Better Newspapers Contest winners announced
Read the BNC Winners Tab
The table below lists the first- and second-place winners, and honorable mentions for daily and weekly newspapers in the 2016 CNPA Better Newspapers Contest. Judge’s comments appear in the right column. Some entries did not receive judge’s comments. Use the search box at the top right of the table to quickly locate your publication or writer.
Advertising Excellence Contest winners
| Category | Place | Newspaper | Name of Entry | Credit | Judge’s Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agricultural Reporting | Honorable Mention | Brentwood Press | Delta counties file suit against L.A. water giant | Corey Hunt | This was a well-done story on an important issue. Reporting was solid and writing was comprehendible by those not familiar with the issue. |
| Agricultural Reporting | Honorable Mention | Los Angeles Times | Niche Agriculture | Geoffrey Mohan | I really learned a lot about quinoa — and that’s what a good report is all about. An in-depth study of a crop that’s not really reported on. Writing hooks you in from the very beginning. |
| Agricultural Reporting | Honorable Mention | Monterey County Weekly | Monterey Bay Seaweeds brings seaweed superpowers to plates. | Mark C. Anderson | Unusual, interesting story with lots of color, variety of ways of looking at seaweed and Dr. Graham. |
| Agricultural Reporting | 1st | San Francisco Chronicle | Seafood’s new normal | Tara Duggan | \Very in-depth reporting from all aspects of the seafood industry. Nice use of fact sheets to help enforce the focus of the article. |
| Agricultural Reporting | 2nd | Santa Barbara Independent | Following the Santa Barbara Wine Country Ordinance | Matt Kettmann | Concise, well-written story with lots of viewpoints, well-told and illustrated in the text. Well done to separate story on revenue from the ordinance, although they are interrelated. Wonder which way the vote went? |
| Agricultural Reporting | 1st | Santa Maria Sun | The new workforce | Brenna Swanston | Concise, well written, focused, brings in different points of view without being polemic, good illustrations of a current problem with economic and political ramifications. |
| Agricultural Reporting | 1st | Santa Maria Times | H-2A: Filling the Gaps | April Charlton, Logan Anderson | This was a very strong, well-written series examining the challenges of housing farmworkers in high-cost areas. The series does a good job explaining the H-2A visa, why such workers are needed, and the community frictions over where to house these workers. I especially liked the solutions piece, showing readers what’s possible. Very well done. |
| Agricultural Reporting | 2nd | St. Helena Star | Before the grapes, there was the Bale Mill | Tom Stockwell | The article provided an in-depth explanation with history and remained clear and accurate. The thorough explanations provided depth to the article., |
| Agricultural Reporting | Honorable Mention | The Business Journal | Mandarin mania: Citrus value doubled in 2015 | Chuck Harvey | While going in depth, the article remained clear and provided many facts and figures without the numbers becoming overwhelming. It was very thorough while remaining easy to read. |
| Agricultural Reporting | Honorable Mention | The Business Journal | Netafirm partners with ag startup to grow ’micro farm’ effort | George Lurie | The article took a relatively complex topic and made it simple to understand. It provided clarity and provided examples to go with facts and details. |
| Agricultural Reporting | 1st | The Desert Sun | Farm labor shortage | Gustavo Solis | |
| Agricultural Reporting | Honorable Mention | The Desert Sun | Homeless Harvesters | Gustavo Solis, Omar Ornelas | |
| Agricultural Reporting | Honorable Mention | The Fresno Bee | Fresno’s Hmong farmers suffer in drought … | Andrea Castillo | A great study on a small population. You really get a sense of the plight these farmers are facing. |
| Agricultural Reporting | 2nd | The Napa Valley Register | Round-up in wine | Howard Yune | Lots of sources and good balance in this story examining concerns about glyphosate use in vineyards, some of the research on health risks, and the choices farmers face in deciding whether to use the herbicide. |
| Agricultural Reporting | 2nd | The Press Democrat | Can parks, ranches really get along? | Guy Kovner | Great descriptions of the land, and its farmers. Captured my interest from the beginning, and I wanted to find out more. |
| Agricultural Reporting | Honorable Mention | The Record | Cannabis county | Alex Breitler | |
| Agricultural Reporting | 1st | The Selma Enterprise/Kingsburg Recorder | Bee decline is affecting crops | Laura Maldonado | The article took a thorough look at the topic, while keeping it easily digestible. The writing was clear and multiple sources helped provide depth to the subject. |
| Agricultural Reporting | 2nd | The Tribune | Guest worker program provides labor, poses difficulties for SLO County growers | Lindsey Holden | |
| Agricultural Reporting | Honorable Mention | Times-Standard | Dairy farms struggle to find enough workers | Will Houston | This story raises an interesting angle — that mainstream ag is being out-competed for hard-to-find workers by marijuana growers who pay more — and pay in cash. |
| Agricultural Reporting | Honorable Mention | Ukiah Daily Journal | Ukiah’s Craft Canine: The McNab Shepherd | Justine Frederiksen, Chris Pugh | Very charming and well written story on the McNab working dog. This was a delight to read, the quotes are smart and used effectively, well sourced — overall a very nice tale. |
| Artistic Photo | 2nd | Atascadero News | Rainbow Shines Over City Hall | Luke Phillips | What a beautifully captured rainbow! It almost looks like it’s shining luck upon City Hall. |
| Artistic Photo | Honorable Mention | Black Voice News | Mike’s Fitness | Benoit and Kathy Malphettes | |
| Artistic Photo | 1st | Brentwood Press | Up in the clouds | Tony Kukulich | |
| Artistic Photo | Honorable Mention | Chico Enterprise-Record | Santa’s sleigh | Bill Husa | |
| Artistic Photo | Honorable Mention | Daily Breeze | Graduation ceremony | Thomas R. Cordova | Perfectly captures the nervous energy of graduation day with wonderful movement and intense color. |
| Artistic Photo | 1st | Del Norte Triplicate | Fireworks | Bryant Anderson | Gorgeous colors! The gradient in the sky and all of wonderful little details set this apart from most firework photos. Great work! |
| Artistic Photo | Honorable Mention | Lake County Record-Bee | Rain Expected | Dave Faries | Absolutely beautiful colors and composition! |
| Artistic Photo | Honorable Mention | Ledger Dispatch | Mokelumne Sunset | Staff | Nice use of sunset lighting. Beautiful colors, solid composition. Landscapes can be boring, but this one certainly isn’t. The leading lines draw you right in. |
| Artistic Photo | Honorable Mention | Lodi News-Sentinel | Super moon over Lodi | Bea Ahbeck | Great juxtaposition of the Supermoon and the sign. Amazing just to get the moon shot, let alone the city’s sign! |
| Artistic Photo | 1st | Los Angeles Times | Kushti Wrestling in India | Barbara Davidson | The action and lighting in this photo make me want to lean in and look closer know more about what is going on. I love that the light shining in the windows puts a highlight on just about everything — even near the bottom of the floor where you can still pick up the details near his feet and in the back right corner of the floor. The water frozen in motion is another nice element of this photo. |
| Artistic Photo | 2nd | Petaluma Argus-Courier | Sunflowers | Crissy Pascual | Very strong composition. Great use of color and the rule of thirds. Nice work! |
| Artistic Photo | Honorable Mention | San Francisco Chronicle | Reflections | Leah Millis | Wonderful juxtaposition of the two images! The scene in the street supports the emotion on Maya’s face. Going black and white was a great choice. Beautiful work! |
| Artistic Photo | 2nd | San Jose Mercury News | Horse Walks On Water | Patrick Tehan | Such a stunning photo! The shallow depth of field draws the eye straight to the subject’s face. It’s impressive that you were able to use a long enough shutter speed to blur most of the action, but still keep the subject’s face in sharp. Fantastic! |
| Artistic Photo | 1st | Santa Barbara Independent | Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network | Paul Wellman | Well-executed time exposure with added light painting on buildings. Strongest in category. |
| Artistic Photo | Honorable Mention | Santa Barbara Independent | Homeless | Paul Wellman | |
| Artistic Photo | Honorable Mention | Santa Barbara Independent | Christina Sanchez | Paul Wellman | Nice use of light and movement. |
| Artistic Photo | 1st | Santa Cruz Sentinel | Downtown Dancers | Shmuel Thaler | Patterns and colors work to create a very aesthetically pleasing photo. Really drawers the viewer in. |
| Artistic Photo | 1st | Sierra Star | A Proud Tradition | Michael Costa | This is a beautiful, arresting shot showing the dancer’s dedication. It definitely has a “wow” factor. Great work. |
| Artistic Photo | Honorable Mention | Sierra Star | A Proud Tradition | Michael Costa | Nice tight shot of an expressive face with good depth of field. It’s an interesting image. |
| Artistic Photo | Honorable Mention | The Almanac | Gay pastor preaches the gospel of acceptance | Michelle Le | |
| Artistic Photo | 2nd | The Capistrano Dispatch | Mariachi San Juan Capistrano | Allison Jarrell | |
| Artistic Photo | Honorable Mention | The Desert Sun | Sia performs | Richard Lui | |
| Artistic Photo | 2nd | The Fresno Bee | Magical moonbows at Yosemite | Craig Kohlruss | Absolutely gorgeous moment caught in a perfect composition. |
| Artistic Photo | Honorable Mention | The Fresno Bee | Sierra powdered; Fresno rain totals encouraging | John Walker | The truck in the middle provides the perspective for the majesty of the trees along the sides. Just beautiful. |
| Artistic Photo | Honorable Mention | The Intermountain News | Bedding down for the night | Kathi Corder | This is not only a beautiful sunset, but a portrait of the land and a way of life. Very nicely done. |
| Artistic Photo | 2nd | The Napa Valley Register | Autumn spectacular | JL Sousa | I loved the painterly quality of this piece and found myself thinking about the photo days after viewing it. Rarely do “postcard” photos like this do the scene justice, but, I believe this is an exception! |
| Artistic Photo | 1st | The Press Democrat | Picture Postcard Christmas | Kent Porter | A Christmas card indeed! The sharp contrast of the steeple against the starry sky with the soft bend of the trees at either side make a fabulous image. |
| Artistic Photo | Honorable Mention | The Sacramento Bee | Heaven’s Above | Randall Benton | Perfect use of color! The contrast between the warm light on the small dishes and the cool light on the large dish is great. Nice work! |
| Artistic Photo | 2nd | The Tribune | Pastel sunset | Joe Johnston | Colors and blur create nice mood. |
| Artistic Photo | 1st | Times-Herald, Vallejo | Queen of the dead | Chris Riley | This is a beautiful, well-composed photo that I would happily run as my dominant image any day of the week. The foreground feathers give this photo a secretive appeal. It’s as if we’re getting a glimpse of these characters and they’ve just caught us peeking! And, of course, the colors are stunning. |
| Artistic Photo | Honorable Mention | Tracy Press | Reverent retirement | Glenn Moore | |
| Artistic Photo | 2nd | Vida en el Valle | El Grito! | Hector Navejas | |
| Arts & Entertainment Coverage | 1st | Antelope Valley Press | Showcase | Showcase Staff | |
| Arts & Entertainment Coverage | Honorable Mention | Atascadero News | North County Arts & Entertainment — Feb. 5 & 12 Editions | Staff | |
| Arts & Entertainment Coverage | 2nd | Del Mar Times | Local resident Wendy Walker’s new legal drama ’Notorious’ to air on ABC this fall | Lois Alter Mark | The story was very well written. |
| Arts & Entertainment Coverage | Honorable Mention | Lodi News-Sentinel | Art and music | Sara Jane Pohlman | Some enjoyable features in these arts sections. |
| Arts & Entertainment Coverage | 2nd | Los Angeles Downtown News | September 26 and October 3, 2016 Issues | Staff | The 40 for Fall piece was incredibly eye-catching and well-designed. Overall, this section has a lot of spunk that’s hard to come by these days. The great cutouts make the calendar come alive. Fun photos and an overall nice section. |
| Arts & Entertainment Coverage | 1st | Los Angeles Times | Sunday Calendar/Arts&Books, May 29 and June 5 | Los Angeles Times Staff | First-class. This is as good as the New York Times! |
| Arts & Entertainment Coverage | 1st | Metro Silicon Valley | May 4 and 11, 2016 | Staff | These issues impressed me with their design, energy and variety of stories. The 60-mile rule was a good investment of time and effort as it likely answered questions that have been on many readers’ minds. I also like the look and feel of the weekly calendar. The publication is still hip and appeals to all ages. It’s like reading a national magazine with events that are in your backyard. No. 1, it’s a fun read. |
| Arts & Entertainment Coverage | Honorable Mention | Mountain Democrat | Oct. 14 and 21, 2016 | Mimi Escabar | Good photos. Interesting Hangtown music festival story. |
| Arts & Entertainment Coverage | Honorable Mention | North Bay Bohemian | Under the Prairie Sun | Staff | I was fascinated with the history about the chicken ranch turning into a recording studio. |
| Arts & Entertainment Coverage | 1st | North Coast Journal | March 3 and 10, 2016 | Staff | This is the type of publication I would be thrilled to find if I was visiting the area. It offers a nice variety of stories and gives a great rundown of nightlife, art exhibits, upcoming events and other things to do ... in an easy format to read. |
| Arts & Entertainment Coverage | Honorable Mention | Pacific Sun | Out of darkness | David Templeton | An engaging story about an ex-inmate who got his chance on stage. |
| Arts & Entertainment Coverage | 2nd | Pleasanton Weekly | April 29, May 6, 2016 | Staff | |
| Arts & Entertainment Coverage | Honorable Mention | Santa Barbara Independent | Nov. 10 and 17, 2016 | Indy Staff | Great writing styles throughout. Also nice layout and diverse activities to please all kinds of readers. |
| Arts & Entertainment Coverage | Honorable Mention | Santa Cruz Sentinel | The Guide | Wallace Baine | |
| Arts & Entertainment Coverage | 2nd | Sierra Star | Small town theatre — big time entertainment | Brian Wilkinson | |
| Arts & Entertainment Coverage | Honorable Mention | The Ark | Feb. 3 and 10, 2016 | Staff | |
| Arts & Entertainment Coverage | Honorable Mention | The Bakersfield Californian | April 7 and 10, 2016 | Staff | Good balance of stories. |
| Arts & Entertainment Coverage | Honorable Mention | The Beach Reporter | May 19 and 26, 2016 | Michael Hixon | Nice mix of activities included in the publication. Layout is clean but fun. I’d like to see some of the stories have more sources. |
| Arts & Entertainment Coverage | Honorable Mention | The Davis Enterprise | March 21 and April 1, 2016 | Staff | The front-page layout was fresh with the cutouts and made me want to read the stories. |
| Arts & Entertainment Coverage | Honorable Mention | The Fresno Bee | March 11 and 18, 2016 | Staff | This publication is exciting to look at and is full of life. Diverse topics too! |
| Arts & Entertainment Coverage | 1st | The Intermountain News | After Five: August and September 2016 | Staff | |
| Arts & Entertainment Coverage | 1st | The Napa Valley Register | May 26 and June 2, 2016 | Sasha Paulsen | Engaging and attention-getting. A truly varied arts section with features on locals and attention paid to national or regional stories. Stimulating design work, aided also by easily flowing copy. Fascinating and varied subject matter, well balanced. |
| Arts & Entertainment Coverage | Honorable Mention | The Record | Timeout | Staff | |
| Arts & Entertainment Coverage | 2nd | The San Diego Union-Tribune | March 27, 2016 | Staff | A diverse selection of story topics. Nice writing styles and beautiful photos. |
| Arts & Entertainment Coverage | 1st | The Sonoma Index-Tribune | Staff | Diverse coverage of the arts. Informative story on 3 Badge Beverage. Fun, action photos. | |
| Arts & Entertainment Coverage | 2nd | The Tribune | Ticket | Staff | |
| Arts & Entertainment Coverage | Honorable Mention | The Union | Prospector magazine | Keri Brenner, Laci Thompson | |
| Arts & Entertainment Coverage | Honorable Mention | The Union Democrat | Weekender | Mike Morris | |
| Arts & Entertainment Coverage | 2nd | Visalia Times-Delta & Tulare Advance-Register | Choices | Zachary Newcott and James Ward | The writer finds an uplifting story and tells it well through a series of people whose lives have been affected. Great to hear a kid’s voice in here, and to see reporting that buttresses the anecdotal evidence that the ranch is having success. |
| Breaking News | Honorable Mention | Appeal-Democrat | 1973 Cold Case Arrest | Monica Vaughan | Wow. You kept my attention throughout this story. Definitely being tipped off to the arrests paid off in the background work you were able to do. Good reporting. |
| Breaking News | 1st | Chino-Chino Hills Champion | Chino Hills store hits jackpot | Marianne Napoles | Lively, descriptive writing as well as all the newsy facts. |
| Breaking News | 2nd | Daily Press | Coverage of the Bluecut Fire | Staff | An impressive collection of stories following multiple angles during the Bluecut Fire. |
| Breaking News | 2nd | Del Norte Triplicate | Unfortunate detour | Michael Zogg | The reporter did a great job of getting to the scene to get photos and quotes from the driver, which made for a compelling package. Great details and quotes, particularly of the driver’s retelling of what happened. |
| Breaking News | Honorable Mention | Del Norte Triplicate | Carjacker arrested after pursuit | Tony Reed | Thorough reporting with lots of detail. Great work by the reporter to get to the scene for images and source-work. |
| Breaking News | 1st | East Bay Times | Ghost Ship warehouse fire | East Bay Times staff | Supurb, intensely deep initial reporting with humanistic coverage of a tragic event that used a combination of “by the facts” reporting and a mixture of stories written in a style of “you are there” and “through the eyes” of those affected by tragedy that both informed the reader while humanizing those involved, which elevated this entry to the top in an extremely close category. The art and graphics were also exceptional. |
| Breaking News | Honorable Mention | Los Angeles Times | L.A. Sheriff’s Sergeant Slain | Los Angeles Times Staff | |
| Breaking News | 1st | Merced Sun-Star | Highway 99 bus crash | Staff | Excellent breaking news coverage of a fatal 3:30 a.m. bus accident. The initial story was published at 6:34 a.m., showing that the Merced Sun-Star staff hits the ground running. The first story combined interviews with authorities and survivors, info about the bus company’s safety track record, and three videos from the scene. Follow-up stories the next two days showed dogged pursuit of facts. |
| Breaking News | 2nd | Mountain View Voice | Google, LinkedIn agree to huge land swap | Mark Noack, Andrea Gemmet | |
| Breaking News | Honorable Mention | North Coast Journal | Clearing the Marsh | Staff | |
| Breaking News | 1st | Petaluma Argus-Courier | 2 children die in car crash | Matt Brown | The reporter did a solid job of gathering information both from officials and the family while working on a tight deadline. The quotes are striking and key details help tell the story of the tragedy. Solid work all around. |
| Breaking News | Honorable Mention | Petaluma Argus-Courier | Fire displaces residents | Hannah Beausang and Matt Brown | Good detail and colorful quotes from witnesses. |
| Breaking News | 1st | Pleasanton Weekly | Court denies mayoral candidate’s lawsuit against city clerk | Julia Reis | |
| Breaking News | Honorable Mention | Pleasanton Weekly | Pleasanton police officer cleared | Meredith Bauer | |
| Breaking News | Honorable Mention | Record Searchlight | Sherri Papini | Staff | Impressive work staying on top of a breaking news story as it developed day to day. |
| Breaking News | 2nd | Sacramento News & Review | The nazis are coming | Rachel Leibrock | News and just the right amount of attitude. |
| Breaking News | 2nd | San Francisco Chronicle | San Francisco Chronicle: Ghost Ship Fire | Staff | A decidedly close second place with solid, well-written stories accompanied by an extremely strong digital effort that got the news and updates out immediately on all available platforms and channels. The volume of total coverage is tremendous and well coordinated and didn’t leave any stones unturned. |
| Breaking News | Honorable Mention | Sierra Star | 73,000 marijuana plants uprooted | Mark Evan Smith | Nice coverage of the environmental impacts of illegal grow operations. |
| Breaking News | 2nd | The Ark | Tiburon man rescues woman in San Rafael | Matthew Hose & Elliot Karlan | The story was solid. It was inspiring to see a random person turn the tides of what could’ve been a tragic scene. |
| Breaking News | 2nd | The Desert Sun | Palm Springs police officers shot and killed | Staff | Hard news did not keep the team from covering all the bases. Appreciated the photos, video, graphics and historical context. I liked all the extra digging you did (law enforcement deaths). |
| Breaking News | 1st | The Fresno Bee | Fresno police release body camera videos in Dylan Noble shooting | Rory Appleton | Well-written and clearly communicated. Good incorporation of video and use of background details to fill out the story. Compelling read with pertinent information for the public and readers. |
| Breaking News | Honorable Mention | The Fresno Bee | Armed felon critically wounds 2 officers in Fresno County Jail lobby | Troy Pope, Jim Guy and Marc Benjamin | Good attention to detail in breaking story. Great use of photos and video, as well as incorporation of social media. |
| Breaking News | Honorable Mention | The Fresno Bee | Obama’s visit to Yosemite | Staff | Great writing and use of details. Covers story from many angles. Nice use of photos to tell the story. |
| Breaking News | Honorable Mention | The Mountain Enterprise | Murder of young mom | Gary Meyer and Patric Hedlund | In-depth coverage of a tragic tale. |
| Breaking News | Honorable Mention | The Orange County Register | Orange County jail break | Staff | |
| Breaking News | 2nd | The Press Democrat | Two children die after truck plunges into river | Randi Rossmann and Julie Johnson | Event covered from all angles. Good integration of story and photos. Compelling writing and storytelling. |
| Breaking News | Honorable Mention | The Record | Embattled mayor disputes changes; Mayor Silva arrested; Stockton | Roger Phillips, Alex Breitler, Michael Fitzgerald | Good packaging. I liked: the comprehensive look at the impact of his arrest; community voices in the reaction piece; the onsite reporting as he was arrested; all of the additional information surrounding his arrest (documents etc). You took this beyond the typical breaking news story of an arrest. |
| Breaking News | Honorable Mention | The Record | Lucky to be alive | Jason Anderson | |
| Breaking News | Honorable Mention | The Salinas Californian | Dick Bruhn building consumed in ’suspicious’ fire | Joe Truskot, Chelcey Adami and Jeff Mitchell | News and context. |
