NBC Bay Area wins Free Speech and Open Government Award for 911 series

NBC Bay Area has been honored with the First Amendment Coalition’s Free Speech and Open Government Award for its investigative series, “CA 911: Too Big to Fail,” which scrutinizes California’s new statewide internet-based emergency calling system. The FAC announced the award on Feb. 27, 2025.

KNTV conducted a yearlong investigation into California’s Next Generation 911 project, revealing significant failures during its rollout, according to the station.

The series, “CA Next Gen 911: Too Big to Fail,” involved research, public records requests and confidential sources. Findings revealed that the system’s initial deployments in Tuolumne and Coachella counties faced critical issues, including misrouted and dropped calls and outages lasting up to 12 hours — putting public safety at risk.

Despite assurances from the California governor’s Office of Emergency Services that the system would improve response times, the investigation showed the $300 million project, which has ballooned to nearly $500 million, had significant problems and delays.

The state 911 Advisory Board was reportedly uninformed about these setbacks, and the project head left the state agency in August 2024 following NBC Bay Area’s inquiries, the station said.. The state has since paused further deployment of the system pending a review to ensure its safe continuation, underscoring the significant impact of investigative journalism on public safety concerns.

“We are honored to receive the prestigious Free Speech and Open Government Award for our investigative series, ‘CA 911: Too Big to Fail,’” said Stephanie Adrouny, vice president of news for NBC Bay Area and Telemundo 48, in a statement. “This award highlights the vital role journalism plays in driving meaningful change. We are committed to uncovering crucial stories that promote progress and ensure accountability. We aim to empower our viewers with the knowledge and solutions necessary for moving the Bay Area forward.”

Investigative reporter Candice Nguyen led and produced the investigations for the series, alongside Michael Bott, Jeremy Carroll and Robbie Beasom.

First Amendment Coalition’s Free Speech and Open Government Award recognizes outstanding accomplishment, service or other contributions to the advancement of free expression or the people’s right to know about their government, according to the announcement.

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