Tea-picking Songs entitled, "Do You Know Chatsumi Uta"? The program, which was broadcast in Japanese, was presented by Shizuoka Broadcaster SBS Radio. In the program, Adams, producer and reporter, interviewed senior Japanese citizens ranging in age from 88 years to 102. The seniors recalled the original work songs from decades ago which they sang while picking tea leaves in the plantations of Shizuoka Prefecture. Adams drew comparisons to those songs and those of African Slaves in America whose work songs evolved into original Gospel and Blues music. Adams, who runs his own International Corporate Communications and Media Services firm, Totown Communications Co., Ltd., has been living in Japan for more than 30 years. He is the former Tokyo Correspondent for CBS News and the Cable News Network (CNN) and has reported for the Japan National Broadcast Association, NHK. Adams is currently producer/correspondent of the popular online cybercast entitled "Japan Journal". Adams is the first non-Japanese to have won the prestigious Maejima Award.

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