| Breaking News | 1st | The Tribune | Diablo Canyon to close: 2 days of coverage | Staff | Impressive full-court press across a complicated topic with wide-ranging implications. Writing is clear, informative. Liked how story was packaged with licensing, community impact, analysis etc.; lots of pullouts and fact snippets; entire package showed significance of closure. Interesting read. |
| Breaking News | 1st | The Weekly Calistogan | Manhunt ends after hourslong search | Anne Ward Ernst, Sean Scully, Maria Sestito | Great coverage of an event that affected the community! |
| Breaking News | Honorable Mention | Thousand Oaks Acorn | Losing Bernard Moon | Kyle Jorrey, Andy Nguyen, Becca Whitnall | Nice job on an emotional story. |
| Columns | Honorable Mention | Alameda Journal | Joe King’s Thoughts on the Run column | Joe King | Wise words and illustrated nicely from a local perspective. Thanks. |
| Columns | 1st | Auburn Journal | Columns by Tricia Caspers | Tricia Caspers | |
| Columns | 2nd | Black Voice News | Rants & Raves | Paulette Brown Hinds | Tightly written. Cuts to the chase quickly yet still sensitive and respectful to the deceased man. Hopefully will motivate some action by those in authority to better help the plight of the homeless. |
| Columns | 2nd | Chico Enterprise-Record | David Little columns | David Little | Very well-written, and piece on the “bum” shows a unique connection to the community. Thoughtful work. |
| Columns | Honorable Mention | Grunion Gazette | Pinch Of Salt | Harry Saltzgaver | |
| Columns | Honorable Mention | Ledger Dispatch | Outdoor Amador | Staff | |
| Columns | Honorable Mention | Los Altos Town Crier | Mortgage mania; Happy Mother’s Day | Megan V. Winslow | Lots of personality in these columns. Strong voice. Enjoyable reads. |
| Columns | 2nd | Los Angeles Times | Steve Lopez on California’s Coast | Steve Lopez | A persuasive and passionate defense of the public interest in beach access. Outstanding mix of personal voice, historical information, and political perception. Really draws the reader in. |
| Columns | 1st | Monterey County Weekly | ”Local Spin” columns | Mary Duan | |
| Columns | 1st | North Coast Journal | Linda Stansberry | Linda Stansberry | Well written; good logic; lots of local flavor. Enjoyable read. |
| Columns | 2nd | Palisades News | The Art of Re-Gifting: Curse of Historians and Wanted: Dorm Room with a View | Bob Vickrey | Well written, nice story telling. Good, illustrative writing. I enjoyed these columns. |
| Columns | Honorable Mention | Petaluma Argus-Courier | John Jackson columns, June 2 and Sept. 22, 2016 | John Jackson | Well written with authority. The author is clearly a longtime Giants fan and was able to convey the team’s 2016 sputtering, tortured post season in a fun, accurate and enjoyable way. |
| Columns | Honorable Mention | San Francisco Chronicle | John Diaz columns | John Diaz | Outstanding. Thoroughly reported, plainly stated, powerfully argued. |
| Columns | 1st | San Jose Mercury News | Marcus Thompson columns | Marcus Thompson II | Great personal voice. Powerful piece on giving, very touching and interesting piece on the journey home. |
| Columns | Honorable Mention | San Jose Mercury News | Mark Purdy Columns | Mark Purdy | Great stuff — very pointed, emotional, insightful and readable. Conveys the drama and the backstory in both items with elegant bluntness. |
| Columns | 1st | St. Helena Star | The unintended outcome of Kaepernick’s protest; Rose’s rape case can teach us a lot | Yousef Baig | Thoughtful reflection on two social issues while giving voice to multiple perspectives. Yousef Baig digs beyond the surface and into the culture. |
| Columns | Honorable Mention | St. Helena Star | Such a loss to a family; The story of Timothy | David Stoneberg | Rarely do we meet someone before a tragic end as we do here. David Stoneberg’s good deed gave his readers a valuable snapshot of the man, the world. |
| Columns | 1st | The Bakersfield Californian | Lois Henry columns | Lois Henry | She writes with passion about two issues local residents should be concerned about. Her writing style with her turn of phrases got her the win. |
| Columns | Honorable Mention | The Desert Sun | Arnold Palmer The King | Larry Bohannan | Very nice, eloquent writing, with a confidence in the subject matter. Palmer piece in particular puts a unique local spin on a national subject. |
| Columns | Honorable Mention | The Modesto Bee | Mike Dunbar columns | Mike Dunbar | The difficult balance of conservation, ecology, agriculture and politics made the fish column a good and informative one, especially since most readers probably never considered much beyond “more water flow must be better.” Educated me a great deal on the Central Valley’s water issues. Lots of research went into this. |
| Columns | 2nd | The Napa Valley Register | Simple & Sassy | Samie Hartley | |
| Columns | 2nd | The Press Democrat | Paul Gullixson columns | Paul Gullixson | Strongly argued, fairly clearly reasoned columns that carry the thesis well. In a few places, arguments seemed to run a bit tangentially to the pieces’ overall themes. Length isn’t an issue for readers invested in the topic at hand, but quite likely would be for more casual readers. Great writing and research. |
| Columns | Honorable Mention | The Press Democrat | Lowell Cohn columns | Lowell Cohn | Loved the baseball column. Terrific writing. |
| Columns | Honorable Mention | The Record | Danke Schon Stockton and Making amends to ripped off Germans and Was D. B. Cooper in Stockton | Michael Fitzgerald | Nice writing style. Piece on German tourists is sweet and shows off a unique side of the community. DB Cooper columns reveals some rich and fun local history. |
| Columns | Honorable Mention | The Recorder | The Moderate Shift at the Ninth Circuit | Ben Feuer | Insightful look at 9th Circuit Court of Appeals change and what that means. |
| Columns | 2nd | The Salinas Californian | Life expectancy is based on where you live // Our poor nutrition is killing us | Jeff Mitchell | |
| Columns | 1st | The Sonoma Index-Tribune | Changing the Culture of Rape / Daughters of the Revolution | Jason Walsh | Excellent writing and research on what is a little known but serious problem. Well done. |
| Columns | 1st | The Tribune | Joetopia: The septic system fails AND Pirate’s Cove is a mess | Joe Tarica | Fun, well-crafted reads with local flavor. Pirate’s Cove reveals a community problem, while septic system shows a quirk of the area. Lots of fun turns of phrase throughout. |
| Columns | Honorable Mention | The Union | Indy 500 champ!; Sierra Harvest changing how we look at food | Brian Hamilton | |
| Columns | 2nd | The Weekly Calistogan | When a victim is a member of your family | Anne Ward Ernst | Anne Ward Ernst makes violence personal for the reader, providing insight through an effective understated writing style. |
| Columns | Honorable Mention | Thousand Oaks Acorn | It’s One Final Mow for Grumps and Vin Made it Sing | Elizabeth Kirby | |
| Columns | Honorable Mention | Times-Herald, Vallejo | What Trump’s win means is up to you | Jack F.K. Bungart | |
| Coverage of Business News | Honorable Mention | Big Bear Grizzly | White a boost for Big Bear | Kathy Portie | |
| Coverage of Business News | Honorable Mention | East Bay Times | Delivering … but not to satisfaction | Annie Sciacca | |
| Coverage of Business News | Honorable Mention | La Cañada Flintridge Outlook | After 57 Years, Sport Chalet to Close Doors | Mirjam Swanson | Liked the historical background, placing its significance to community, all the local government voices on what’s next, and the analysis on why failed. |
| Coverage of Business News | 1st | Los Angeles Downtown News | As Downtown’s Retail Scene Booms, Some Worry About the Future | Eddie Kim, Senior Writer | Tons of sourcing. Captures the conflict inherent in boom times and weighs the thin line between boom and bubble. |
| Coverage of Business News | Honorable Mention | Los Angeles Times | Robot Nation | Natalie Kitroeff | An in-depth look at a major issue facing U.S. workers. |
| Coverage of Business News | Honorable Mention | Monterey Herald | A tale of two cities | James Herrera | |
| Coverage of Business News | 2nd | Mountain View Voice | Robots rolling in dough | Mark Noack | Engaging writing, interesting topic, comprehensive. Makes me want to go there. |
| Coverage of Business News | Honorable Mention | New Times | The invisibles | Chris McGuinness | Good trend-spotting and number-hunting on an important topic. |
| Coverage of Business News | Honorable Mention | Pasadena Outlook | Chinese Tech Giant Sets Up Shop in Pasadena | Nick Ostiller | This coverage is comprehensive, engaging, timely, and tells the reader why they should care |
| Coverage of Business News | 1st | Record Searchlight | Burney yelling ’Timber’ | Alayna Shulman | Great, thorough look at the impact of the declining lumber industry and how it affects rural towns. |
| Coverage of Business News | 1st | San Francisco Business Times | Pulling the stagecoach out of the ditch | Mark Calvey | Well written, balanced, insightful with lots of information. |
| Coverage of Business News | Honorable Mention | San Francisco Business Times | The Year of the Apartment | Blanca Torres | Timely, well researched, well written look at apartment growth in San Francisco |
| Coverage of Business News | 1st | San Francisco Chronicle | As city lowers boom, Airbnb and rivals thrive | Carolyn Said, Joaquin Palomino | The Chronicle’s package on Airbnb and other vacation rental operations was a deep dive into a very local issue — the love/hate relationship between Airbnb and its hometown and the impact on the city’s housing supply. The stories are clearly focused on different aspects of the issue, thoroughly reported and well-balanced. I also appreciated that they were told through the experiences of tenants and landlords. The graphics were also quite informative and strong supplements to the stories. Compelling read about an uneasy state of affairs |
| Coverage of Business News | 2nd | San Jose Mercury News | The Hidden Workforce Expanding Tesla’s Factory | Lou Hansen | With all the talk of illegal immigration, The Mercury News’ investigation into the B1/B2 visa program – “the wonderful world of unregulated visas” – both timely and impactful. The package shed light on a little-known problem, prompted an immediate response from Tesla and a change in its business operations. That’s what it’s all about. A shocking look at a practice that mostly stays in the shadows. |
| Coverage of Business News | 2nd | Santa Barbara Independent | Is it High Time? Santa Barbara and the Pot Prop | Tyler Hayden | Thoroughly reported. Good job getting ahead of an important state-wide issue and tackling the local angle. |
| Coverage of Business News | Honorable Mention | Santa Barbara Independent | The Appeal of Apeel | Matt Kettmann | Sunny profile of an interesting business. Good secondary sourcing. |
| Coverage of Business News | 2nd | The Business Journal | Construction-defect litigation bankrupts Clovis homebuilder | George Lurie | Mr. Lurie examines how the state’s business unfriendly laws allowed homeowners up to a decade to file litigation against the story’s General Contractor. Lurie explains in fairly layman’s terms what brought about the crisis and how the owner of Generation Homes struggled to serve his customers, albeit under very difficult circumstances. The author makes the reader feel genuinely sympathetic, but does not wallow in sentimentality, preferring to just relate the facts. |
| Coverage of Business News | 1st | The Desert Sun | Bracing for big weed | Rosalie Murphy | Great look at the ins and outs of the recreational marijuana industry in California, from the conversion of medical businesses to recreational and bringing in illegal growers to the legit side of the business. Covered everything from venture capital investment to the concerns of the mid-size growers looking to expand into a growing market. Lots of stats and data along with people. |
| Coverage of Business News | 2nd | The Desert Sun | Border Health: the allure of cheap doctors, drugs and dentists in Mexico | Barrett Newkirk | An excellent profile contrasting the cost – and allure – of dental and other medical services border residents can receive in Mexico compared to the U.S. And it was summed up well with the final quote by one patient who regularly traverses the border when he said “Our system here is so broken...... this is really a no brainer.” The risks could have been better profiled, but I found the story very interesting from a reader and consumer perspective. |
| Coverage of Business News | 2nd | The Fresno Bee | Valley hospitals spending millions to build pediatric networks | Barbara Anderson | |
| Coverage of Business News | 1st | The Modesto Bee | Gallo Winery cashing in on MID’s low industrial electricity prices | Garth Stapley | |
| Coverage of Business News | Honorable Mention | The Mountain Enterprise | Alpine comes crashing down | Gary Meyer | |
| Coverage of Business News | Honorable Mention | The Mountain Enterprise | Local real estate broker accused of ’negligence or incompetence’ | Gary Meyer and Patric Hedlund | |
| Coverage of Business News | 2nd | The Napa Valley Register | From Cambodia’s ’killing fields’ to Napa: Life in a doughnut shop | Jennifer Huffman | Great read. |
| Coverage of Business News | Honorable Mention | The Orange County Register | Section 8 housing | Jeff Collins | Very compelling read. Puts the reader in a position to really empathize with your subject. |
| Coverage of Business News | Honorable Mention | The Press Democrat | Fishermen pushed to the breaking point | Mary Callahan | |
| Coverage of Business News | Honorable Mention | The Record | Trauma center fallout and Trauma center hit with and Trauma turmoil | Joseph Goldeen | I see this series of stories as an example of great public service on behalf of The Record newspaper and reporter Joe Goldeen. It’s a very good series unfolding the story of San Joaquin General Hospital’s failure to meet compliance as a Level III trauma center when it’s shooting to achieve Level II status within a year and objectively highlights for readers what level of confidence the community might have in the hospital administration. |
| Coverage of Business News | 1st | The Recorder | Uber driver settlement | Ben Hancock | |
| Coverage of Business News | 2nd | The Recorder | Leadership Fight Over the VW Diesel Lawsuit | Ross Todd | |
| Coverage of Business News | 1st | The Sonoma Index-Tribune | The Spirits of Wine Country | Lorna Sheridan | An interesting and informative look at a traditional business with a non-traditional twist. This piece captures the fun and vigor of the Sonoma area, which is resplendent with some of the world’s greatest vineyards, yet according to the article is also seeing an increase if not only the craft beer market, but popularity of the cocktail and organic vodkas as well. Author seems to have an intimate knowledge of her subject, but utilizes her sources well. |
| Coverage of Business News | Honorable Mention | The Tribune | Farm Supply | Julie Lynem | A very good business profile feature of a local company that went from the verge of bankruptcy to becoming a staple of the community. |
| Coverage of Business News | Honorable Mention | The Union | Hotels over homes? Affordable housing clashes with economic development in Grass Valley | Teresa Yingmeng Liu; Laura Mahaffy | Interesting read. The last few graphs really sum everything up. |
| Coverage of Education | Honorable Mention | American Canyon Eagle | Parents seek overhaul of NVUSD lunch program | Noel Brinkerhoff | A great look at the battle for better school lunches over a year. The point that low-income students have to eat it more is important. Well-written. |
| Coverage of Education | 1st | Auburn Journal | Three stories covering different aspects of education | Tricia Caspers | Thoughtful coverage of three distinctly different aspects of education, made stronger by solid reporting and clear writing. |
| Coverage of Education | 2nd | Big Bear Grizzly | Giving Big Bear students a healthy start in school | Kathy Portie | Good feature that explores the trouble plaguing poor students in school and how a specialized programs tries to help them overcome obstacles. |
| Coverage of Education | 2nd | Los Angeles Daily News | El Camino Real charter school series | Daily News staff | Fantastic work unearthing this story, and presenting it with various links to receipts and relevant coverage. This piece could have also been put forth as a solid entry in the investigative category. |
| Coverage of Education | 2nd | Los Angeles Times | Education Coverage: Anna M. Phillips | Anna M. Phillips | Ms. Phillips does an amazing job of bringing the reader a new perspective on the life of a school administrator. Whoever thought a principal would need to be a private investigator tracking down 3 more students? Phillips’ series is well rounded and touches the reader as they learn about the passion of educators, inability to afford housing near work and the struggle to attract students. Outstanding work. |
| Coverage of Education | Honorable Mention | Los Angeles Times | Education Coverage: Teresa Watanabe | Teresa Watanabe | |
| Coverage of Education | 2nd | Marin Independent Journal | Of the Old School | Janis Mara | This story takes us right into a one-room school house. In the first few paragraphs, we hear the teacher talk to her lone fourth-grader, then move seamlessly on to her other students, giving them all different assignments. Strong writing that gives us a short history of one-room school houses and lets us see, rather than only telling us, the advantages they bring and challenges they face. |
| Coverage of Education | Honorable Mention | Marin Independent Journal | Renewed scrutiny on charter school | Mark Prado | Strong investigative piece examining whether a local charter school is getting more than its share of funds. This is local journalism doing what it should do: holding our school officials accountable for how they spend money. |
| Coverage of Education | 2nd | Merced Sun-Star | Coverage of Merced College administration | Thaddeus Miller | Dogged reporting and clean writing about an unresponsive secondary school’s relationship with local law enforcement. |
| Coverage of Education | 2nd | Mountain View Voice | A not-so-seamless summer for hungry kids | Kevin Forestieri | Nice start, great subject, a variety of sources. |
| Coverage of Education | Honorable Mention | Mountain View Voice | Teacher shortage still a big problem | Kevin Forestieri | |
| Coverage of Education | 2nd | New Times | Out in the open | Peter Johnson | Contains depth of reporting and excellent writing while exploring the lack of diversity on campus and its implications. |
| Coverage of Education | 1st | Palo Alto Weekly | A case of bullying | Elena Kadvany | Outstanding exploration of bullying on personal and policy levels for a school district. |
| Coverage of Education | Honorable Mention | Record Searchlight | One STEP at a time | Jenny Espino | While this type of program is not new, the reporter’s sensitive coverage and number of sources made this a strong entry. |
| Coverage of Education | Honorable Mention | San Jose Mercury News | 70 mile commutes to high school | Sharon Noguchi | |
| Coverage of Education | Honorable Mention | San Marino Tribune | All In the Family | Mitch Lehman | Intriguing look inside the training and education of a marching band. thoughtful and well crafted. |
| Coverage of Education | Honorable Mention | Santa Barbara Independent | City College Pledges Two Free Years for Santa Barbara Grads | Keith Hamm | Good feature on a groundbreaking change in community college education and what it could mean for the school and possibly beyond in the state. |
| Coverage of Education | Honorable Mention | Santa Maria Sun | The bully effect | Brenna Swanston | |
| Coverage of Education | Honorable Mention | Santa Maria Times | OAHS mulls attendance policies after citation | Gina Kim | Good reporting on an important — and under-reported — issue. |
| Coverage of Education | Honorable Mention | The Acorn | Dear reader: Technology erases the beautiful art of handwriting | Stephanie Bertholdo, John Loesing | Interesting look at a dying aspect of K-12 education in the technology era. |
| Coverage of Education | 1st | The Almanac | Separate & unequal: Proposal aims to narrow wide education equity gap in local schools | Barbara Wood | Really good. Great data comparisons, obviously did some digging for significant facts (differennce in teacher pay). Missing parental outrage, could use some more voices,or personal illustrations |
| Coverage of Education | 2nd | The Ark | Emotional students, parents make plea … | Matthew Hose | Great job of providing an emotional context without editorializing or personal narration. |
| Coverage of Education | Honorable Mention | The Ark | School vaccination laws | Kevin Hessel, Deirdre McCrohan and Carly Nairn | Good, thoughtful, objective look at an issue that shouldn’t be political but is. |
| Coverage of Education | Honorable Mention | The Bakersfield Californian | Coverage of the Kern High School District | Harold Pierce | A “bloody year” indeed. Where to begin? From guns in the classroom, to “personal vendettas” in awarding contracts, to the settlement in the beating case, to transgender bathrooms, rise of STDs, and on to the financial backers of the bond measure already awarded $140 million in work ... it’s quite shocking the number of issues at Kern High School District — also shocking is the arrogance and hubris exhibited by school officials. Incredible and important work. Congratulations! |
| Coverage of Education | Honorable Mention | The Bakersfield Californian | Uncredentialed school administrator earning six-figure salary | Harold Pierce | Important work that proved to be integral in the outcome of this investigation — drawing outrage from the school community that ultimately led to resignation. This coverage would also be a solid investigative reporting entry. The scope of the coverage also did a great job of not only evaluating the administrator who eventually resigned, but also how the school officials and board members responsible performed in their roles. Fantastic reporting and concise, easy to follow writing. Congrats! |
| Coverage of Education | Honorable Mention | The Business Journal | Valley schools exploring handgun policies for staff | Hannah Esqueda | Well-reported and written story on a subject not explored by many school districts. |
| Coverage of Education | 1st | The Cambrian | Coverage of Coast Unified School District in Cambria | If More than 3 names type: Staff | This story offered a fair, informative and balanced view of a controversial subject in a way that was also a great read. Good amounts of background mixed with quotes to propel the story and provide different views of the argument without editorializing. Well done! |
| Coverage of Education | 1st | The Davis Enterprise | Katehi resigns | Tanya Perez and Felicia Alvarez | Top-notch breaking news reporting with companion reporting that fully fleshes out the story. |
| Coverage of Education | 1st | The Desert Sun | Education divide | Kristen Hwang, Robert Hopwood | ”Education Divide” strongly addresses a pervasive problem in education: how to teach children who come to school with different resources. The story clearly outlines the disadvantages students face if they live in poverty or if English is not their first language. Strong lede outlines at the outset what those disadvantages include. Good use of graphics. |
| Coverage of Education | Honorable Mention | The Desert Sun | Career tech ed | Kristen Hwang | Good mix of voices, as we hear from students, teachers, administrators and experts. |
