Wikipedia

Cerise Castle

Cerise Castle is an American journalist. She received the IWMF Courage in Journalism Award and the American Mosaic Journalism Prize for her investigative series on deputy gangs in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.[1][2]

Cerise Castle
Born
California, U.S.
Alma materEmerson College
OccupationJournalist
Years active2014–present
Notable work"A Tradition of Violence: The History of Deputy Gangs in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department"

Career

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Castle previously worked as an associate producer for Vice News Tonight.[3] In 2020 she was hired as a producer at KCRW. While reporting a Los Angeles George Floyd protest in May 2020, Castle was shot with a rubber bullet by LAPD.[3] During her rehabilitation, she spent six months investigating the history of deputy gangs in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LACSD).[4]

Castle accepted a buyout to leave her position at KCRW in February 2021.[5] In a statement posted to Twitter and an interview on LA Podcast, she stated she had experienced racist microaggressions during her time as an employee.[6]

In March 2021, she published her LACSD gangs series, "A Tradition of Violence: The History of Deputy Gangs in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department" in Knock LA.[4][2] Her reporting stated that multiple gangs are active in the department and alleged that gang members have killed 19 men of color around Los Angeles.[7] One month after the series was published, Castle was detained at an LACSD press conference while reporting the event.[8] A year after publication, the city's civilian oversight board launched an investigation into the deputy gangs.[7] In 2022 she received the American Journalism Online Award for Best Use of Public Records and the IWMF Courage in Journalism Award for the series.[1][2][9] In 2023 she received the American Mosaic Journalism Prize for her reporting, an award for freelance journalists.[1][2][10]

Castle has freelanced for the Daily Beast, the Los Angeles Times, LA Magazine, and multiple podcasts.[2][11] Her freelance reporting broke the story of the Citizen app's misidentification of an arson suspect.[12] Her reporting has been cited by Newsweek, LA Weekly, and The Ringer.[13][14][15] In late February, 2023, it was announced Castle had signed with CAA.[2] In March 2024 she was hired as a staff writer for California-based nonprofit publication Capital & Main.[16]

She was targeted for surveillance by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.[17][18] She received death threats.[19]

Personal life

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Castle was raised in southern California. In 2014 she moved to Los Angeles after completing her bachelor's degree at Emerson College[1][20] to become a freelance reporter.[21]

She is a lesbian.[22]

Accolades

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2022

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2023

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Works

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  • "A Tradition of Violence: The History of Deputy Gangs in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department". Knock LA. 2023-07-17. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  • Castle, Cerise (2024-07-17). "I wrote the history of LASD gangs. Then the sheriff's department started surveilling me". LA Public Press. Retrieved 2024-10-07.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Ertischek, David (February 28, 2023). "Castle '15 wins American Mosaic Journalism Prize for exposing LA sheriff's gangs". Emerson Today. Archived from the original on March 6, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Vlessing, Etan (February 27, 2023). "Journalist Cerise Castle signs with CAA (exclusive)". The Hollywood Report. Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Drury, Sharareh; Gardner, Chris; Press, The Associated (2020-05-30). "Journalists Detail Being Hit by Rubber Bullets, Attacked While Covering Nationwide Protests". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  4. ^ a b Cagle, Kate. "Investigative reporter creates database of alleged deputy gang members". spectrumnews1.com. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  5. ^ Chan, J. Clara (2021-02-25). "KCRW President Apologizes After Former Producer Accuses Radio Station of 'Blatant Racism'". TheWrap. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  6. ^ Roberts, Randall; Hernandez, Daniel (2021-02-25). "Uproar at KCRW as former producer accuses public radio giant of 'blatant racism'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  7. ^ a b Diaz, Jaclyn (2022-03-25). "Alleged gangs in the LA Sheriff's Department to be investigated by oversight panel". NPR. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  8. ^ Muñiz, Ana (2022). Borderland circuitry : immigration surveillance in the United States and beyond. Oakland, California. ISBN 978-0-520-97676-4. OCLC 1293662725.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. ^ a b "American Journalism Online Awards - 2022 Winners". NYU Journalism. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  10. ^ Castillo, Amaris (2023-02-24). "For freelancers struggling with resources and time, a surprise award offers relief". Poynter. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
  11. ^ a b "The International Women's Media Foundation's 2022 Courage in Journalism Awards Hosted by Norah O'Donnell". Washington Post. 2022-11-02.
  12. ^ Lerman, Rachel; Kelly, Heather. "The latest feature on crime app Citizen raises alarms as it accuses the wrong man of arson". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  13. ^ Roos, Meghan (2020-11-26). "Protesters Chant 'F*** Garcetti' Amid Rumors L.A. Mayor May Join Biden Team". Newsweek. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  14. ^ Weekly, L. A. (2012-04-20). "L.A. Sheriff's Gang 'Jump Out Boys' Reportedly Prides Itself on Officer-Involved Shootings". LA Weekly. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  15. ^ Lathan, Van (2021-12-31). "Michelle Obama 2024 and Cerise Castle on LAPD's Use of Force". The Ringer. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  16. ^ Hong, Peter (2024-03-13). "New Roles for Top Journalists at Capital & Main". capitalandmain.com. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
  17. ^ "United States: Law Enforcement Targets Cerise Castle in Brazen Surveillance Campaign". Coalition For Women in Journalism. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  18. ^ "LA County sheriffs surveilled, investigated multiple journalists". U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. 2022-04-26. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  19. ^ Castle, Cerise (2024-07-17). "I wrote the history of LASD gangs. Then the sheriff's department started surveilling me". LA Public Press. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  20. ^ Pho, Brandon (2022-11-11). "Q&A: Cerise Castle". The Objective. Retrieved 2023-05-16.
  21. ^ Stories, Local (29 April 2021). "Meet Cerise Castle - Voyage LA Magazine | LA City Guide". voyagela.com. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  22. ^ "3 Black queer journalists share their advice for breaking into the journalism industry and what publications should do better to recruit minority employees". Business Insider México (in Spanish). February 28, 2021. Archived from the original on October 11, 2022. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  23. ^ "California-based freelance journalists win $100,000 prizes". Associated Press. 2023-02-15. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
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