| Coverage of Education | 1st | The Fresno Bee | Local school districts do little to protect themselves from conflicted advisers | Rory Appleton | Comprehensive explanation on how school districts could be susceptible to such conflicts of interest in consulting work. The story not only explained how Bradley worked both sides, but also how school districts seemingly leave themselves open to such conflicts. |
| Coverage of Education | 1st | The San Diego Union-Tribune | Stories about charter schools | Maureen Magee | This series is amazing. Ms. Magee digs into the corruption charter school legislation has brought to the school system vividly. With superintendents making commission and pleading guilty to felonies. Amazing series that details the need for charter school reform. Great work. |
| Coverage of Local Government | Honorable Mention | Chico News & Review | Boulevard brouhaha | Staff | Very thorough reporting. I liked the graphic as well as the history of the Esplanade. And I thought the idea of taking an imaginary ride down the improved street was a great addition to help visualize it. |
| Coverage of Local Government | 2nd | Dana Point Times | Ballot Issues | Matt Cortina, Kristina Pritchett | Excellent entry. This is a great example of coverage of local government with a focus on informing and educating the reader. The photos brought the package to life, and the story was well-organized. Nice job. |
| Coverage of Local Government | Honorable Mention | East Bay Times | Pittsburg police department scandal | Matthias Gafni | |
| Coverage of Local Government | 2nd | Los Angeles Times | Big Money, Unlikely Donors | Los Angeles Times Staff | These stories didn’t just uncover a campaign finance and bribery scheme, it showed the brazen, arrogant, shamelessness at play when big money meets big power. What makes these stories so impressive is the gumshoe persistence of the reporters who tracked down the many campaign contributors and got several to talk. |
| Coverage of Local Government | Honorable Mention | Mountain View Voice | Battle over rent control in Mountain View | Mark Noack, Andrea Gemmet | Concise, well-written, informative articles with a good variety of perspectives on an important issue leading up to and beyond the election. |
| Coverage of Local Government | Honorable Mention | New Times | No easy fix | Peter Johnson | |
| Coverage of Local Government | 2nd | North Bay Bohemian | Crude Awakening | Staff | The longest single article in this category, the most informative, and the best writing. |
| Coverage of Local Government | 2nd | Palo Alto Weekly | Huge political contributions spark outcry, suspicion | Gennady Sheyner | Really good watchdog stuff. |
| Coverage of Local Government | Honorable Mention | Palos Verdes Peninsula News | Lunada Bay Boys and Palos Verdes Estates | Ed Pilolla, Megan Barnes, Cynthia Washicko | Very interesting journalistic effort especially considering the size of the staff and even without taking that into account. |
| Coverage of Local Government | Honorable Mention | Record Searchlight | Cleaning Redding | Jenny Espino, Nathan Solis | Nice day-in-the-life perspective of a code enforcement officer and description of some of the issues that affect your town. |
| Coverage of Local Government | Honorable Mention | San Francisco Examiner | Dark Money: Outside Influence in San Francisco Supervisor Races | Joshua Sabatini, Michael Barba | This series takes on the big and important topic of independent expenditures. |
| Coverage of Local Government | 1st | San Jose Mercury News | Drug Docs | Karen De Sa and Tracy Seipel | These stories deserve first place because the reporters uncovered a disturbing practice aimed at a vulnerable and forgotten population. The discoveries shock the conscience. Most impressive was that the reporters had to gain an understanding of the practice of medicine and were able to explain the medical, psychological and ethical problems at play in clear and understandable terms. They also painted a picture of the human condition that touched the heart. |
| Coverage of Local Government | Honorable Mention | Santa Cruz Sentinel | Councilman reprimanded for illegal secondary residence | Jessica A. York | The quintessential Santa Cruz local governance series. Kudos. |
| Coverage of Local Government | Honorable Mention | Sierra Star | County continues to work with hotel developer | Brian Wilkinson | Nice job exploring why the hotels were taking so long to get built at a time when the developer didn’t really cooperate. Was glad to see the info hinting at how much hotel tax revenue was at stake, but I might have put it earlier in the story, as it shows locals there’s more to this problem than not having rooms for out-of-towners. |
| Coverage of Local Government | 1st | The Almanac | How local resident fights aircraft noise in small claims court (5 stories) | Barbara Wood | Effective and reader-friendly with the five related pieces in a great lay-out on two pages. The writing is all good, and the on-site reporting brings it home. Many of the entries in this category are much longer single articles or series done over time, but this stands out for being both concise and informative. Also stands out for use of graphic elements. |
| Coverage of Local Government | 1st | The Ark | Riders save Route 8 commuter bus | Matthew Hose | Great look at citizens’ efforts to save their bus route from elimination. I liked that the reporter made sure to take the time to ride the route a few times, as well. |
| Coverage of Local Government | Honorable Mention | The Ark | Deer sterlization debate | Matthew Hose | A three-part series about deer having their ovaries removed in some citizen’s garage ended up being one of the oddest things I’ve read in a while — in a good way! Great job getting to the bottom of the science while navigating the subjectivity of whether there really is a deer “problem.” |
| Coverage of Local Government | Honorable Mention | The Daily Independent | Ridgecrest Casino series | Jessica Weston, Aaron Crutchfield | Good government reporting about the casino proposal. |
| Coverage of Local Government | Honorable Mention | The Davis Enterprise | Outside money in state senate and state assembly races | Anne Ternus-Bellamy | This is an important issue, covered during a particularly busy time of year for newsrooms. I appreciated the analysis and hard data that is sometimes difficult to communicate in a clear, concise way. Nice work on your series of stories. |
| Coverage of Local Government | Honorable Mention | The Davis Enterprise | County outlines reforms in child welfare services | Anne Ternus-Bellamy | Really important topic, and excellent job at bringing the human element into it. I thought it was sectioned off in a thoughtful way and kept the reader’s attention throughout. My only criticism is I wish there had been bigger play on the package, with more thought on potential art/graphics. |
| Coverage of Local Government | 2nd | The Modesto Bee | Turlock farmers market controversy | Garth Stapley | A very interesting, well reported and nicely written look into a clash over management of a farmers market in this small Central California city. The writer draws the reader in with a nice introduction profiling the city’s young mayor. The story explains the contested issues clearly and gives those on all sides of the disagreement a fair say. |
| Coverage of Local Government | Honorable Mention | The Orange County Register | Orange County Justice in Crisis | Staff | |
| Coverage of Local Government | 1st | The Press Democrat | Santa Rosa aims to be epicenter of legal pot industry | Kevin McCallum | Thorough overview of an emerging issues – medical and recreational pot regulation – in the city. The reporter sets up the issues clearly and with no apparent bias. The reporting and sourcing are deep and fair; the writing inviting and lean. The story doesn’t purport to be an investigative series, but is an excellent explainer piece on an issue of high local interest. Terrific A1 photo. |
| Coverage of Local Government | Honorable Mention | The Record | Recovery still a struggle, Other cities seek advice and Restricted payroll | Roger Phillips | Solid dive into the numbers with context. Keeps an important local story fresh and on the front-burner. |
| Coverage of Local Government | Honorable Mention | The Sacramento Bee | Sacramento police shootings | Anita Chabria, Phillip Reese, Cynthia Hubert | |
| Coverage of Local Government | 2nd | The Tribune | Third District race turns sour amid accusations of online “trolling” | Kaytlyn Leslie | Clear-eyed reporting on an interesting topic in elections coverage. A sad, but entertaining portrait of local campaigning and dirty tricks in the digital age. |
| Coverage of Local Government | 2nd | The Trinity Journal | Trinity Hospital skilled nursing facility | Amy Gittelsohn | The writer did a great job securing the report that led to the skilled nursing facility’s closure and in talking with clients about the care they’d received. |
| Coverage of Local Government | 2nd | The Union | Marijuana in Nevada County | Alan Riquelmy | Good, comprehensive coverage of the pros and cons (and other layers) related to marijuana growth and following up with the measure from beginning to end. Nice layout. |
| Coverage of Local Government | 1st | Thousand Oaks Acorn | The termination of Scott Mitnick | Kyle Jorrey, Becca Whitnall | I loved this story! Great use of the Public Records Act to promote watchdog journalism. And the writers — perhaps in consultation with their editors — wisely kept the approach straight-forward, recognizing that stories as wild as this one pretty much write themselves. |
| Coverage of Local Government | 1st | Turlock Journal | Farmers market series | Kristina Hacker, Sabra Stafford, Angelina Martin | Excellent look at an important issue. I commend you on picking a topic that clearly impacts your community, then following it through with various looks during the different stages. Very comprehensive and cohesive. Also, the use of photos and other graphic elements made the presentation a good one. |
| Coverage of Local Government | 1st | Ukiah Daily Journal | Time to stop the revolving door | Justine Frederiksen, Chris Pugh | Good ground work by the reporter, taking the reader along to the street, the hospital and the jail while also providing an informative and compassionate account about the issue affecting mental health/substance abuse patients and the need for a secure mental health facility. |
| Coverage of Local Government | 1st | Ventura County Star | Thousand Oaks city manager fired | Mike Harris and Wendy Leung | Terrific public records reporting uncovered some nefarious practices and took down a city manager. Government reporting at its best. Where there’s smoke ... make a public records request. |
| Editorial Cartoon | Honorable Mention | Ledger Dispatch | The Green Rush | Rob Brant | Funny. I like this one. We’ll see more like this. |
| Editorial Cartoon | 1st | Los Angeles Downtown News | Election Day | Doug Davis | Cartoon should make people stop and think. It makes its point simply and has a fresh approach. Clean, good message, without choosing sides. |
| Editorial Cartoon | 1st | Los Angeles Times | Fake News | David Horsey | |
| Editorial Cartoon | Honorable Mention | Los Angeles Times | Champagne | David Horsey | |
| Editorial Cartoon | 1st | Marin Independent Journal | Back to school fashions | George Russell | Stylish art work, very clear in making its point. This cartoon was funny and timely. |
| Editorial Cartoon | 2nd | St. Helena Star | Grieving for those we never knew ... | Mason McCarty | Understated and elegant. Nicely done. |
| Editorial Cartoon | 2nd | The Fresno Bee | California Rain | SW Parra | |
| Editorial Cartoon | Honorable Mention | The Fresno Bee | Trump Wins | SW Parra | |
| Editorial Cartoon | Honorable Mention | The Napa Valley Register | Roberto Tinoco editorial cartoon: Nov. 26, 2016 | Roberto Tinoco | |
| Editorial Cartoon | Honorable Mention | The Napa Valley Register | Roberto Tinoco editorial cartoon: April 23, 2016 | Roberto Tinoco | |
| Editorial Cartoon | Honorable Mention | The Recorder | Say It Ain’t So | George Riemann | Nicely done comment in tough situation |
| Editorial Cartoon | 2nd | The Union | It takes a village idiot | R.L. Crabb | Detailed art, nice use of color. |
| Editorial Comment | Honorable Mention | Chico Enterprise-Record | County has spent $600K on losing fight | David Little, Steve Schoonover, Laura Urseny | A well-argued call for local government transparency. Paper does a fine job as a public watchdog, and very nice comparison to the supermarkets. |
| Editorial Comment | 1st | Del Norte Triplicate | Caltrans’ callous attitude toward safety on U.S. 101 | Triplicate Editorial Board | Wonderful, forceful piece taking Caltrans to task for its decisions by metrics. What I most like was analyzing when the consultant study took place, and pointing out that Dollar General underestimated the number of customers so it wouldn’t have to pay for road improvements. Just a strong editorial all the way around. |
| Editorial Comment | Honorable Mention | Del Norte Triplicate | Parks not the good neighbor we thought they were | Triplicate Editorial Board | It’s a bit of civic boosterism, but it also makes a good case that the park service needs to take more into consideration than it has when making this critical decision. |
| Editorial Comment | 2nd | East Bay Times | Contra Costa District Attorney should resign | Daniel Borenstein | |
| Editorial Comment | Honorable Mention | East Bay Times | Reject BART’s Measure RR high-pressure sales pitch | Daniel Borenstein | |
| Editorial Comment | Honorable Mention | Half Moon Bay Review | Half Moon Bay editorial | Clay Lambert | |
| Editorial Comment | Honorable Mention | Los Angeles Downtown News | Thankful for the Right to Protest | Sue Laris & Jon Regardie | Good and inspiring call to get involved. |
| Editorial Comment | Honorable Mention | Los Angeles Downtown News | Desperately Wanted: More Candidates for Citywide Office | Sue Laris & Jon Regardie | Excellent, clear call to action: Someone please run for office! |
| Editorial Comment | 2nd | Los Angeles Times | Attacking a Cop: A Hate Crime? | Michael McGough | A courageous and well written appeal to readers not to lose their head in the emotional aftermath of police offers’ slayings. Well reasoned opinion that also does a good job of explaining what a hate crime really is and takes an important stand on a controversial subject. |
| Editorial Comment | 1st | Los Banos Enterprise | Jones should quit school board | Mike Dunbar | |
| Editorial Comment | 1st | Merced Sun-Star | Opinski, Jones must quit board positions without delay | Mike Dunbar | Good editorials take a strong position on things of great local interest and back those opinions with facts. This editorial hit on all those points and was well-written and straight to the point. |
| Editorial Comment | Honorable Mention | Merced Sun-Star | Walsh isn’t suited to lead MC into future | Mike Dunbar | This is local watch-dog journalism at its best with the newspaper taking a strong stand on what it sees as unethical and perhaps criminal behavior. Strong writing about an important local subject. |
| Editorial Comment | Honorable Mention | Mountain View Voice | City’s refusal to release applications wrongheaded | Renee Batti | This editorial blasts Mountain View City Council for its failure to disclose three of five pages of applications from 22 seekers of seats on the Rental Housing Committee — under the misapplication of a 1996 state court decision that background information of these applicants somehow reflect “deliverative or decision-making processes” of the council. |
| Editorial Comment | 1st | Palo Alto Weekly | Stanford’s deafening silence | Bill Johnson, Publisher | The editorial “Stanford’s deafening silence” stood out for its clarity and persuasive arguments. The Palo Alto Weekly showed courage in taking on a powerful local institution, and the editorial board laid out a strong case detailing Stanford’s missteps and an assortment of missed opportunities. The editorial was strengthened by reporting. Instead of just criticizing from afar, the weekly sought an explanation from a university official and gave her a chance to have her say. Strong, constructive criticism of university officials with a clear challenge for them to change. |
| Editorial Comment | Honorable Mention | Petaluma Argus-Courier | Sales tax should be for streets | Staff | You don’t often see newspapers advocating taxes, but they make a strong case for a sales tax for roads. |
| Editorial Comment | 2nd | Pleasanton Weekly | Vote no on Measure MM | Gina Channell, Jeb Bing | The editorial took strong positions on four ballot measures but did so with persuasive arguments buoyed by ample details and facts. |
| Editorial Comment | 1st | San Francisco Business Times | Generation next: San Francisco’s housing market is eating its young | Jim Gardner | The San Francisco Business Times submitted three editorials. Together they present a reasoned, impassioned and forceful position on the Bay Area’s housing crisis. |
| Editorial Comment | 1st | San Francisco Chronicle | A civic disgrace: Editorial on S.F. homelessness | John Diaz | This editorial perfectly blends outrage and reason in its appeal for the kind of comprehensive, massive assault on homelessness that San Francisco obviously needs. It is the perfect denouement to a series that explored this heartbreaking social problem. To the point and well-argued. Plenty of reason for taxpayers to be concerned and advocates to be frustrated. Change is a must and this editorial provides good guidance. |
| Editorial Comment | Honorable Mention | St. Helena Star | When democracy goes wrong | Staff | Strong tie federal to local, offers a solution. |
| Editorial Comment | Honorable Mention | The Almanac | Supervisors’ rushed appointment of sheriff a bad decision | Renee Batti | |
| Editorial Comment | 2nd | The Camarillo Acorn | Seeking straight talk, not pillow talk | Daniel Wolowicz | Great example and explanation of why we need newspapers to help keep public records available to the public. |
| Editorial Comment | 2nd | The Davis Enterprise | Katehi runs out of excuses | Sebastian Oñate | Good overview and analysis. |
| Editorial Comment | 1st | The Fresno Bee | Spineless delay in slumlord fight by Fresno City Council | Bill McEwen | |
| Editorial Comment | Honorable Mention | The Modesto Bee | If the state carries out its plan, our region will suffer | Mike Dunbar | |
| Editorial Comment | 2nd | The Napa Valley Register | Bind up the nation’s wounds | Staff | Connecting the current to past American history resulted in a timely and well-focused editorial that gets to the point of the problem. |
| Editorial Comment | 2nd | The Record | It is time | Mike Klocke | A smart, sharp and well-reasoned editorial on an issue of utmost local importance. The arguments laid out here are simple, direct, efficient and irrefutable. This newspaper does its duty to the community. |
| Editorial Comment | Honorable Mention | The Sacramento Bee | California to Trump: America can’t afford for us to fail | Shawn Hubler | |
| Editorial Comment | Honorable Mention | The San Diego Union-Tribune | Stop saying Donald Trump can’t win. He can. | Staff | |
| Editorial Comment | 1st | The Tribune | Looking for help in a post-Diablo Canyon economy | Staff | An extremely well-researched and thoughtful editorial. Not only does the editorial board take a stand, they search for facts from around the country to support it. This is long but never dull and provides an important service to its readers as it preppies them for the future. |
| Editorial Comment | 2nd | The Trinity Journal | Trinity would be better served | Wayne R. Agner | Strong. |
| Editorial Comment | Honorable Mention | Times-Standard | The buck stops with Brius and Rockport | Marc Valles | Strong stand on an issue of wide interest with the country’s aging population. This was well-written and backed strong opinions with facts. |
| Editorial Comment | Honorable Mention | Ventura County Star | Mike Morgan was wrong to hide fiesta deal | John Moore | This takes a local official to task, and is a wise call for transparency and honesty. Other publications might have been mean spirited. Here the tone is direct and effective. As you read, you nod along in agreement. |
| Enterprise News Story or Series | 1st | American Canyon Eagle | Traffic: A tale of two families | Noel Brinkerhoff | This entry is distinguished by detailed reporting and an original way to frame the story. Traffic, despite its importance, can be awfully dull reading. This went beyond the routine. |
| Enterprise News Story or Series | Honorable Mention | Black Voice News | Merchants of Riverside | Staff | Nice presentation and photos in this engaging look at small businesses and the people behind them. Smart design and sharply written copy aid in offering a reader-friendly glimpse into what drives the folks who make the local economy healthy and unique. |
| Enterprise News Story or Series | Honorable Mention | Burbank Leader | Spate of gang violence renews past concerns | Alene Tchekmedyian | Strong coverage that made a difference. Cleanly written, with excellent use of crime stats to weave a compelling narrative. |
| Enterprise News Story or Series | Honorable Mention | Chico Enterprise-Record | Overdose Nation | Ashiah Scharaga | |
| Enterprise News Story or Series | Honorable Mention | Daily Breeze | Lunada Bay Boys surf localism | Megan Barnes, Cynthia Washicko, Ed Pilolla | Love all the different angles used to cover essentially the same story. Research into the legal docs really made this story. Love the local feel. |
| Enterprise News Story or Series | Honorable Mention | Lake County Record-Bee | Troubled Bridges | Ken R. Wells | A classic enterprise reporting story and a job well done. The accompanying list of bridges is good information for local readers. |
| Enterprise News Story or Series | Honorable Mention | Los Angeles Downtown News | The Overlooked Homelessness Crisis: How a Shocking Number of Women Wound Up on the Streets | Staff | Good work putting the spotlight on an under-reported problem. Lots of input form a variety of sources. |
| Enterprise News Story or Series | 1st | Los Angeles Times | California’s Pension Crisis | Los Angeles Times, CALmatters and Capital Public Radio | The epic idiocy of California’s pension decisions during the Davis administration have been well documented and obsessively reported for more than a decade. Still, here, the Los Angeles Times reminds us of the ongoing public cost of those decisions and the growing disparity between the futures available to the working joe and the government elite. |
| Enterprise News Story or Series | 1st | Merced Sun-Star | Lack of access to health care in Merced County | Monica Velez | The reporter did excellent job identifying and humanize a real problem, in compelling reporting and writing. |
| Enterprise News Story or Series | 2nd | Metro Silicon Valley | So You Think You Can Help | Jennifer Wadsworth | Lots of information from multiple sources with different views about how to solve the problem of homelessness. Deep interviews. Interviews with homeless people in addition to activists. The lede anecdote was a great example of tension between competing views. A wonderfully balanced look at what can happen when a community tries to help, causing another set of problems. |
| Enterprise News Story or Series | 2nd | Mount Shasta Herald | Living on the streets in Mount Shasta | Paul Boerger | The writer has a good ear for quotes while producing solid stories of value to local readers. |
| Enterprise News Story or Series | Honorable Mention | Mountain View Voice | Out of balance: a look at the job growth driving Silicon Valley’s housing crisis (series) | Kevin Forestieri, Mark Noack, Andrea Gemmet | Comprehensive coverage of a vital issue, written fairly, with a good range of sources and excellent use of statistics. Well done. |
| Enterprise News Story or Series | Honorable Mention | Palo Alto Weekly | High price to pay | Gennady Sheyner | Good idea for a story, and the research is in-depth. Solid work on a critical but complex local issue. |
| Enterprise News Story or Series | 2nd | Palos Verdes Peninsula News | Lunada Bay Boys and Palos Verdes Estates | Ed Pilolla, Megan Barnes, Cynthia Washicko | Great investigative series that any newspaper would be proud of, with clear writing, good sourcing, and effective use of public records requests to hold public officials accountable. |
| Enterprise News Story or Series | 2nd | Petaluma Argus-Courier | Reining in vacation rentals, plus 2 more stories | Eric Gneckow | A well-reported and thoughtful examination of a problematic issue. Nice work balancing the nuances involved, and offering readers an in-depth look at how the issue affects individual people and the community at large. |
| Enterprise News Story or Series | 1st | Sacramento News & Review | Art, race and money | Janelle Bitker | White wall anecdote to lede the story was fantastic. It captured my interest and drew me right in even though I don’t normally read stories about art or racial issues. The writing style was lively, and the story felt like it kept moving throughout. It never slowed down too much. Great job interviewing lots of different types of players, including artists, gallery managers and a public agency rep. Really interesting look at the art world, usually the subject of fluffy features. Excellent drilling down on an uncomfortable issue. |
| Enterprise News Story or Series | Honorable Mention | San Francisco Chronicle | Beyond Homelessness and the SF Homeless Project | Staff | The Chronicle crafted an obsessively reported investigation. It goes beyond the other entrants to this category’s commitment to the topic. It identifies a solution to the problem it documents and backs the solution up with informed reporting. Intimate stories of the afflicted abound but the reporters and editors do not get mired in melodrama. Photos and graphics empower the narrative. And the Chronicle takes a commercial risk and recruits a legion of media competitors to press for action. |
| Enterprise News Story or Series | Honorable Mention | San Marino Tribune | Fighting Fire With Practice | Kevork Kurdoghlian | A very readable look into everyday challenges faced by local firefighters. The dramatic, first-person approach worked well to draw the reader in to a story that otherwise might have gotten bogged down in less interesting detail. |
| Enterprise News Story or Series | 1st | Santa Maria Sun | Out of the shadows | Joe Payne | Thorough reporting, smooth writing, and excellent coverage of a sensitive topic. No sensationalism or sentimentality, just letting the sources and the facts speak for themselves. Bravo. |
| Enterprise News Story or Series | Honorable Mention | The Ark | Belvedere flood rules | Matthew Hose | The writer tackled a difficult and highly technical topic. It’s an example of serving local readers with a detailed report on a local issue. |
| Enterprise News Story or Series | 1st | The Desert Sun | Tribal lands | Rosalie Murphy, Jay Calderon, Robert Hopwood | Artful stories that combine the usually dry facts of land ownership (but they’re not here) with very human stories. The series is also notable for casting a light on unsavory practices of the past. This probably was an eye-opener for many readers. |
| Enterprise News Story or Series | 2nd | The Modesto Bee | Think MID’s rates are low? You’d better think again | Garth Stapley | Terrific consumer reporting, identifying inequities in the system in a way that is transparent about its methodology and offers alternative viewpoints. This is the kind of reporting the public needs its news organizations to pursue. Terrific research and a real service to residents. Love the graphics and illustrations. |
| Enterprise News Story or Series | Honorable Mention | The Modesto Bee | Ex-convict urges former Stanislaus clerk-recorder to come clean | Garth Stapley | A true enterprise story. Beautifully written and researched. Well done. |
| Enterprise News Story or Series | 2nd | The Orange County Register | Homelessness in Orange County | Theresa Walker, David Whiting, Jordan Graham | Excellent color and description. Profiles/articles are well focused and thorough, with compelling, even gripping, detail. The Register made the struggle of the homeless in Orange County real and intimate to its readers. It documented the beginnings of solution and the stories of the afflicted and those who try to help them. |
| Enterprise News Story or Series | 1st | The Press Democrat | Valley fire: One year later | Staff | A thorough update on a tragic community event, told with compassion and attention to the lessons learned and the hurt and anguish still being experienced. Well reported, well written and well edited. Great job all around. |
| Enterprise News Story or Series | Honorable Mention | The Record | Police train and Sometimes she forgets and When mental health | Roger Phillips | Written with precision and compassion, these stories put us in the middle of sad and compelling scenes. |
| Enterprise News Story or Series | Honorable Mention | The Recorder | Threat Level | Rebecca Cohen and Lizzy McLellan | Smart local angle on a worldwide story. |
| Enterprise News Story or Series | Honorable Mention | The San Diego Union-Tribune | Border wall series | Staff | With this series the San Diego Union Tribune made the border between the United States and Mexico a living character for the reader. It’s a being with history, culture and pathos and understanding it lends a compelling insight into the larger issues of immigration that trouble both nations. |
| Enterprise News Story or Series | 1st | The Sonoma Index-Tribune | Spotlight on Housing | Staff | An ambitious, well-executed effort to explain a complex and significant local issue from a variety of perspectives. Smartly conceived and well-written. |
| Enterprise News Story or Series | 2nd | The Tribune | Diablo Canyon’s road to closure 4-day series + editorial + settlement story | Stephanie Finucane, Kaytlyn Leslie | This is what good community journalism is all about. This useful series offers new and practical information to a region undergoing economic change. It is an impressive investment of resources, to the benefit of readers and their elected officials. This entry is distinguished by an innovative angle and by its blend of the technical with the human. The devotion of resources to such a project is commendable. |
| Enterprise News Story or Series | 2nd | The Union | Colorado goes first; Bakin’ a mile high; Decision on Prop 64 | Alan Riquelmy | Sending a reporter to nearby Colorado two weeks before the California marijuana vote brought local sensibilities to a state issue and gave voters real information from a state where pot is legal. |
| Enterprise News Story or Series | Honorable Mention | The Union | Jan. 10, 2001 | Alan Riquelmy | Great package that is both forward looking and backward looking, at an incident that shook a community, but also led to a new law. The package sets the stage for a debate around the sunset of Laura’s law in 2017. |
| Environmental Reporting | Honorable Mention | Appeal-Democrat | Water Rights Battle | Jake Abbott | By far the best. Three-part series has a complete history of a water battle going back 100 years and it explains two legal battles over water rights and revenue. Outstanding reporting and well written. |
| Environmental Reporting | 1st | Los Angeles Daily News | Porter Ranch gas leak | Daily News staff | Great environmental piece that also exposes possible dangerous health hazards to the people of Porter Ranch. |
| Environmental Reporting | 1st | Half Moon Bay Review | The crumbling Coastside | Carina Woudenberg and Bill Murray | Well written and informative about an issue of major local and larger importance. Good use of art to enhance story. Concise and easy to absorb. |
| Environmental Reporting | Honorable Mention | La Cañada Flintridge Outlook | Ingenuity of ex-LCHS Science Enthusiasts is Recognized | Mirjam Swanson | The writer of this article received great responses through sources, as they showed some personality to interest the reader. |
| Environmental Reporting | Honorable Mention | La Jolla Light | What are we swimming in? A look at the waters off the coast of La Jolla | Maria Jose Duran | Excellent science reporting without being overbearing on public problem. Makes what could be complex, understandable, and of interest to public. |
| Environmental Reporting | 1st | Los Angeles Times | U2’s The Edge and His Fight to Build in Malibu | Jack Dolan | Jack Dolan’s piece on Sweetwater Mesa and The Edge does a phenomenal job of condensing a complex issue into an easy-to-digest feature. The subject matter is fascinating by itself because of the celebrity involved, but Dolan’s explanation of the complex issues surrounding development on the California Coast, along with his introduction of characters such as Peter M. Douglas, help hold on to the reader’s attention. |
| Environmental Reporting | Honorable Mention | Los Angeles Times | Chain Saw Serenade | Thomas Curwen | Thomas Curwen’s engaging and informative piece on the business of hauling off dying trees in the Sierra Nevada is filled with stunning imagery that makes a potentially bland subject come alive. He grabs readers with strong language and interesting characters, before introducing the conflict of overcrowded forests. It’s a fantastic read. |
| Environmental Reporting | Honorable Mention | Marin Independent Journal | Marin Recyclers in Economic Vise | Richard Halstead | What a shocking story! This may impact recycling in a huge way. Very well written and informative, with a lot of information packed into a relatively small space. Although there were other entries that simply were far more detailed and researched, this story was my personal favorite because it sparked so many questions about what will happen to all this plastic if no one is willing to recycle it. I want to read “Part Two”... the sign of a great story! |
| Environmental Reporting | Honorable Mention | Mariposa Gazette | Log sites | Greg Little | |
| Environmental Reporting | Honorable Mention | Metro Silicon Valley | Glocal Warming | Jennifer Wadsworth | |
| Environmental Reporting | Honorable Mention | Monterey County Weekly | Reporting on the Cemex plant in Marina, the nation’s only remaining coastal sand mine. | David Schmalz | Excellent reporting, interesting issue. Well done. |
| Environmental Reporting | 1st | Monterey Herald | River in Recovery? | Jim Johnson | Strong report on prospects for Carmel River’s recovery. Does a good job of pulling the reader in with descriptive scene and then pulling back to explore land and policy details. |
| Environmental Reporting | 2nd | Monterey Herald | Changing the course of the Carmel River’s future | James Herrera | Exhaustive report on the local commitment to restoring the Carmel River. Does a good job of documenting the money and policies of the local jurisdiction. |
| Environmental Reporting | 1st | North Bay Bohemian | Of Water and Wine | Staff | Superb reporting and discussion. Nice bringing in people and history, conflicts of ag and business and environment. Complex, hugely timely, and applicable to much of CA. Thank you. |
| Environmental Reporting | 2nd | North Coast Journal | Until the Sun Sets | Thadeus Greenson | This story could be #1, both are excellent. Hugely complex story and history marvelously clearly explained, technically as well as politically. Fantastic job. I learned a lot. Now we can fear for the future. |
| Environmental Reporting | Honorable Mention | Pacific Sun | Beef of burden | Tom Gogola | Really nice story that is able to keep the ambiguity in the different positions in perspective without taking sides. Difficult job to do when lawsuits are involved, Important problem — governing for multiple uses. |
| Environmental Reporting | 1st | Palo Alto Weekly | In pursuit of a plague | Sue Dremann | This story manages to provide a comprehensive understanding of a hard-to-understand subject while framing the narrative in a way that maintains enough intrigue to get even a science-ignorant reader through to the last paragraph. Sure, it only gets more bleak as it goes along, but by the end, enough information has been shared to make the reader feel like they at least know what they are facing. |
| Environmental Reporting | 1st | Petaluma Argus-Courier | Toilet to Tank | Eric Gneckow | This well-written article shows all kinds of stories within the topic itself, and to have an ongoing series about this topic would be intriguing! I also enjoyed learning about the economic and community impact of this project, and the journalist provided a great tour of this facility with detailed facts and sources. I loved the depth of this article and because of it, it could pull off as evergreen content. |
| Environmental Reporting | 2nd | Sacramento News & Review | California’s war on bugs | Alastair Bland | It becomes more and more clear while reading this article how much there is still left to learn about the effects of insecticides, and where priorities should fall. It is therefore very wise to not elevate anybody as the all-knowing expert. People with different voices and different places in the environmental world are given equal treatment here, allowing all sides of this complex issue to be respected, and giving the reader a chance to contemplate the various effects is has on real people. |
| Environmental Reporting | 2nd | San Francisco Chronicle | Rising Reality | John King | John King’s series on rising sea levels due to climate change and the effects on San Francisco paint a clear picture of what the future could hold for the Bay Area. The tension between local and state government is made clear, and the the reporting itself is enhanced by the wonderful maps, graphics and charts that accompany King’s work. |
| Environmental Reporting | 2nd | The Ark | $1.37 million cleanup … | Gretchen Lang & Elliot Karlan | Interesting, well-formed story. Touches on history, local and larger environmental issues, conflict between progress and a community holding on to something it values for historic purposes. |
| Environmental Reporting | Honorable Mention | The Ark | Researchers plant endangered jewelflower … | Gretchen Lang | Pretty good. It’s a small story about a focused effort on a specific species that speaks to larger issues. Well written and organized. |
| Environmental Reporting | Honorable Mention | The Business Journal | Wet winter invites flooding research on Valley farms | Chuck Harvey | Really interesting topic to cover. The writer did thorough research for this story and I like how topics were separated with subheads. |
| Environmental Reporting | 2nd | The Davis Enterprise | First oil, now coal — more rail fears surface | Felicia Alvarez | This article flowed extremely well. This can be a hard topic to keep a reader engaged and I admire the journalist explaining such dense information in a simple, direct style with accurate information. The article is supported with information that explores both benefits and disadvantages of transporting coal within the rail industry, environmental/health, and financial impacts. The journalist answered a lot of “why’s”, “how’s” and “what’s next”. |
| Environmental Reporting | 1st | The Desert Sun | Salton Sea’s Decline | Ian James | A truly interesting and in depth piece. Really thorough with plenty of local impact. Well done! |
| Environmental Reporting | 2nd | The Desert Sun | Obama’s clean energy legacy | Sammy Roth | What a frustrating story, highlighting what happens when government, the private sector and environmentalists collide! Gridlock! Well done! |
| Environmental Reporting | Honorable Mention | The Fresno Bee | Campaign underway to turn Sierra National Forest into national monument | Carmen George | |
| Environmental Reporting | Honorable Mention | The Napa Valley Register | Herbicies use in city parks | Howard Yune | Good job showing how social media complaint can galvanize a community and put onus on city to explain chemicals its using in local parks. |
| Environmental Reporting | 2nd | The Press Democrat | How will state’s parks be preserved? | Derek Moore | Nice insertion of a human element to this story by using the family and their getaway location, how they will be affected by it, sandwiched around the meaty information. Nicely written. It was a bit long, but necessary to get all the information packed into it. |
| Environmental Reporting | Honorable Mention | The Press Democrat | Kelp collapse imperils ocean ecosystem | Mary Callahan | |
| Environmental Reporting | Honorable Mention | The Record | Diving deep on chloramines and Stockton is not Flint | Alex Breitler | Well written, informative, and talks the hysteria back with facts. Well done! |
| Environmental Reporting | Honorable Mention | The Sacramento Bee | Dangerous levels of lead found near city-owned gun range | Ryan Lillis | Not only does the Sacramento Bee’s reporting on the Mangan Rifle and Pistol Range show tremendous depth, but on multiple occasions it spurred action by the city and city council members. Following the first story, it’s clear that the tests of the homes and park near the gun range came about in part because of the work by Ryan Lillis. It’s a sign of a good investigative reporter when the journalism results in actual change. |
| Environmental Reporting: Drought/Fire | 1st | Big Bear Grizzly | Out of the Ashes | Kathy Portie, Brady Enger | Nice, active storytelling with interesting details about how the forest is recovering, the hazards that remain and recap of the fire and other pertinent info. Good layout with multiple photos too. This article and the layout do a good job drawing the reader in. |
| Environmental Reporting: Drought/Fire | Honorable Mention | Good Times | What The Blaze Is | Kara Guzman | Good Times Santa Cruz takes California’s wildfire-prone landscape and narrows in locally. A good breadth of information, from historical context, including how the landscape was once managed vs now, how fire patterns have changed with the introduction of invasive species, and good use of creative language make it a read. |
| Environmental Reporting: Drought/Fire | Honorable Mention | Mariposa Gazette | Cal Fire series | Greg Little | Good overview of Cal Fire operations. |
| Environmental Reporting: Drought/Fire | 1st | Monterey County Weekly | Coverage of the Soberanes Fire | Monterey County Weekly staff | The print package provides a breadth of coverage that lays out the impact from residents’ eyes and gives snapshots of the scenario in the fire’s path. Info boxes provide a great element for readers, as does the context of past fires in the area. It’s a comprehensive package for what can be done on a weekly timeline. Online coverage is impressive, at more than 70 articles, giving updates as they develop. Creating a landing page helps readers go to one place instead of having to hunt them down. |
| Environmental Reporting: Drought/Fire | Honorable Mention | Monterey Herald | Wildfire could be beneficial for condors | Tommy Wright | An interesting take on an unusual silver lining for wildfires. |
| Environmental Reporting: Drought/Fire | 2nd | Porterville Recorder | East Porterville water, drought and recovery | Staff | Good folos on a huge issue for the area. I particularly enjoyed the feature on the woman with water for the first time in seven years. |
| Environmental Reporting: Drought/Fire | 2nd | Sacramento News & Review | Burned out | Alastair Bland | The writer does a great job in painting a picture of various scenarios and uses great language to keep readers involved in a lengthy story. Shows a diversity of interviews, touches on the historical context of wildfires vs. modern times, the difficulty firefighters and government agencies face when dealing with fire scenarios. The article also provides an overview of the underlying seriousness and stress the years-long drought has placed on the ecosystem. |
| Environmental Reporting: Drought/Fire | Honorable Mention | Santa Maria Sun | Thirsty for solutions | David Minsky | The Sun’s David Minsky does well to localize the state’s groundwater act. It defines the players, the urgency in forming a local groundwater agency, and the scope of diminishing groundwater supply in a remote area. |
| Environmental Reporting: Drought/Fire | 2nd | Sierra Star | Colossal clean up | Brian Wilkinson | Nice first-hand account introducing readers to one tree climber and also providing comprehensive story details about workers in the logging business and what they are doing in your area. I also like the layout with multiple photos. |
| Environmental Reporting: Drought/Fire | 1st | The Bakersfield Californian | Bakersfield Californian environmental/wildfire series | Staff | Anger, grief, destruction, confusion and chaos. Relief. The cost in terms of human lives, the toll of homes destroyed and livelihoods ruined. The Bakersfield Californian managed to capture all of this in visuals and reporting over the course of the Erskine Fire as it tore through Lake Isabella-area communities. From photographers lenses to the explanation on a photo of a resident’s arrest, coverage shows just how chaotic and surreal a wildfire the size of the Erskine can be. |
| Environmental Reporting: Drought/Fire | 1st | The Desert Sun | Climate change | Ian James, Sammy Roth, Jay Calderon | Very thorough. Lots of information. One of the biggest pieces of work I’ve ever seen. |
| Environmental Reporting: Drought/Fire | 2nd | The Desert Sun | Coping with Sputtering Taps | Ian James, Zoe Meyers | Human face on impacts of climate change. Not too dramatic, either. |
| Environmental Reporting: Drought/Fire | Honorable Mention | The Fresno Bee | East Porterville residents, tired of drought, say end is in sight | Andrea Castillo | Story takes the drought and gives it an intimately human touch. While residents have a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel, the reporter also highlights the plight several residents have gone through over five years, including health-related issues. Article does well in providing links to past coverage and to resources. |
| Environmental Reporting: Drought/Fire | Honorable Mention | The Napa Valley Register | Lake Berryessa’s “Glory Hole” | Barry Eberling | Really interesting history of this place. And you couldn’t have known this would happen, but particularly enjoyed reading about it as the glory hole is going great guns! |
| Environmental Reporting: Drought/Fire | Honorable Mention | The Press Democrat | Eel River: A vital, troubled watershed | Guy Kovner | Excellent package that lays out the scenario for an important water ecosystem. Hits the notes on environmental and community impacts. Notes the varied impacts, including marijuana growth sucking up water and threatening smaller streams, in turn endangering fish populations. Gives great historical context. Info box outlines just how crucial a role the whole watershed fills for the communities benefiting from the Eel River. |
| Environmental Reporting: Drought/Fire | 2nd | The Sacramento Bee | Drought Coverage | Dale Kasler, Ryan Sabalow, Phillip Reese | Sacramento Bee coverage of the drought in 2016 covers a gamut of topic: environmental regulations, North-South tensions over water usage and supply, the plight of farmers and fish, the debate over conservation should be needed as the drought condition gradually slows amidst relaxed standards. Instead of just a region, it looks at the state. The Sac Bee’s coverage looks at the different levels, from local to federal, and uses graphs, break-out and info boxes to great effect. |
| Environmental Reporting: Drought/Fire | Honorable Mention | The Tribune | Some seek SLO building moratorium until city recalculates future water supply | Cynthia Lambert | A good and fair story about a city’s water problems. Loved the la-di-da quote. |
| Environmental Reporting: Drought/Fire | 1st | The Union | Ongoing drought increases bark beetle population | Teresa Yinmeng Liu, Laura Mahaffy | |
| Environmental Reporting: Drought/Fire | Honorable Mention | Ventura County Star | The challenge: Keep Lake Casitas underwater | Cheri Carlson and Anthony Plascencia | I like the fact that this group of stories devoted more time and effort to talk to business owners around the lake and their problems. Good look at how one lake is rapidly losing water, and how that ffects the community—crave a little better writing/depth. |
| Environmental Reporting: Drought/Fire | Honorable Mention | Winters Express | Stebbins Cold Canyon recovering from Wragg Fire | Debra DeAngelo | |
| Feature Photo | Honorable Mention | Grunion Gazette | Happy Feet | Damien Barranco | |
| Feature Photo | Honorable Mention | Lake County Record-Bee | Learning at Library Park | Berenice Quirino | The photographer really got down on their knees to capture this image, and is very technically sound and colorful. |
| Feature Photo | 1st | Ledger Dispatch | Playful Alyssa | Staff | |
| Feature Photo | 1st | Lodi News-Sentinel | Something wild | Bea Ahbeck | A good photojournalism shot shows action and reaction. Capturing a reaction is one of the hardest things to get, since it happens so quickly. This photo is a perfect example of that. |
| Feature Photo | 1st | Los Angeles Downtown News | September 12, 2016 | Gary Leonard, Photographer | |
| Feature Photo | 1st | Los Angeles Times | Wilshire Grand | Mel Melcon | We all find ourselves challenged at times with figuring out how to show a scene in a different way. This photograph shows what planning and execution can achieve. Fun feature shot of construction workers, featuring the dizzying height of the spire. |
| Feature Photo | Honorable Mention | Mountain View Voice | Reach into the past | Michelle Le | Fantastic photo that tells a story in itself. Great color and a really fun photo to look at. |
| Feature Photo | Honorable Mention | Petaluma Argus-Courier | Bubbles | Crissy Pascual | |
| Feature Photo | 1st | San Francisco Business Times | InfoScout collects data from shopping receipts | Todd Johnson | Great feature photo that shows creativity and guts (not an easy photo to take). Expertly done. |
| Feature Photo | 2nd | San Francisco Examiner | Will San Francisco See the Writing on the Wall? | Jessica Christian | Homelessness is an important issue that people often struggle to truly empathsize with. This photo succeeds in instantly creating empathy, with the viewer understanding a bit of what it would be like to be in this situation. |
| Feature Photo | Honorable Mention | San Jose Mercury News | Are you fire ready? | Patrick Tehan | Poignant detail shot from the destructive wildfire season. |
| Feature Photo | Honorable Mention | Sierra Star | Seussing it up | Brian Wilkinson | |
| Feature Photo | Honorable Mention | Sunnyvale Sun | Last Day at JCPenney | Jacqueline Ramseyer Orrell | Most people would have gone with a simple shot of the store’s exterior, but this photo goes above and beyond to really tell a story. Magnificently done. |
| Feature Photo | 2nd | The Acorn | Spark of Inspiration | Bobby Curtis | |
| Feature Photo | 2nd | The Almanac | Fighting Parkinson’s Disease | Michelle Le | Heartwarming photo that is both warm and inspiring. Expert use of lighting. |
| Feature Photo | 1st | The Ark | With Mickey ears, mermaids … | Elliot Karlan | Such a genuine expression of joy on this kid’s face — it’s a touching but happy photo. The colors are beautiful too — specifically the purple lei against his black T-shirt. |
| Feature Photo | Honorable Mention | The Bakersfield Californian | Umbrella man photo | Felix Adamo | |
| Feature Photo | 2nd | The Davis Enterprise | Sunset sunflowers | Wayne Tilcock | |
| Feature Photo | Honorable Mention | The Davis Enterprise | Burlesque for all | Fred Gladdis | |
| Feature Photo | 2nd | The Desert Sun | Drag show prep | Zoe Meyers | Graphically the photo communicates well as composition leads eye from subject’s back to the mirror giving the viewer a nice surprise element. Nicely framed look into subjects world. Excellent technique. |
| Feature Photo | Honorable Mention | The Fresno Bee | Storm brings light rain to Fresno | Silvia Flores | |
| Feature Photo | 2nd | The Intermountain News | Mud running for fitness | Craig Harrington | Great composition and color — with the exception of the kid’s grin (big white teeth) and the blurred figure in blue t-shirt in back, everything’s brown and muddy — and it works! Photo also captures a genuine look of joy on the kid’s face. |
| Feature Photo | 2nd | The Orange County Register | Dr. Dolittle | Cindy Yamanaka | Great detail shot showing relationship between zookeeper and tamarin. |
| Feature Photo | 1st | The Press Democrat | Alana’s Art | Christopher Chung | This image is well composed with nice lighting and quickly tells the story of this person’s life. |
| Feature Photo | Honorable Mention | The Record | Christmas lights | Clifford Oto | Excellent solution to the “go take pictures of Christmas lights” photo assignment. |
| Feature Photo | Honorable Mention | The Sacramento Bee | Celebratory Toke | Andrew Seng | Great image illustrating the election win for Prop 64. |
| Feature Photo | 2nd | The Signal | Happy Squirrel | Dan Watson | This unique photo is at the same time funny and leaves the viewer thinking, “how did the photographer get this shot?” A great spin on the usual sunny day weather shot. |
| Feature Photo | Honorable Mention | The Tribune | Mouse on firefighter’s shoulder | Joe Johnston | Cool shot of a unique moment in time. |
| Feature Photo | Honorable Mention | The Trinity Journal | Colorful moon celebration at Joss House | Amy Gittelsohn | Decent moment from an everyday assignment. |
| Feature Photo | Honorable Mention | The Union | Fast water | Laura Mahaffy | A great example of a “frozen in time” image in an environment that is extremely fast-moving. |
| Feature Photo | Honorable Mention | Thousand Oaks Acorn | Wings of Hope | Joan Pahoyo | |
| Feature Photo | 1st | Ventura County Star | Building a Future | Juan Carlo | This photo is a great combination of framing, composition and hues. Well done and storytelling. Nice framing. Good solution to difficult photo assignment. |
| Front Page Tabloid | 1st | Black Voice News | Passing the Torch | Chris Allen | |
| Front Page Tabloid | Honorable Mention | Chico News & Review | April 21, May 26 and June 16, 2016 | Tina Flynn | Very creative covers with good use of photos and illustrations. Teasers show readers variety of inside content. |
| Front Page Tabloid | 1st | Metro Silicon Valley | July 6, Sept. 6 and Nov. 9, 2016 | Staff | Very clean, informative and eye-catching designs. And the inclusion of teasers gives readers a good variety of news coverage. |
| Front Page Tabloid | 2nd | Sacramento News & Review | Summer guide | Brian Breneman | All were very strong graphically. This front page has faces in a recognizable local setting, which has lots of reader appeal. I also like the wide variety of coverage topics teased on the cover. |
| Front Page Tabloid | 1st | San Francisco Examiner | May 20, June 29 and Aug. 17, 2016 | Examiner staff | Three strong, newsy covers that grab and hold the readers’ attention. Photo choices are impactful and smartly used. The “writing on the wall” cover is especially memorable. |
| Front Page Tabloid | 2nd | San Jose Mercury News | EYE covers | Staff | Solid, attractive work but not sufficiently memorable or eye-catching to warrant top honors. |
| Front Page Tabloid | Honorable Mention | Santa Barbara Independent | Is it High Time? Pot Prop’s Pros and Cons | Ben Ciccati, Caitlin Fitch | Good use of a photo and negative space. Including teasers gives readers a taste of the variety of inside content. |
| Front Page Tabloid | 1st | Santa Ynez Valley Star | December 2016 | Aimee Reinhart Avery (Designer) | |
| Front Page Tabloid | 2nd | The Ark | March 9, March 23 and April 6, 2016 | Staff | |
| Front Page Tabloid | 2nd | The Business Journal | Jan. 22, Aug. 5 and Sept. 9, 2016 | Gabriel Dillard, Art Pineda, Leah Canseco-Decker | |
| Front Page: Broadsheet | 2nd | Alameda Journal | Alameda Journal front pages | Chris Wagnon | |
| Front Page: Broadsheet | 2nd | Auburn Journal | May 25, Oct. 5 and Nov. 30, 2016 | Staff | Creative use of space with a good blend of visually appealing colors and clean lines. |
| Front Page: Broadsheet | 1st | Half Moon Bay Review | March 2, July 20 and Oct. 12, 2016 | Half Moon Bay Review staff | Nice pages and clear winner in the category. Well done. |
| Front Page: Broadsheet | 1st | Los Angeles Times | June 13, Nov. 9 and Dec. 24, 2016 | Los Angeles Times Staff | The top three in this category quickly rose to the top. Arguments could be made, and were, that any of the three deserved the first place award. The LA Times rose to the top for its consistent excellence in its contest submission. |
| Front Page: Broadsheet | Honorable Mention | Los Banos Enterprise | 2-12-16; 4-22-16; 9-30-16 | Staff | Clean pages with nice flow. Dominant photos and headlines help give reader a guide, one of the strongest characteristics of all three pages. Overall nicely done and congratulations. |
| Front Page: Broadsheet | 1st | Monterey County Weekly | Of, Local Women React to Trump’s Victory, and the Soberanes Fire | Karen Loutzenheiser | |
| Front Page: Broadsheet | 1st | Monterey Herald | March 24, July 28 and Nov. 17, 2016 | Monterey Herald Staff | Lively pages with efficient use of multiple entry points for readers. Good use of color with clean design. |
| Front Page: Broadsheet | Honorable Mention | San Francisco Chronicle | April 14 and 21, and Oct. 9, 2016 | Staff | |
| Front Page: Broadsheet | Honorable Mention | San Jose Mercury News | Three front pages: Ghost ship, Treating Tasia, Lost Guns | Staff | |
| Front Page: Broadsheet | Honorable Mention | Sierra Star | March 31, June 16 and Aug. 18, 2016 | Staff | Overall nice, clean design. Clear lead photos help drive the page and not create fighting visual elements. Would like to see headlines filled out more. Particularly like the typography on homeless CP. Well done. |
| Front Page: Broadsheet | 2nd | St. Helena Star | Jan. 14, Jan. 28 and Nov. 10, 2016 | Staff | Strong, clean pages overall. Was glad to see dominant elements on each page from headlines to photos. |
| Front Page: Broadsheet | 1st | The Desert Sun | June 8, July 10 and Aug. 21, 2016 | Take Uda | Every page is a work of art. Very compelling with bold visuals. Takes some risks but delivers. Well balanced art mixed with solid headlines and multiple points of entry. |
| Front Page: Broadsheet | Honorable Mention | The Downey Patriot | June 30, Oct. 13 and Oct. 20, 2016 | Staff | |
| Front Page: Broadsheet | Honorable Mention | The Napa Valley Register | May 19, Aug. 12 and Dec. 7, 2016 | Staff | |
| Front Page: Broadsheet | Honorable Mention | The Orange County Register | Jan 31, June 14 and Sept 25, 2016 | Staff | |
| Front Page: Broadsheet | Honorable Mention | The Record | May 11, Aug. 5 and Nov. 9, 2016 | Staff | Clean, sharp lines. Good use of main art and banner headlines. Certainly, a solid front page. |
| Front Page: Broadsheet | 2nd | The Sacramento Bee | April 10, June 26 and Sept. 24, 2016 | Staff | My favorite single page of all entries in competition featured the superb “lead dust” centerpiece and its excellent use of explanatory graphics and type. Liked the fun top-box treatment for arena closing — good way to highlight event of high local interest. I liked the “Pie Surprise” slideshow treatment but with that busy-ness, thought the rest of the page should have fewer refers to give the centerpiece some breathing room. |
| Front Page: Broadsheet | 2nd | The Tribune | June 22, July 24 and Aug. 21, 2016 | Staff | Good use of main art, type. One of the things I like about these pages is the willingness to adapt the page to the needs of the day. One page, the right hand column was a sidebar, then it was briefs, then it was combined with the rest of the layout rather than separated. The reefers at the top also changed, but, yet, there’s a consistent feel to the pages. I’m a little bothered that there is usually only one story on the front page, but the large boxes at the bottom help address that. |
| Front Page: Broadsheet | Honorable Mention | The Union | June 1, July 6 and 18, 2016 | Laci Thompson, Melissa Erny | |
| Front Page: Broadsheet | Honorable Mention | Ventura County Star | Sept. 8, Nov. 9 and Dec 7, 2016 | Marc Jenkins | Bold effort. Kudos for taking some risks. Star Trek layout makes good use of Star Trek phrases. There is a lot going on on these pages. |
| General Excellence | Honorable Mention | Auburn Journal | March 6 and 8, 2016 | Staff | A good, community-spirited paper. Energy was put into the Page One display in both of these examples. Very good calendar, in content and presentation. |
| General Excellence | 1st | Half Moon Bay Review | March 2 and 9, 2016 | Half Moon Bay Review staff | Excellent paper through and through, from quantity, variety and quality of stories to page design to photography, editorial, sports and features pages, a blessing for the Half Moon Bay community. |
| General Excellence | Honorable Mention | Ledger Dispatch | It’s Now Mighty Branches Touch Us All | Staff | An interesting newspaper with a wide variety of stories and sections. The special report on the Butte Fire is very well done with great stories and writing and exceptional photos. Portrayed the impact of the disaster on residents. |
| General Excellence | Honorable Mention | Lompoc Record | Sept. 25 and 28, 2016 | Staff | Another fine community newspaper entry, but with more syndicated rather than local content than higher finishers. |
| General Excellence | 2nd | Los Angeles Downtown News | Los Angeles Downtown News March 7 and March 14 | Staff | Graphic presentation was unmatched in this category. Visually, a pleasure to read. This publication strikes a nice balance with the content, delivering style and substance. You know what’s a story and you know what’s entertainment. Not over-designed like many weeklies. |
| General Excellence | 2nd | Los Angeles Times | Sept. 10 and Sept. 11 | Los Angeles Times Staff | The Times remains one of our nation’s very strong newspapers. |
| General Excellence | 1st | Merced Sun-Star | Sept. 2 and 3, 2016 | Staff | A paper built on news, with a focus on fact-finding and accountability on its news and opinion pages, presented in a clean, confident design. Community papers packaged into the weekend paper make for a big, satisfying read. Congratulations to the Sun-Star on a well edited, well written report. |
| General Excellence | Honorable Mention | Mountain View Voice | Sept. 16 and 23, 2016 | Staff | The Mountain View Voice had graphically stunning advertising and good writing quality. Excellent graphics, layout and presentation. Lots of local news, information and voices. Good use of photos. |
| General Excellence | Honorable Mention | Palo Alto Weekly | March 11 and 18, 2016 | Staff | Wow, where so many weeklies try to win you over with design, this weekly wins you over with the news. Could it be prettier? Yes. But that’s okay, it delivers lots of substance. |
| General Excellence | 1st | Petaluma Argus-Courier | Sept. 1 and 8, 2016 | Staff | Well-written and well-packaged publication. It seems well-connected to its community. Its editors make their pages easy for the reader by packaging it in several interesting sections. |
| General Excellence | 1st | Sacramento News & Review | Sept. 8 and 15, 2016 | Staff | This is by far the most complete entry in this category. The stories were compelling and well written and covered a breadth of subjects that is unparalleled here. Excellent from cover to cover. Other weeklies in this category had eye-catching designs and a good mix of local content, but no others explored important and controversial topics with the depth that SNR did. |
| General Excellence | 1st | San Francisco Business Times | Sept. 23 and 30, 2016 | Staff | We were impressed with how well the San Francisco Business Times vigorously carried out its mission to cover Bay Area business with its top-notch general news coverage, breadth of coverage, story selection and mix, editorial excellence, quality of writing, news judgment, graphic readability, presentation and appearance, photo reproduction and strong editorial stances. Its local and community coverage and advertising graphics were good, too. This previous GE winner just gets better and stronger in all categories, most notably a sharper critical eye and voice on a myriad of biz and economic topics and sectors. |
| General Excellence | 1st | San Francisco Chronicle | March 6 and 7, 2016 | Staff | The Chronicle has an excellent balance of local and Northern California news that features strong storytelling and watchdog journalism. Sports remains a traditional strength as does its local arts coverage. But the key factor to this judging was the magnificent special section on med who had survived HIV and AIDS. The photography was riveting. The stories moving. Remarkable work. |
| General Excellence | Honorable Mention | San Francisco Examiner | Examiner staff | ||
| General Excellence | 2nd | Santa Maria Sun | Sept. 8 and 15, 2016 | The Sun | Excellent mix of coverage of local issues, arts and culture. Overall clean and inviting layout, but too tight or squeezed in some places. Sense of reader involvement in may pages. Ambitious coverage area which must be helped by sister publication. Envious advertising mix and percentages. |
| General Excellence | 2nd | Santa Maria Times | March 3 and 4, 2016 | Staff | The Times makes good use of its resources to cover a range of news and provide serious commentary.This is a cleanly presented community paper with a lively approach to people and feature stories. |
| General Excellence | Honorable Mention | Simi Valley Acorn | March 11 and 18, 2016 | Staff | Good newsy weekly in a very competitive division. |
| General Excellence | 2nd | St. Helena Star | Sept. 22 and 29, 2016 | Staff | A fine community newspaper with lots of micro-local content celebrating the area and its people and informing readers about key local issues. |
| General Excellence | 1st | The Desert Sun | Sept. 24 and 25, 2016 | staff | Strong, well-written local coverage along with a good selection of regional and national news supplemented by USA Today. Good use of photos and graphics, and a clean, attractive layout. Lots of attention to detail. |
| General Excellence | 1st | The Fresno Bee | Sept. 24 and 25, 2016 | Staff | Ambitious government accountability/watchdog reporting honing in on a distinct local angle to a national story. A refreshing amount of local news and community stories and visuals throughout that give a strong sense of place. |
| General Excellence | Honorable Mention | The Modesto Bee | Sept. 4 and 5, 2016 | Staff | |
| General Excellence | Honorable Mention | The Napa Valley Register | General excellence | Staff | The Register is an enjoyable paper that does a thorough job with community and public safety news. It has a admirable “local” feel. |
| General Excellence | Honorable Mention | The Orange County Register | Sept. 24 and 25, 2016 | Staff | |
| General Excellence | 2nd | The Piedmonter | Nov. 11 and 18, 2016 | Jon Kawamoto | A good blend of news and feature and stories, sharp writing, nice photos and clean layout. his is an interesting publication with a little something for everybody.There is a good balance of news, features, arts and entertainment, sports and people stories. It is presented in a bright, clean format. |
| General Excellence | 2nd | The Press Democrat | March 19 and 20, 2016 | Staff | |
| General Excellence | 2nd | The Record | Sept. 10 and 11, 2016 | Staff | |
| General Excellence | Honorable Mention | The Recorder | Sept. 12 and 19 | Staff | This community newspaper is about a community of interest, the legal community. Articles are in depth and authoritative, but there is less breadth of coverage than in higher-placed entries. Well-designed front page. Not too crowded and good use of main art. Inside pages are interesting with some art to break it up. |
| General Excellence | Honorable Mention | The Sacramento Bee | Sept. 24 and 25, 2016 | Staff | |
| General Excellence | Honorable Mention | The Sonoma Index-Tribune | Sept. 20 and 23, 2016 | Staff | Well-written and designed. Lots of different stories to read that show slices of life in the community. |
| General Excellence | Honorable Mention | The Tribune | Sept. 24 and 25, 2016 | Staff | Lovely layout and design. |
| General Excellence | Honorable Mention | Tracy Press | March 11 and 18, 2016 | Will Fleet, Michael Langley, Tracy Press staff | The Tracy Press excelled at local and community coverage, and had good breadth of coverage, writing quality and news photo reproduction. Strong local news selection. Good writing and sense of lively reader interest. Very dominant sports coverage and well reported and photographed. The paper’s voice comes across as a respected community leader, witnessed in the editorials and business news coverage. Worthy of General Excellence top tier ranking. |
| General Excellence | Honorable Mention | Ventura County Star | Sept. 17 and 18, 2016 | Staff | |
| Illustration | 1st | Black Voice News | Regulations and Reform | Andre Loftis | This visually appealing and thought-provoking illustration catches the eye immediately while its puzzle-like quality holds the reader’s attention. A playful and very effective entry-point for a story tackling complex issues. |
| Illustration | Honorable Mention | Los Angeles Times | Summer Television Preview | Cameron Cottrill | Image speaks for itself. It says summer, it says channel surfing. Clear message. Great use of color. Nostalgic but modern. |
| Illustration | 2nd | Metro Silicon Valley | We Will Survive | Fred Harper | |
| Illustration | Honorable Mention | Sacramento News & Review | The grinch who stole 2016 | Serene Lusano, Brian Breneman | |
| Illustration | 2nd | San Francisco Business Times | Startup CEOs Behaving Badly | Mitch Green | Cleverly executed and well-integrated into the story; works nicely in setting a tone and elegantly guiding the reader into the article. |
| Illustration | Honorable Mention | San Francisco Business Times | Janus Jerry Brown | Mitch Green | This smartly conceived and sharply rendered illustration pairs perfectly with the story/column. |
| Illustration | Honorable Mention | San Francisco Business Times | Trump: Bay Area Friend | Mitch Green | This provocative, humorous and well-executed illustration pairs perfectly with the article. |
| Illustration | 1st | San Francisco Chronicle | The future of retail | Steven Boyle, Christopher T. Fong, Danielle Mollette-Parks | Engaging illustration welcomes reader to special report. Offers reader may entry points. Clear communication of overall topic and subtopics. Easy to comprehend. Simplistic but interactive. Good choice of colors. |
| Illustration | 2nd | San Jose Mercury News | Keeping your safe | Jeff Durham | Compelling visual. Communicates message clearly and effectively. Commands readers’ attentions. |
| Illustration | 1st | Santa Barbara Independent | Vanilla Ice | Ben Ciccati | |
| Illustration | Honorable Mention | Santa Barbara Independent | Summer Camp Fox | Ben Ciccati | |
| Illustration | Honorable Mention | The Fresno Bee | Who tells the story? | SW Parra | Beautiful, haunting graphic, draws in readers |
| Informational Graphic | Honorable Mention | Ledger Dispatch | Amador Water Treatment Plant informational graphic | Staff | |
| Informational Graphic | 1st | Los Angeles Times | Every Shot Kobe Bryant Ever Took | Los Angeles Times Staff | A seemingly simple yet highly engaging graphic. The little details make you want to read it. This might even be interesting to a non-basketball fan. |
| Informational Graphic | 2nd | North Coast Journal | The Chase | Miles Eggleston | Map described a dramatic police chase in a detailed fashion. Clean, contemporary style. |
| Informational Graphic | Honorable Mention | North Coast Journal | Humboldt Massacres | Miles Eggleston | Beautiful shaded relief makes this map stand out. |
| Informational Graphic | 1st | Pasadena Star-News | Mars Opportunity rover | Daniel Aitken, Jason Henry, Daniel Tedford | |
| Informational Graphic | 1st | San Francisco Business Times | Body of Evidence | Mitch Green, Ron Leuty | Bold and contemporary typography and color illustrate an interesting dataset about clinical trials. Many forms of visualizing data are effectively used, including a diagram of the human body, bar charts, donut charts and an ordered list. The writing is clear, on point and the right length. While it may have run with a story, the graphic works well as a standalone piece. |
| Informational Graphic | 2nd | The Desert Sun | Drug arrests drop after Prop 47 | Robert Hopwood | |
| Informational Graphic | Honorable Mention | The Desert Sun | Super Bowl preview | Billy Anneken | |
| Informational Graphic | Honorable Mention | The Fresno Bee | Wonder Woman | SW Parra | |
| Informational Graphic | 2nd | The Orange County Register | Anatomy of a jail break | Jeff Goertzen, Keith Sharon, Kurt Snibbe | The level of detail makes you think the journalist were at the jail break. This is the kind of “make it come alive” storytelling that newspapers do best. |
| Informational Graphic | Honorable Mention | The Sacramento Bee | Center of Attention | Nathaniel Levine | |
| Informational Graphic | Honorable Mention | The Union | Business of Building | Laci Thompson, Alan Riquelmy | |
| Inside Page Layout & Design Broadsheet | Honorable Mention | Auburn Journal | Lifestyle: May 29; Sports: July 1 and Oct. 25, 2016 | Megan Houchin, Ike Dodson | |
| Inside Page Layout & Design Broadsheet | Honorable Mention | Chico Enterprise-Record | Sports: March 20, Aug. 25 and Dec. 17, 2016 | Staff | |
| Inside Page Layout & Design Broadsheet | 2nd | Los Angeles Daily News | Spotlight: Feb. 5, July 22 and Nov. 18, 2016 | Kay Scanlon | Strong typography merged nicely with images, particularly on “Fantastic Beasts”, resulting in a strong poster approach. |
| Inside Page Layout & Design Broadsheet | 1st | Del Norte Triplicate | July 14, Aug. 19 and Oct. 15, 2016 | Bryant Anderson | Strong design on all three pages. Mushrooms and blackberries pages in particular. Overall, clean, eye-pleasing design. Well done. |
| Inside Page Layout & Design Broadsheet | Honorable Mention | Desert Review | Summer Arts: July 20, 2016 | Staff | Fun pages and fun to look at. Overall nice design. |
| Inside Page Layout & Design Broadsheet | 2nd | Feather River Bulletin | B Section: Jan. 13, Jan. 20 and May 11, 2016 | James Machado | Hard to go wrong with animals and this time their use lifted the entry to second place. Congratulations. Fun use of cutouts and clean design overall. |
| Inside Page Layout & Design Broadsheet | Honorable Mention | Ledger Dispatch | Inside the minds of a staff of geniuses, or is it geni? | Staff | |
| Inside Page Layout & Design Broadsheet | 1st | Los Angeles Times | April 17 (Kobe Bryant: Hero and Villain), May 14 (The Desperate Trek) and Nov. 20, 2016 (The battle to save Mosul’s wounded) | Los Angeles Times Staff | Great use of terrific photos. |
| Inside Page Layout & Design Broadsheet | Honorable Mention | San Francisco Chronicle | Black Lives, Black Voices: July 31, 2016 | Danielle Mollette-Parks | |
| Inside Page Layout & Design Broadsheet | 2nd | The Desert Sun | Desert Trip to Politics | Take Uda | The Desert Trip poster is beautiful! A nice way to remember the concert. The “super fans” page was fun, easy to navigate, thanks to the way it was laid out. |
| Inside Page Layout & Design Broadsheet | Honorable Mention | The Fresno Bee | Spring Things | John Alvin | |
| Inside Page Layout & Design Broadsheet | 1st | The Tribune | July 17, 2016 | Staff | Clean, easy to read, many entry points, shapes and sizes of artwork are appealing. White space is judicious and serves the layout. Nice photo choices — they convey the sense of SLO as a lively place. |
| Inside Page Layout & Design Tabloid | Honorable Mention | Black Voice News | Merchants of Riverside/Regulation and Reform/Riverside Wire Tapping | Chris Allen | |
| Inside Page Layout & Design Tabloid | 1st | Chico News & Review | June 30, Nov. 17 and Dec. 15, 2016 | Tina Flynn, Sandy Peters | Strong conceptual thinking. Consistent editorial well overall, with strong page design. |
| Inside Page Layout & Design Tabloid | Honorable Mention | Los Angeles Downtown News | Staff | ||
| Inside Page Layout & Design Tabloid | Honorable Mention | Palo Alto Weekly | Jan. 1, Feb. 26 and April 29, 2016 | staff | |
| Inside Page Layout & Design Tabloid | 2nd | Pleasanton Weekly | Feb. 12, Aug. 26, Oct. 26, 2016 | Staff | |
| Inside Page Layout & Design Tabloid | Honorable Mention | San Francisco Business Times | Executive of the Years | Mitch Green | |
| Inside Page Layout & Design Tabloid | 1st | San Jose Mercury News | EYE tabloid inside pages | Staff | |
| Inside Page Layout & Design Tabloid | 2nd | Santa Barbara Independent | Community Arts Workshop, Staycation, and Nell Campbell | Ben Ciccati, Caitlin Fitch | All three are beautifully dynamic pages that clearly execute their concepts with art, typography and visual tone to accompany the images. Article type on “Gods & Monsters” is a little tough to read with the background image, but otherwise great work. |
| Inside Page Layout & Design Tabloid | 1st | The Almanac | Jan. 6, March 9 and May 11, 2016 | staff | |
| Inside Page Layout & Design Tabloid | 2nd | The Fresno Bee | Captain America | John Alvin | |
| Inside Page Layout & Design Tabloid | Honorable Mention | The Fresno Bee | Under the Sea | John Alvin | |
| Inside Page Layout & Design Tabloid | Honorable Mention | The Fresno Bee | Star Trek | John Alvin | |
| Investigative Reporting | Honorable Mention | Half Moon Bay Review | After tax hike, delayed reports reveal full county coffers | Kaitlyn Bartley | |
| Investigative Reporting | 1st | Los Angeles Times | Investigating OxyContin | Los Angeles Times Staff | Excellent! Nine-part series goes deep into drug manufacturer’s push to get more people to take Oxycontin despite evidence that it wasn’t effective, as well as the far-reaching consequences the strategy had on patients. Story shows how the drug got into criminal drug dealers’ hands, how users got addicted and died and the company’s subsequent expansion of the drug into foreign markets. |
| Investigative Reporting | 2nd | Los Angeles Times | California’s National Guard | David S. Cloud | David Cloud’s dozens of interviews made for powerful storytelling of the disgraceful treatment of soldiers and veterans of the California National Guard. Very thorough 10-part series. Reporting may have been a factor in Pentagon decision to halt efforts to recover bonuses. |
| Investigative Reporting | 1st | Metro Silicon Valley | Skipping Out on Bail | Jennifer Wadsworth | Powerful indictment of a corrupt and dysfunctional bail bonds system. Deep, careful reporting and clear writing make this one of the top entries in a hyper-competitive category. |
| Investigative Reporting | Honorable Mention | Monterey County Weekly | An investigation on how a would-be developer allegedly depleted a $6 million family trust. | David Schmalz | Exhaustive investigation with huge stakes for the community. The Monterey County Weekly and reporter David Schmalz went above and beyond in gathering and distilling a mountain of documents. Moreover, Schmalz wrote this story in an artful, conversational style that grabbed the reader by the lapel and simply would not let go. Bravo. |
| Investigative Reporting | 2nd | Mountain View Voice | Disarray at the Dojo | Mark Noack | Digging into wrongdoing at a local nonprofit resulted in an intriguing tale of theft, organizational infighting and e-mail hacking. |
| Investigative Reporting | 1st | North Coast Journal | The Case of the Missing $5 Million | Linda Stansberry | This is a well-written piece that draws the reader from one family’s story into a deeply reported explanation of deficiencies in North Coast skilled nursing care. |
| Investigative Reporting | 2nd | Palo Alto Weekly | Failed justice? | Elena Kadvany | The intimate portraits of victims in this piece illustrate the subtle differences in perception that separated them from the administration that was supposed to protect them. Understanding these details should go a long way toward producing the reforms they are hoping to see. Eye-opening package revealing how Stanford University failed to adequately investigate critical allegations of sexual misconduct — and failed to adequately protect victims, as well. Reporting was ambitious, writing quite strong, overall package exceptional. |
| Investigative Reporting | 2nd | Petaluma Argus-Courier | Petaluma Marina Debt Grows | Eric Gneckow | A well-reported and written look at a city-owned project that’s financially underwater and facing debt to the state. A solid look at how the marina, promised to be a self-sufficient crown jewel for the city, saw its financial picture get worse by the year — an important read for Petaluma residents. |
| Investigative Reporting | 2nd | Record Searchlight | Office asked for deputies help; Lawyer: Hmong afraid to vote | Alayna Shulman | Impressive digging by the newspaper for what was at the bottom of the actions involving the Hmong, particularly showing the sheriff’s role as a partner rather than instigator. Excellent topic, excellent research. Good use of public info requests. |
| Investigative Reporting | Honorable Mention | Record Searchlight | A coincidence of crashes? | Alayna Shulman | Kudos to the reporter for noticing the crashes were more than a coincidence and for proving something needed to be fixed. |
| Investigative Reporting | Honorable Mention | Sacramento News & Review | Cops’ license-plate readers keep their eye on you, Sacramento | Raheem F. Hosseini | Excellent, well-balanced reporting on a topic of high importance — and frightening implications. Should be required reading of every citizen in the Sacramento area. |
| Investigative Reporting | Honorable Mention | San Jose Mercury News | 944 Lost Guns | Thomas Peele | Very good one-part story. Sheds light on an important but little-known problem. Good sidebar on FOI requests, graphs and illustrations. |
| Investigative Reporting | Honorable Mention | Santa Maria Sun | Truth or lives | David Minsky | Great find due to thorough document research. |
| Investigative Reporting | 1st | The Desert Sun | Bodies at the Border | Brett Kelman, Gustavo Solis, Omar Ornelas | This richly reported series reminds us that though most border crossings have shifted to Arizona and Texas, California has its share of incalculable tragedy. Its use of interactive elements to complement the narrative — accountability reporting chock-full of long-forgotten background — gives readers a clear picture of what led up to where we are now. Its crisp writing gives voice to the thousands of unidentified migrants who have died in the face of California’s brutal landscape. |
| Investigative Reporting | 2nd | The Desert Sun | Freed but Forgotten | Staff | Lawmakers and others have raised concerns about the repercussions of Proposition 47, but this beautifully written and reported series details the human cost. In an admirable partnership between newsrooms that should be a model to others, these reporters produced a series fueled by wrangling a large volume of documents and navigating an at-times opaque criminal justice system that finds itself struggling to be buoyed by the state’s strapped social services sector. |
| Investigative Reporting | 1st | The Fresno Bee | Fresno Slum Housing | Andrea Castillo, Barbara Anderson and BoNhia Lee | Very extensively researched and well written story about a huge problem affecting the lives of thousands of people, mostly poor and immigrants. Very effective use of graphics, photos and videos. |
| Investigative Reporting | 2nd | The Fresno Bee | Tainted Water: Why did it take a dozen years for Fresno’s leaders.....? | Tim Sheehan and Marc Benjamin | Excellent job exposing the negligence by city officials in failing the deal with the discolored water problem. |
| Investigative Reporting | Honorable Mention | The Fresno Bee | Fresno Unified lease-leaseback contracts coverage | Mackenzie Mays | Thorough job reporting on cozy relationship between builder and school officials to get insider’s advantage and get multi-million-dollar construction contracts. |
| Investigative Reporting | Honorable Mention | The Press Democrat | Stuck in Squalor | Angela Hart | Very good four-part series about substandard conditions in low-income housing in Santa Rosa and the health problems it caused residents. Fresno Bee entry on slum housing was more in-depth and far-reaching. |
| Investigative Reporting | Honorable Mention | The Record | Pool violations common | Alex Breitler | OK story. Lots of minor violations at public pools. Sort of falls into the no surprise category for me. |
| Investigative Reporting | 1st | The Recorder | Lawyers Without Borders | Cheryl Miller | This piece holds the the State Bar to account on eyebrow-raising travel that, on its face, appears to have little grounding in furthering the legal body’s mission. It is a well-reported story that trains a light on the difficulty reporters face in obtaining records from the Bar and takes a hard look at the stewardship of its finances — not an easy task. |
| Investigative Reporting | Honorable Mention | The Sacramento Bee | UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi investigation | Diana Lambert, Sam Stanton | Very thorough and persistent coverage of the chancellor’s troubling decisions, including pepper-spraying students, accepting paid positions from dubious outside institutions and, worst of all, using public funds to hire firms to scrub negative comments about her from the Internet. Kudos for getting comments from Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and State Sen. Kevin McCarty. |
| Investigative Reporting | Honorable Mention | The Sacramento Valley Mirror | Dusti Byers shooting, abuse, interrogation, and sentencing | Tim Crews | |
| Investigative Reporting | Honorable Mention | The Tribune | State lawmakers got about $873,000 in freebies last year, but the gifts can be difficult to track | Matt Fountain | Lots of information and a good project. |
| Investigative Reporting | Honorable Mention | The Union | Legal battle brewing over narcotics cases | Liz Kellar | Good work. Very well written and concise in a news sense. |
| Investigative Reporting | 1st | Visalia Times-Delta & Tulare Advance-Register | Tulare Regional Medical Center coverage | James Houck and Juan Villa | Exploring all aspects of the hospital’s building proposal, finances and governance gives readers a well-rounded picture of what happened at the medical center to cause major upheaval. Complete coverage that hits all the angles. Great exploration of hospital’s role in a community and how mismanagement and other issues can affect that whole community. |
| Investigative Reporting | Honorable Mention | Willow Glen Resident | Buried under the sun | Julia Baum | Good story about the situation in the canyon area following the fire, and the pros and cons of natural vs. human involvement in the recovery. |
| Lifestyle Coverage | 2nd | Brentwood Press | Byron Inn Café — a delicious diamond in the rough | Heather Brewer | |
| Lifestyle Coverage | Honorable Mention | Del Mar Times | Lifestyles | Staff | |
| Lifestyle Coverage | Honorable Mention | Lake County Record-Bee | Eat+Drink | Staff | |
| Lifestyle Coverage | 2nd | Ledger Dispatch | Amador Lifestyles | Staff | |
| Lifestyle Coverage | 2nd | Los Angeles Times | L.A. Times Saturday | Los Angeles Times Staff | |
| Lifestyle Coverage | Honorable Mention | Marin Independent Journal | Lifestyle sections, April 19-20 | Vicki Larson | |
| Lifestyle Coverage | Honorable Mention | North Coast Journal | Lifestyles | Staff | |
| Lifestyle Coverage | 1st | Pleasanton Weekly | June 24, July 1, 2016 | Staff | |
| Lifestyle Coverage | 1st | San Francisco Chronicle | Travel: July 24 and 31, 2016 | Staff | |
| Lifestyle Coverage | 1st | Santa Barbara News-Press | Rooted in history and Slam dunk? | Charlotte Boechler, Editor | |
| Lifestyle Coverage | 1st | Santa Ynez Valley News | April 14 and 19, 2016 | Mary Ann Norbom | |
| Lifestyle Coverage | Honorable Mention | The Bakersfield Californian | Eye Street: May 8 and 15, 2016 | Staff | |
| Lifestyle Coverage | 2nd | The Desert Sun | DESERT magazine | Kristin Scharkey and Kate Franco | |
| Lifestyle Coverage | 2nd | The Napa Valley Register | June 13 and 14, 2016 | Sasha Paulsen | |
| Lifestyle Coverage | Honorable Mention | The Press Democrat | Sonoma Life | Staff | |
| Lifestyle Coverage | Honorable Mention | The Salinas Californian | A beautiful mornin’, a recipe for Mornin’ Max Muffins | Joe Truskot | |
| Lifestyle Coverage | Honorable Mention | The Sonoma Index-Tribune | June 10 and 17, 2016 | Staff | |
| Lifestyle Coverage | Honorable Mention | The Tribune | Living | staff | |
| Lifestyle Coverage | 1st | Visalia Times-Delta & Tulare Advance-Register | Aug. 5 and 6, 2016 | James Ward, Parker Bowman and Donna Orozco | |
| News Photo | 1st | Auburn Journal | Submerged SUV | Michael Mott | A great breaking news action shot. |
| News Photo | Honorable Mention | Brentwood Press | Suspected Marijuana Grow House Burns in Discovery Bay | Tony Kukulich | |
| News Photo | Honorable Mention | Brentwood Press | Vegetation fire burns four acres in Oakley | Tony Kukulich | |
| News Photo | Honorable Mention | Feather River Bulletin | Woman consoled | Debra Moore | Nice job capturing the emotions of the scene. |
| News Photo | 1st | Ledger Dispatch | Dropping a dump on the fire | Staff | Right place, right time. Image has a nice balance to it. This is what photogs are looking for when covering a fire like this. Action includes a human element and good timing, correct exposure make it clean, sharp and in my opinion, a winner! |
| News Photo | 1st | Lompoc Record | Murder aftermath | Frank Cowan | A very emotional scene capture, tells the story very well without intruding. This type of grief is always hard to shoot photographer did a very good job. |
| News Photo | 1st | Los Angeles Times | The Battle for Mosul, Iraq | Carolyn Cole | Evocative. Impactful. Haunting. Outstanding composition. An image not easily forgotten. Heartbreaking, intense and gripping moment that captures the human toll and violence. |
| News Photo | 2nd | Los Angeles Times | Sherpa Fire | Marcus Yam | Great perspective on this big fire and the tiny fire hose. This image makes you sweat from the fire and for the firefighter. A solid fire photo in a season of major wildfires. |
| News Photo | Honorable Mention | Los Angeles Times | Violence in San Bernardino | Gina Ferazzi | |
| News Photo | 2nd | Marin Independent Journal | Forward attack | Robert Tong | Really captured the moment and the face. Usually, all people see are the backs of firefighters, but this one gives us more. Fires and election were big stories in 2016 in California. |
| News Photo | Honorable Mention | Metro Silicon Valley | Coming Out | Greg Ramar | A great capture of the Trump supporter’s defiant face that contrasts with her hecklers. The photo definitely captures the tension of that protest. |
| News Photo | 2nd | Monterey County Weekly | Bernie Sanders | Nic Coury | The Sanders shot does a fine job of showing the rally’s borderline religious atmosphere. |
| News Photo | 2nd | Register-Pajaronian | R-P News Photo 4 | Tarmo Hannula | Although not the biggest news event featured among these entries, I really like this shot. Nice lines, good exposure, interesting content and the addition of the little bird on the fence is a nice touch. Nice job by the photog seeing the photo within the scene. Well done. |
| News Photo | Honorable Mention | Register-Pajaronian | R-P News Photo 2 | Tarmo Hannula | There were a few political events entered in this category. This was my favorite among them all. It gives a real feeling of the moment and I like the people in the backround. Exposure is on and focus is sharp. |
| News Photo | Honorable Mention | Santa Cruz Sentinel | Fire on the Mountain | Shmuel Thaler | |
| News Photo | 1st | Santa Maria Sun | SMPD-involved shooting | David Minsky | The photo of Javier Gaona surrounded by police officers shortly before he was shot is chilling. Kudos to the quick-moving photographer. |
| News Photo | 1st | Simi Valley Acorn | Fully involved | Michael Coons | A great composition that balances the view of the firefighters at one side and the blaze on the other. Definitely portrays the situation’s tension. |
| News Photo | 2nd | Taft Midway Driller | New North fire | Doug Keeler | Great action, nice job getting in close to the scene. |
| News Photo | 2nd | The Almanac | Former homeless Veteran finds home | Michelle Le | A photo of a person giving a speech is often a forgettable image. This photo shows that it doesn’t have to be. |
| News Photo | 1st | The Bakersfield Californian | Fire arrest photo | Felix Adamo | Good peak moment during a live arrest. The photograph includes a sense of urgency and drama. Right place, right time and props for being prepared. The strength of this elderly man’s anguish of losing his home is displayed by his effort to resist these three officer’s attempt to arrest him in the ashes of his own property. My eye is drawn to his left hand, the wedding ring it bears, and the white ash that covers it, representing all that remains of this family man’s home. |
| News Photo | 1st | The Desert Sun | Election night dismay | Jay Calderon | Captured the emotion of the moment. Nice composition — could see this as a painting. |
| News Photo | Honorable Mention | The Fresno Bee | Five-alarm fire destroys historic Rehorn Home in downtown Fresno | Craig Kohlruss | In a sense, firefighters are the health-care workers of property. Sometimes they practice a preventative role as they inspect structures for working smoke alarms, other times they act to quickly extinguish a kitchen fire. In this scene, they are hospice personnel, helplessly bearing witness to the death of this historic home. |
| News Photo | Honorable Mention | The Modesto Bee | Accident photo | Deke Farrow | In the age of higher automotive safety standards, the face of this young girl tells the story. Certainly the car is totaled, but airbags have been deployed and there seems to be not a scratch on this toddler. She appears wary but exhausted by the earlier drama of the incident. Despite being a stranger, she is comfortable being held by this emergency worker. |
| News Photo | Honorable Mention | The Mountain Enterprise | Arsonist caught in the act | Jeff Zimmerman | Great example of being in the right place at the right time. Nice job showing the crime in progress. |
| News Photo | 2nd | The Press Democrat | Stories That Stay With Us | Beth Schlanker | Really nice emotion during a “quiet moment.” Gives the viewer a sense of the woman’s angst. It’s her eyes that tell this story. |
| News Photo | Honorable Mention | The Record | Vigil for Melanie | Clifford Oto | Well done vigil shot because of the way it was perfectly cropped more than anything else. Intimate moment comes through and is allowed enough space to breath. |
| News Photo | Honorable Mention | The Reporter | Cold Fire | Joel Rosenbaum | A powerful image. |
| News Photo | Honorable Mention | The Salinas Californian | Murder victim vigil | Chelcey Adami | Overall, a powerful portrayal of grief. I like how the mother’s unique appearance made me want to know more about her story. |
| News Photo | Honorable Mention | The San Diego Union-Tribune | Olango rally | Hayne Palmour IV | |
| News Photo | 2nd | The Signal | 126 Fatal Crash | Dan Watson | An image that is hard to forget. |
| News Photo | Honorable Mention | The Sonoma Index-Tribune | Heat of the Night | Robbi Pengelly | Nice photo. Sharp, balanced good light but missing the name of the firefighter in the caption. Still a great shot. |
| News Photo | Honorable Mention | Times-Herald, Vallejo | A family’s loss | Chris Riley | A moving photo showing a family’s heartbreak. |
| Non-Profile Feature Story | 1st | Auburn Journal | The Bridge | Michael Mott | A tough story to tell, despite the essential connection between the two main characters. The writer handles it well. |
| Non-Profile Feature Story | 2nd | East Bay Times | Tragic Love Story | Matthias Gafni | A great one. Well researched. Well written. Long, but held the reader’s interest throughout. And another great ending. |
| Non-Profile Feature Story | 2nd | Grunion Gazette | Long Beach Families Get On The Bus, Visit Mom Behind Bars | Emily Thornton | Moving story. |
| Non-Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | Los Angeles Downtown News | Remembering the Fallen | Dan Johnson, Contributing Writer | |
| Non-Profile Feature Story | 2nd | Los Angeles Times | L.A. School is a Haven for Teens After Long Treks | Cindy Carcamo | |
| Non-Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | Los Angeles Times | A Medical Mystery: ’We Don’t Have Polio Here’ | Soumya Karlamangla | Compelling medical mystery story grabs the reader’s attention from the beginning. Nicely structured and paced. |
| Non-Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | Marin Independent Journal | Reason for Hope | Richard Halstead | |
| Non-Profile Feature Story | 2nd | Merced Sun-Star | Merced family fights for justice 10 years after unsolved slayings | Rob Parsons | A well-told, well-reported story that deals with the legacy of a tragedy without resorting to melodrama. The writer has a good eye for telling details, and gives the reader a full sense of the family’s experience. |
| Non-Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | Metro Silicon Valley | BYOB: Build Your Own Baby | Nick Veronin | Really engaging baby making. |
| Non-Profile Feature Story | 1st | North Coast Journal | Sanity on Trial | Thadeus Greenson | |
| Non-Profile Feature Story | 2nd | Petaluma Argus-Courier | Capturing a defining moment | Hannah Beausang | Great portrait of an interesting man, an interesting time, an interesting cause and the intersection of all. |
| Non-Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | Pleasanton Weekly | Sacrificing For Success, Unseen Struggles | Meredith Bauer | |
| Non-Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | San Francisco Chronicle | Chasing dreams and dollars: India and the H-1B visa | Padmaparna Ghosh, Joaquin Palomino, Carolyn Lochhead | Deeply reported story that goes to India to deliver a fresh perspective on the H-1B program. Strong video and photography. |
| Non-Profile Feature Story | 1st | San Francisco Examiner | A holy mission: Weekly prayers held for SF homicide victims | Jonah Owen Lamb | Great idea for a story. Well written. Love that the reporter spent the day with them. Really good ending. of the bunch. |
| Non-Profile Feature Story | 1st | San Jose Mercury News | True cost of the Epi-Pen | Tracy Seipel | Clever local angle on a national story gives this piece an excellent hook that smoothly transitions into deeper exploration of the topic. Well-executed explanatory graphics elevate the package. |
| Non-Profile Feature Story | 1st | San Marino Outlook | SMHS Bonds Endure Across 60 Years | Eric Noland | Engaging and informative; much of the history is told through the eyes and anecdotes of the Class of 1956, which makes for a compelling story. Great mix of personal connections and ties to the community and school. |
| Non-Profile Feature Story | 1st | Santa Barbara Independent | Transgender Life In Santa Barbara | Richie DeMaria | |
| Non-Profile Feature Story | 2nd | Santa Barbara News-Press | Tiny lives, big tears | Scott Steepleton, city editor | What an interesting story about something no one ever thinks about. The characters in the story — from the abandoned babies to the volunteers — all have good tales. My only suggestion is to think about a different way to lead into stories such as this. I found the stories of the abandoned babies really compelling and would have liked to see that as the opening segment. |
| Non-Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | Santa Cruz Sentinel | Dealing with dementia: Tim Fitzmaurice shares his story | Jondi Gumz | |
| Non-Profile Feature Story | 2nd | Santa Maria Sun | Reclaiming a community | Joe Payne | |
| Non-Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | Saratoga News | The water sommeliers | Khalida Sarwari | |
| Non-Profile Feature Story | 1st | The Ark | Torn-out memorial bench … | Deirdre McCrohan & Elliot Karlan | This is a compelling community story. While the emotion of a distant reader is decidedly on one side, the writer brings in the kind of detail that makes one understand the homeowner. More importantly, a reader with no connection to the region can’t stop reading. |
| Non-Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | The Bakersfield Californian | It’s a crystal clear legacy | Robert Price | Great story. Well written. |
| Non-Profile Feature Story | 1st | The Desert Sun | The newly deported | Gustavo Solis and Richard Lui | It’s clear from the details in the story that Gustavo Solis and Richard Lui are good observers. Anchored on the experience of Julio Alonso, the team was able to break down the larger issue of immigration into a human story. I hope the paper keeps supporting stories like this one. |
| Non-Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | The Fresno Bee | New Fresno project removes tattoos that branded women as property | Carmen George | Good, in depth story on a very difficult subject. Impressive to get victim to open up and talk about ordeal. Well written. |
| Non-Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | The Mountain Enterprise | Family Cabin Seized | Patric Hedlund | |
| Non-Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | The Napa Valley Register | Stricken by ALS, a Napa minister loses voice but not hope | Howard Yune | A nicely told story about faith and community being tested by fate. The writer handles the material gracefully throughout, and does a good job of showing rather than telling the tale. |
| Non-Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | The Piedmonter | WWII veteran to be honored | Martin Snapp | A history lesson across the generations. The mayor’s sense of honor and duty to her beloved uncle shines through. |
| Non-Profile Feature Story | 2nd | The Recorder | Backlash | Ben Hancock | Great work. While a nation of anger was directed at the subject, the writer tells of the nuances of law, the reasons behind the decision, how easily a judge that had earned some respect can fall — and the tightrope between the court and the court of public opinion. |
| Non-Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | The Recorder | Early Delivery | Ross Todd | |
| Non-Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | The Sonoma Index-Tribune | Adele Kids Are ’Waking Lives’ Through Music | David Templeton | Allowing the students’ quotes to help tell the story makes it come alive. Their enthusiasm is palpable. |
| Non-Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | Visalia Times-Delta & Tulare Advance-Register | Changing lives at the ranch | Juan Villa | A great example of persistence in the face of initial government reassurances. County officials changed their plans as a result. |
| Online General Excellence | 1st | Grunion Gazette | Gazettes.com | Staff | The site is well organized and easy to navigate, with a nice balance of text and images. The article page makes it easy to read an article and move on to the next one. |
| Online General Excellence | 2nd | Ledger Dispatch | Ledger.news | Matthew Hedger | |
| Online General Excellence | Honorable Mention | Los Angeles Downtown News | ladowntownnews.com | Staff | |
| Online General Excellence | 1st | Los Angeles Times | latimes.com | Los Angeles Times Staff | |
| Online General Excellence | 1st | Mountain View Voice | mv-voice.com | Staff | |
| Online General Excellence | 2nd | Palo Alto Weekly | paloaltoonline.com | Staff | |
| Online General Excellence | 2nd | Pleasanton Weekly | pleasantonweekly.com | Staff | |
| Online General Excellence | 2nd | Record Searchlight | Redding.com | Staff | |
| Online General Excellence | 2nd | San Jose Mercury News | MercuryNews.com | Staff | |
| Online General Excellence | Honorable Mention | Santa Maria Times | santamariatimes.com | Jason Anderson, Braxton Carroll, Staff | |
| Online General Excellence | 1st | Sierra Star | sierrastar.com | Staff | |
| Online General Excellence | Honorable Mention | The Almanac | almanacnews.com | Staff | |
| Online General Excellence | Honorable Mention | The Beach Reporter | tbrnews.com | Staff | |
| Online General Excellence | 2nd | The Fresno Bee | fresnobee.com | Staff | Site is clean and easy to navigate. It is concise and is a good source of news and information the the market. It does not assault the senses. It is simple and useable. |
| Online General Excellence | Honorable Mention | The Napa Valley Register | napavalleyregister.com | Staff | |
| Online General Excellence | 1st | The Press Democrat | pressdemocrat.com | Staff | It is interesting. There are a lot of items that catch my eye and they are all local. I appreciate the focus on the market. |
| Online General Excellence | 2nd | The Record | recordnet.com | Staff | |
| Online General Excellence | Honorable Mention | The Recorder | therecorder.com | Staff | |
| Online General Excellence | 1st | The Signal | scvsignal.com | Staff | |
| Online General Excellence | 1st | The Sonoma Index-Tribune | sonomanews.com | Staff | |
| Online General Excellence | 1st | The Tribune | sanluisobispo.com | Staff | |
| Online General Excellence | 2nd | The Trinity Journal | trinityjournal.com | Staff | |
| Online Photo Story/Essay | Honorable Mention | Black Voice News | What we Lost in the Fire and Regulation & Reform | Benoit and Kathy Malpettes, Andre Loftis | |
| Online Photo Story/Essay | 2nd | Chico Enterprise-Record | Cattle branding at Llano Seco Ranch | Bill Husa | The photographs are very well executed, especially given the challenging environment. |
| Online Photo Story/Essay | Honorable Mention | Daily Press | Life after the Bluecut Fire | James Quigg | |
| Online Photo Story/Essay | 1st | Marin Independent Journal | Checkmate | Alan Dep | The photographer has captured some very nice moments here. The pictures give a lovely sense of what the event was all about. A tight edit brings focus to the most telling images. |
| Online Photo Story/Essay | Honorable Mention | Marin Independent Journal | Slaying | Robert Tong | |
| Online Photo Story/Essay | Honorable Mention | Mountain View Voice | Robots rolling in dough | Michelle Le | Interesting. Nerds at a table with computers while workers and robots make pizza. This essay made me want to try the pizza, although it looks a little burnt around the edges, and I would be interested in a followup, if I were a regular reader of your paper. |
| Online Photo Story/Essay | Honorable Mention | Palo Alto Weekly | Homecoming | Veronica Weber | |
| Online Photo Story/Essay | Honorable Mention | Palo Alto Weekly | Turning lives around | Veronica Weber | |
| Online Photo Story/Essay | 1st | Petaluma Argus-Courier | Fire destroys 4 east Petaluma homes | Crissy Pascual | |
| Online Photo Story/Essay | 2nd | San Francisco Chronicle | Black Lives, Black Voices | Hamed Aleaziz, Leah Millis, Lucio Villa | Intense and compelling portraits with quote overlays draw in the readers. We want to know more about these individuals. And we do learn more through an audio component. I love the idea of an interactive photo essay and this is perfectly executed. This is what sets it apart from the other entries. Interactive. Innovative. Compelling. Perfection. |
| Online Photo Story/Essay | 2nd | Shasta Lake Bulletin | Children’s Community Christmas Party | Ron Harrington | |
| Online Photo Story/Essay | 1st | The Almanac | Praise amid tragedy | Michelle Le | Well done. I understood from the accompanying text that although there was likely another news story about the tragedy, this essay was about the “homegoing.” |
| Online Photo Story/Essay | 2nd | The Downey Patriot | Downey Christmas Parade | Eric Pierce | Bringing a routine photo assignment like a Christmas parade to life is sometimes a challenge. These photos captured the event well and made me feel like I was there. |
| Online Photo Story/Essay | Honorable Mention | The Downey Patriot | Fallen Officer Memorial Dedication Ceremony Honoring Ricky Galvez | Eric Pierce | |
| Online Photo Story/Essay | Honorable Mention | The Record | Bernie Sanders | Calixtro Romias | |
| Online Photo Story/Essay | 1st | The Sacramento Bee | Faisal Razmal | Renée C. Byer | The first images is like a bullet to the heart. It’s a killer. You wince and look away. But your drawn back in wanting to know more. The images and text break your heart as you learn everything this man and his family have gone through and are continue to go through. In this photo essay, you join them on their journey and hope life gets better. Storytelling at its finest. |
| Online Photo Story/Essay | Honorable Mention | The Sacramento Bee | Malalai Rafi | Renée C. Byer | The headline says it all: “Photos reveal heartbreak and despair of new widow’s American life.” The images bring the reader into the family’s fold. You live their struggle. You feel their pain. You become part of their family and invested in their journey. You hope they make it and healing occurs. |
| Online Photo Story/Essay | 1st | The Salinas Californian | The Quinceañera of Karizma Vargas | Chelcey Adami | Heartwarming pictures of families and friends coming together. Very nicely done. |
| Online Photo Story/Essay | 2nd | The Salinas Californian | Jimenez Family Posada | Jay Dunn | |
| Online Photo Story/Essay | 2nd | The Signal | Save Lexi | Katharine Lotze | Sadness. Anger. Despair. All emotions are captured in the “Save Lexi” drama that shook up an entire community. |
| Online Photo Story/Essay | 1st | The Union | A Day in the Life of Western Nevada County | Staff | I like the execution of this project and that it’s a mix of staff-produced photos and crowdsourced photos. It really does tell the story of “the day in the life of” through a 24-hour visual tour. Nicely done. |
| Photo Illustration | 1st | Auburn Journal | USA vs The World | Megan Houchin, Ike Dodson | Nice use of photo to visually show the headline and give a clear idea of what the story is about. |
| Photo Illustration | 2nd | Los Angeles Times | The Cost of Flying Cheap | Michael Waraksa | I like the symbolism here with the gumball machine. You put in your quarter, and you’re not quite sure what you’re going to get for it. It also illustrates the possibility of paying for extras such as additional baggage, sodas, etc. So, it does a good job of complementing the story as well as provides and interesting visual to draw the reader in. |
| Photo Illustration | Honorable Mention | Los Angeles Times | Trump TV | Michael Whitley | Graphics show the key point of the story — that the election has changed television. |
| Photo Illustration | Honorable Mention | Los Angeles Times | Globalization of OxyContin | Michael Whitley | Clever use of the topic of the story, OxyContin pills, to illustrate the topic — how the drug moving to worldwide distribution, by using pills to make a depiction of the continents. |
| Photo Illustration | Honorable Mention | Marin Independent Journal | Health, She Wrote | Audria Ruscitti | |
| Photo Illustration | 2nd | Metro Silicon Valley | Car and Driverless | Kara Brown | This illustration perfectly captures what the story purports (based on the headline) to address. The man and woman seem to be having fun while drinking their libations of choice, which might actually be a possibility with an autonomous vehicle. I like that the car is fancy — it gives the reader these cars are expensive, which they definitely will be until they become mainstream. |
| Photo Illustration | 2nd | Monterey Herald | All-county baseball | Monterey Herald Staff | |
| Photo Illustration | Honorable Mention | Record Searchlight | Falcons footballl preview | Greg Barnette and Aimee Wandro | Superimposed team mascot and placement of players moves what could be a routine photo into an interesting lead-in to a story. |
| Photo Illustration | 1st | San Francisco Chronicle | Future too bright for their own good? | John Blanchard | This was the most expressive illustration but also quite compelling for the reader. It pairs well with the story. Beyond telling the story, this illustration captures the emotion of the story as well. |
| Photo Illustration | 1st | The Beach Reporter | 40th Anniversary | Staff | Brilliant. I would pick up this issue and read this story immediately, which of course is what you want the cover illustration to accomplish. I love the blend of the classic California feel with the current pier. This completely works. |
| Photo Illustration | Honorable Mention | The Beach Reporter | Seasons Greetings | Araby Patch, Paul Kryczko | Fun. I have to admit I couldn’t immediately tell that the snow was fake. Of course I could tell from the title of your publication, however. A very cheery mix of colors goes well with the Seasons Greetings sign. |
| Photo Illustration | Honorable Mention | The Recorder | Lawyers Without Borders | Jason Doiy | I like the state bar official sticking out of the plane, the use of the State Bar emblem on the plane and the world to show the plane is going around it “without borders.” Clever. |
| Photo Story/Essay | Honorable Mention | Chino-Chino Hills Champion | Where the Wild Things Are | Marianne Napoles | |
| Photo Story/Essay | 2nd | Daily Press | A slice of hope | James Quigg | A great photo essay captures something that others never get to see. Typically, it’s a hidden place or a unique moment. This one is different, because it focuses on something that everyone could see if they paid attention, yet never does. How often does one notice a homeless person’s shoes? And even if they do get noticed, how often does one realize there’s a story behind them, that one of a person’s few possessions might carry meaning with significance others can’t comprehend? |
| Photo Story/Essay | Honorable Mention | Dana Point Times | Silence, War and Art | Matt Cortina | The face alone of the soldier at attention depicts his duty and dedication. Great capture here. Interesting story on healing. Perhaps additional photos on the creation of the artwork. |
| Photo Story/Essay | 2nd | Del Norte Triplicate | The Little Things: Dew Drops | Bryant Anderson | Very cool close-up photos! Great mechanics to photos: Macro photography shows the dew. You have six very well-done photos here. |
| Photo Story/Essay | 2nd | Feather River Bulletin | Ag & Art | Delaine Fragnoli, James Machado | |
| Photo Story/Essay | 1st | Half Moon Bay Review | Pumpkin weigh-off | John Green | |
| Photo Story/Essay | Honorable Mention | Ledger Dispatch | Bunco for Breast Cancer | Staff | What a successful event with a huge turnout. I love the capture of the evening’s theme. Nice work. |
| Photo Story/Essay | 1st | Los Angeles Times | Navigating the River of Dreams | Gary Coronado | An extremely compelling lead image propelled this essay into first place. The photographer did a great job of putting faces on the issue of migration and those fleeing oppression. Gorgeous images, filled with emotion that tell the story of the people and the hardships they endure. Intimate and powerful. |
| Photo Story/Essay | 2nd | Los Angeles Times | Brazil’s Battle Against Zika | Katie Falkenberg | Covering a global issue is difficult but the photographer found way to tell the Zika story through a number of different sources using strong story-telling images. |
| Photo Story/Essay | Honorable Mention | Los Angeles Times | Risking It All to Reach Our Door | Genaro Molina | Beautifully composed images that capture strong expression, dynamic colors and a strong sense of the hardships the migrants endure. |
| Photo Story/Essay | 1st | Moorpark Acorn | Fur flies at agility contest | Staff | The fur flies! I must say, what does it for me is the photographer capturing the moment of the dog jumping through the hoop. What a great main photo! It plays well in the essay. Nice work! Congratulations. |
| Photo Story/Essay | Honorable Mention | Moorpark Acorn | Time to reflect | Staff | Great catching the photo of the young scout in his moment. His cherishing of the American flag drives the entire essay. Nice work. |
| Photo Story/Essay | 2nd | Mountain View Voice | No easy solution for city’s car-dwellers | Michelle Le | Photographing the homeless is no easy task. Congrats for obtaining a photo inside of the gentleman’s RV, where he’s living. Nice work. |
| Photo Story/Essay | Honorable Mention | San Jose Mercury News | Where We Live: City Roots | Patrick Tehan | The photographer showed great creativity in finding and showcasing these trees — beauty that we pass everyday. Each image has a mood and personality. Lovely. |
| Photo Story/Essay | 1st | San Marino Tribune | Spring Break | Mitch Lehman, Mary Buckley | What time is must have taken to collect, narrow and lay out this piece. I love the map behind the photos, which, yes, I know, most are selfies and posed vacation photos. Regardless a great example of a photo essay complete with location (the map) and person’s name and image. I believe you managed to capture a winning selection using submitted photos — that’s a feat itself. Congratulations! |
| Photo Story/Essay | Honorable Mention | Santa Cruz Sentinel | Pounding November Surf | Staff | |
| Photo Story/Essay | Honorable Mention | Sierra Star | Feathered Friends | Tricia Nickerson | |
| Photo Story/Essay | Honorable Mention | The Camarillo Acorn | Sky’s the limit | Staff | |
| Photo Story/Essay | 1st | The Desert Sun | Migrants flooding the border | Omar Ornelas | This collection’s ability to bring the reader in, not just to the setting of the shelter but these people’s very lives, in just a few photos is really effective. Yes, there’s the pain in their eyes, but there is also proof of what is important enough to them that they might make this journey. |
| Photo Story/Essay | Honorable Mention | The Downey Patriot | Ricky Galvez Memorial Dedication | Eric Pierce | What touching moments. Here you get to see the relatives behind these officers. |
| Photo Story/Essay | Honorable Mention | The Reporter | Golden Ticket | Joel Rosenbaum | |
| Photo Story/Essay | Honorable Mention | The Trinity Journal | Rodeo rides to Weaverville | Wayne R. Agner | |
| Photo Story/Essay | 1st | Thousand Oaks Acorn | Games with a heart | Bobby Curtis | |
| Photo Story/Essay | 2nd | Thousand Oaks Acorn | Super Bowl Teams Raise the Flag | Michael Coons, Timm Sinclair | |
| Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | Black Voice News | Creating a Current for Change | S.E. Williams, Benoit and Kathy Malphettes | |
| Profile Feature Story | 1st | Chico News & Review | Brick by brick | Ken Smith | |
| Profile Feature Story | 2nd | Desert Dispatch | Barstow mom copes with son’s death, uncertain future | Jose Quintero | This piece succeeds by giving the reader an unusually raw and honest look at a parent in the aftermath of a child’s death. The reporter does not fall back on cliches and instead presents the rough, unvarnished reality of the situation. |
| Profile Feature Story | 2nd | Good Times | Notes From the End of the World | Steve Palopoli | |
| Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | Half Moon Bay Review | Big heart fuels Cougar trainer | John Murphy | |
| Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | Lamorinda Weekly | Lamorinda Realtor’s Long Journey Home | Nick Marnell | Wow. That’s a potent (controversial?) story. Confidently written. One I’d pass on to a friend. |
| Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | Lompoc Record | Beyond Prison Walls | Willis Jacobson | |
| Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | New Times | Metamorphosis | Glen Starkey | |
| Profile Feature Story | 2nd | North Coast Journal | Prove Them Wrong | Thadeus Greenson | Impressively detailed account of a local hero. Lots of legwork. Some nice sections, some stellar quotes. |
| Profile Feature Story | 1st | Palisades News | Williams Solos to Hawaii—and Back | Laurel Busby | Terrific subject — Williams is a great interview — and the piece kept me engaged all the way through. |
| Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | Pasadena Outlook | John Naber’s Olympian Task of Inspiring Others | Nick Ostiller | I like the structure. Writer takes us to a dramatic, pivotal moment in Naber’s life, hooking us for a good read whether or not you know the Olympian’s story or not. Including Stites and French was good work. Too often, stories like this have just the one source. |
| Profile Feature Story | 2nd | Petaluma Argus-Courier | Beekeeping gives blind woman new focus | Hannah Beausang | Very interesting story. |
| Profile Feature Story | 2nd | Pleasanton Weekly | A Year After Pier 14 | Meredith Bauer | Leader in the clubhouse. Topical. Timely. Local. Just the right length. Some nice writing. |
| Profile Feature Story | 1st | San Francisco Chronicle | Tiny Curry Corner in Hayward feels the love for the last time | Jonathan Kauffman | Wonderfully written and entertaining, while giving insight into a little zone of culture even people who live in the area might not know about. (Also made me hungry for curry.) |
| Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | San Francisco Examiner | Meet the SF man responsible for more than a quarter of all tech bus complaints | Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez | Well-written piece gives us a sense of the man and the problem. |
| Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | San Jose Mercury News | Priscilla Chan profile | Queenie Wong | This was interesting and well written. |
| Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | Santa Barbara Independent | Archie McLaren’s Indulgent Life | Matt Kettmann | |
| Profile Feature Story | 2nd | Santa Cruz Sentinel | Though his life was short, Joe Spence died with a clear sense of destiny | Wallace Baine | Reporter Wallace Baine immediately captures the essence of Joe Spence, a young man who died in a helicopter crash in Iraq. Spence, he writes, was driven by a sense of mission, that is “no better illustrated than by the date of his enlistment into the U.S. Marine Corps: Sept. 12, 2001.” Baine goes on to show how that sense of mission played out in the various aspects of Spence’s life, beginning in his middle-school years. |
| Profile Feature Story | 1st | Santa Maria Sun | The locals who stood at Standing Rock | Brenna Swanston | Reporter brought an important national story down to the local level by providing a strong voice in Manly-Gil. |
| Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | Signal Tribune | Mr. Alvarez calls the US home | CJ Dablo | This was well researched and reported. Writer has a good balance of sources in the story. A lot of information is provided in an easily readable way. |
| Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | The Almanac | Serving those who served — Formerly homeless veterans share their stories | Kate Bradshaw | I love this! Highly original, poignant, topical and well-designed. Great local journalism. |
| Profile Feature Story | 1st | The Ark | Peninsula woman lauded as leader | Heather Lobdell & Elliot Karlan | Great portrait of a multi-layered business woman who was a pioneer in several areas. Lots of information in this story that flowed well — and it illustrated local history well, too. |
| Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | The Business Journal | Female programming director celebrates a decade in tech | Valerie Shelton | |
| Profile Feature Story | 1st | The Fresno Bee | As new Syrian refugees adapt to life in Fresno … | Andrea Castillo | Beautiful story! Well-written, well-reported, and a nice sketch. |
| Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | The Fresno Bee | Complexities, discord revealed as Kuchar leaves Fresno Philharmonic | Donald Munro | Very well-written and interesting. Great job! |
| Profile Feature Story | 1st | The Napa Valley Register | An artist in his own land | Sean Scully | This story had all the elements of a terrific profile, starting with the compelling six-paragraph opening. The structure is well-crafted, guiding the reader with a clear sense of scene. We learn not only about Huether but about Napa and the nature of public art. The subject is carefully described, faults and all. And the reporter elevates the piece by exploring the central tension created by Huether’s ambition and high-profile position in the community. |
| Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | The Napa Valley Register | Innkeeper’s book traces road from priesthood, through acceptance, to Napa | Howard Yune | This story — ostensibly a profile of a local merchant — was a pleasure to read both because the subject matter was unique and the writing was clear and crisp, with an inviting opening, a natural flow of ideas and strong quotes. We get a sense of Gunther’s life — and why he opened up his B&B. |
| Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | The Napa Valley Register | Taking control: Napa woman with cancer predisposition fights back | Maria Sestito | This clearly told story is a great example of “news you can use,” putting a face on an important subject. Blasky appears to trust the reporter, and her openness about her health and her life allows the story to break through fear and become uplifting. |
| Profile Feature Story | 2nd | The Press Democrat | Thompson battles gun-control gridlock | Paul Payne | |
| Profile Feature Story | 2nd | The Recorder | The Great Dissenter | Scott Graham | A complex, interesting portrait — good job of tackling what to non-lawyers is an obscure, complicated topic. |
| Profile Feature Story | 2nd | The Sacramento Bee | Did Mike Lehmkuhl have to die? | Cynthia Hubert | Incredibly thorough. This gives a glimpse into the downward spiral of a man with mental illness and those who tried to help all along that route. This is a case of taking a basic cops incident off the logs and making it a riveting story/backstory. |
| Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | The San Diego Union-Tribune | When Black Panthers roamed San Diego | Peter Rowe | An intriguing look into recent history, using more recent documents from the FBI. Sometimes history has to cool down a bit before you can get the big picture. |
| Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | The Tribune | Tim Walsh’s coaching journey leads him to perfect fit with Cal Poly | Lucas Clark | |
| Profile Feature Story | 1st | Twin Cities Times | She brings the heat | Derek Wilson | Easily the best in the category. The writing is engaging and accessible, and Hadley’s story is a great one to tell. This is the kind of story that makes you want to follow an athlete’s career. Well done. |
| Profile Feature Story | 1st | Ventura County Star | I was the bearded lady | Amanda Covarrubias | |
| Profile Feature Story | Honorable Mention | Ventura County Star | 18-year-old Agoura resident fights to preserve ’Greatest Generation’ | Tom Kisken | |
| Special Section | Honorable Mention | Antelope Valley Press | Welcome | Staff | |
| Special Section | 2nd | Appeal-Democrat | Prospect Magazine | Staff | |
| Special Section | 1st | Elk Grove Citizen | Vote! 2016 Voter’s Guide | Elk Grove Citizen staff | |
| Special Section | 2nd | Feather River Bulletin | 150th anniversary | Staff | This was a wonderful ode to the history of a newspaper and, in turn, the history of a community. The rendering of all ads as vintage added to the entire section looking authentic and important. Bravo! |
| Special Section | 2nd | Grunion Gazette | Longines Special Section | Staff | Whoever chose the cover artist, kudos! The clean layout inside makes it easy to read. Lively photo selection, good choice of typefaces. |
| Special Section | Honorable Mention | Healdsburg Tribune | Celebrate Earth Day | Staff | Interesting stories that melded the area’s treasures with Earth Day theme. Solid, pleasing design and good writing! Small, but mighty! |
| Special Section | Honorable Mention | Idyllwild Town Crier | Lemon Lily Festival Program | Halie Wilson, Lisa Streeter | Jam packed with great event information and creative design touches. |
| Special Section | Honorable Mention | La Cañada Flintridge Outlook | Back to School | Staff | |
| Special Section | Honorable Mention | Los Altos Town Crier | Living in Los Altos Magazine | Staff | Strong sense of community displayed. Easy to navigate product. Photos used in a pleasing manner. Useful as well as entertaining information inside. |
| Special Section | Honorable Mention | Los Angeles Times | Year in Review | Los Angeles Times Staff | Liked reprinting front pages in miniature. Covered a lot of ground, with a good mix of stories. Cartoons were a nice touch, as was the Capture L.A. photo contest. |
| Special Section | 1st | Monterey County Weekly | Summer Activities Guide | Staff | Love the cover — it says right away, ’I’m something different.’ And the repeating of the “badge” theme inside ties it all together. Cute photos and good info for families. Some narrative, long list, useful to users. |
| Special Section | 2nd | San Clemente Times | 2016 Election Issue | Staff | Concise, interesting and put forth in a manner that could be digested in one sitting. Graphic design and layout elements as well as tight editing and thoughtful presentation. As a voter, I would look forward to receiving this guide every election cycle. |
| Special Section | 1st | San Francisco Business Times | The Business of Pride | Staff | Expertly assembled section. Top-notch design and art direction. Compelling coverage of businesses, individuals, issues and industries taylored to the LGBTQ community but woven together in a way making it relevant to the business world in general. |
| Special Section | 2nd | San Francisco Chronicle | Habitat Magazine: Bay Area Home and Style | Kitty Morgan, Erin Feher, Elizabeth Burr | Stylish, classy, beautiful. Fun and sassy. Well-thought out with definite attitude. Tries to get at what makes the area tick and thrive at home. |
| Special Section | Honorable Mention | San Jose Mercury News | 2016 — It was a wild ride! | Staff | Having elbow cross the gutter was brilliant and the finger pointing and expressions in the photos on 5 were well chosen. Lots of fun to go through. |
| Special Section | Honorable Mention | San Marino Outlook | Back to School | Staff | |
| Special Section | Honorable Mention | Santa Barbara Independent | Meet the Makers | Indy Staff | |
| Special Section | Honorable Mention | Santa Monica Daily Press | April Fool’s | Staff | |
| Special Section | 1st | The Ark | Home: Sept 28, 2016 | Staff | Overall great design and good content. Very impressed with how the advertisements became an integral part of the section, as if they actually features within the section. Beautifully designed. Nice variety of stories surrounding interior design, from teens to professionals. |
| Special Section | 1st | The Bakersfield Californian | The Story of Us: Kern County, 1866-2016 | Staff | |
| Special Section | Honorable Mention | The Beach Reporter | Kindness | Staff | Compelling; good story-telling; even the ads were about philanthropy. |
| Special Section | 2nd | The Davis Enterprise | Welcome to Davis | Staff | |
| Special Section | 2nd | The Desert Sun | Trump Towers | Staff | |
| Special Section | 2nd | The Fresno Bee | Living in Misery: Fresno Slum Housing | Andrea Castillo, Barbara Anderson and BoNhia Lee | |
| Special Section | Honorable Mention | The Press Democrat | Jack London special section | Staff | |
| Special Section | 1st | The Record | Outlook | Staff | |
| Special Section | Honorable Mention | The Reporter | Focus on Dixon | Reporter staff | |
| Special Section | 1st | The Sacramento Bee | No Safe Place | Stephen Magagnini, Renée C. Byer, Jessica Koscielniak | Emotional, impactful, riveting. Multimedia added another layer. A brilliant, in-depth effort. The design was clean with an eye to engagement. Useful graphs added depth and understanding. Powerful images, writing, headlines. Every element added to the over package. And even a glimmer of hope. Excellent! Would like to see a follow-up, which maybe there has been. |
| Special Section | Honorable Mention | The Sun (San Bernardino) | San Bernardino shooting anniversary | San Bernardino Sun staff | |
| Special Section | 1st | The Union | A Day in the Life of Western Nevada County | Staff | |
| Special Section | Honorable Mention | Tracy Press | Celebrate Tracy | Will Fleet, Michael Langley, Tracy Press staff | Tells a story in multiple ways. Abundant use of easy to understand charts and graphs, lists and comparisons. Printing the original material from area children was a nice touch. Something for everyone in this section. |
| Special Sports Section | Honorable Mention | Antelope Valley Press | Football Preview 2016 | Sports Staff | |
| Special Sports Section | 1st | Grunion Gazette | 2016 High School Football Preview | Staff | |
| Special Sports Section | 2nd | Ledger Dispatch | 2016 Amador Varsity Football | Staff | |
| Special Sports Section | Honorable Mention | Lodi News-Sentinel | Locker room | Staff | A lot of information is packaged effectively. Great service to readers. |
| Special Sports Section | 1st | Los Angeles Times | Kobe Bryant | Los Angeles Times | A compelling look at the career of a Los Angeles sports icon, covering multiple angles, professional and personal. It gives readers a comprehensive, and at times, behind-the-scenes look at his life and impact on the city. |
| Special Sports Section | 1st | Mariposa Gazette | Year of the Grizzly | Matt Johnson | |
| Special Sports Section | 2nd | Merced Sun-Star | High School Football | Shawn Jansen, Sean Lynch, Andrew Kuhn | Strong presentation throughout. Well-thought-out and organized section. A lot of teams from a large coverage area are effectively outlined through capsules and conference roundups, even though there isn’t space to individually preview each team. All-area team, Top-5s and coaches’ polls are unique and add value. Posing of the Merced players at the theater shows creative thinking. |
| Special Sports Section | Honorable Mention | San Jose Mercury News | Play Ball special baseball section | Staff | |
| Special Sports Section | Honorable Mention | San Marino Tribune | The Next Level | Mitch Lehman, Nancy Lem | |
| Special Sports Section | 2nd | The Capistrano Dispatch | San Juan Football Preview | Steve Breazeale | |
| Special Sports Section | 2nd | The Desert Sun | CareerBuilder Challenge golf preview section | Staff | |
| Special Sports Section | Honorable Mention | The Modesto Bee | The Modesto Bee high school football preview special section | Staff | |
| Special Sports Section | Honorable Mention | The Napa Valley Register | Aug. 25, 2016 | Marty James, Andy Wilcox, Yousef Baig | Nice clean, if unspectacular, appearance of the section, and quality writing. I especially liked the photographer’s ability to think through what could be rather static posed photos and turn them into colorful and interesting portraits. They really pop out. |
| Special Sports Section | 2nd | The Orange County Register | Baseball 2016 | Staff | Good use of graphics and layout. A nice mix of team previews and features. I especially enjoyed the articles on advanced analytics and how they have changed the modern game. |
| Special Sports Section | 1st | The Record | Prep Football | Staff | |
| Special Sports Section | 1st | The Signal | 2016 High School Football Preview | Staff | This section, very simply, has it all. This is an expertly thought-out and executed content package, from it’s in-depth coverage of each team to its artistic magazine-style design flourishes to its combination of both information-based and personality-driven stories (Apsay). Photos and label heads on features have impact and are clever, respectively. |
| Special Sports Section | Honorable Mention | The Sonoma Index-Tribune | Jan. 11 and 14, 2016 | Bill Hoban | |
| Special Sports Section | Honorable Mention | Thousand Oaks Acorn | Pigskin Preview 2016 | Staff | |
| Sports Action Photo | 1st | Chico Enterprise-Record | Shot on goal | Bill Husa | Fantastic capture through the net with the tender in the foreground and full action of the shooter, great positioning to get both players into a tight frame. Nice work. |
| Sports Action Photo | Honorable Mention | Grunion Gazette | On The Field | Kevin Oules | |
| Sports Action Photo | Honorable Mention | Idyllwild Town Crier | Jenna Arnett | Chandra Lynn | |
| Sports Action Photo | 2nd | Los Angeles Times | Simone Biles | Wally Skalij | An unusual angle from which to get a shot, but the perfect from which to do so. The ponytail is perpendicular to the beam, as is Biles’ body. The floor mat in the background with the pieces of chalk and footprints made me want to look at this photo for a long time. Nice work! |
| Sports Action Photo | Honorable Mention | Los Angeles Times | Usain Bolt | Wally Skalij | Nice emotion and clean background. Good choice of point of view. |
| Sports Action Photo | Honorable Mention | Los Banos Enterprise | Full layout for touchdown | Gene Lieb | |
| Sports Action Photo | 1st | Moorpark Acorn | Trail blazer | Michael Coons | This dynamic photo receives top billing from me for the dynamic power of its lighting and the masterful way that it freezes a moment in time without losing the sense of action. Water drops cast dramatic shadows across the subject and etch the path of the ball through the air for the viewer. |
| Sports Action Photo | Honorable Mention | Moorpark Acorn | Record vault | Michael Coons | The photographer captures the story of a record-breaking vault with a photo that screams elation. The subject’s joy appears to be elevating him skyward. The crisp, clean focus of the shot allows the subject matter to vault this piece up the rankings. |
| Sports Action Photo | Honorable Mention | Porterville Recorder | Grizzlies maul Marauders | Chieko Hara | |
| Sports Action Photo | 1st | Santa Barbara Independent | Sandspit Surf | Paul Wellman | |
| Sports Action Photo | Honorable Mention | Santa Barbara Independent | SB v SLO Rugby | Paul Wellman | |
| Sports Action Photo | 2nd | Simi Valley Acorn | All-Star catch | Richard Gillard | |
| Sports Action Photo | 1st | St. Helena Star | Two down, one to go | Yousef Baig | |
| Sports Action Photo | 2nd | The Capistrano Dispatch | Show Jumping at the Riding Park | Allison Jarrell | Crisp, clean light and a deep sense of elegance pervade this photo. All the power of horse and jumper are captured, statuesque, by the photographer. The piece is as noble as the sport it depicts. |
| Sports Action Photo | 1st | The Davis Enterprise | Rain-soaked soccer | Wayne Tilcock | Visually interesting photo of the player in full stride preparing to boot the ball into the goal, with a full-on storm providing the special effects. This looks like a challenging photo to get and it was done perfectly. |
| Sports Action Photo | Honorable Mention | The Davis Enterprise | Leaps and Bounds | Wayne Tilcock | This was a nice action shot captured at just the right moment. Well done. |
| Sports Action Photo | Honorable Mention | The Davis Enterprise | What a steal | Wayne Tilcock | Good action shot of the steal, showing the determination of the player chasing the ball and the wince of the player who lost it. |
| Sports Action Photo | 2nd | The Desert Sun | Serena Williams | Jay Calderon | This shot shows that sometimes the best shot during a sporting event happens after the ball has left the frame. Nice movement in the photo, with her skirt still suspended in air, while capturing her extreme athleticism. |
| Sports Action Photo | 1st | The Fresno Bee | Jesse Aitken slams against the bull | Eric Paul Zamora | The movement and flow of this photo is what sets it apart. It’s a still but the action is inherent in the photo. You’re sure what comes next, and it won’t be good. |
| Sports Action Photo | Honorable Mention | The Fresno Bee | 1-11 ’Dogs keep it close | John Walker | |
| Sports Action Photo | Honorable Mention | The Fresno Bee | Bears roar in stirring victory over wrestling rival | Craig Kohlruss | |
| Sports Action Photo | 2nd | The Intermountain News | What’s the call ump? | Craig Harrington | |
| Sports Action Photo | 1st | The Orange County Register | Out at Home | Bill Alkofer | The cloud of dust, the dirt flying in the air, the catcher obscured, except for his legs and arms. The expression on the runner’s face sliding into home plate with the ball in the catcher’s mitt. This photo captures an electric moment of one of the most exciting plays in baseball. Excellent shot! A nice moment with emotion and action. |
| Sports Action Photo | Honorable Mention | The Orange County Register | Wayward Bat | Kevin Sullivan | A moment you don’t get to see often. Clean and good read. |
| Sports Action Photo | 2nd | The Press Democrat | Playing into the Night | Christopher Chung | This photo is all about the timing. A split second one way or the other and this wouldn’t have been nearly as good. Good framing as well. |
| Sports Action Photo | Honorable Mention | The Record | Chavez Frank | Clifford Oto | Love this shot. Emotion in the rain, movement by the QB and 56, framed with the two receivers in the foreground — it’s all here. The internal scale hurts a little, with all the subjects being so small. Hope it ran big. |
| Sports Action Photo | Honorable Mention | The Record | Boys Basketball | Clifford Oto | Great lines, displays of athleticism, and concentration with those strained faces. And whether it was great settings or digital darkroom work, extra credit here for perfect exposure of players against white uniforms and several harsh background lights. |
| Sports Action Photo | 2nd | The Signal | Hart Football catch | Dan Watson | What make this second place is the fact that we can see the eyeball of the receiver AND the placement of the ball just before it hits his hands. Clean background. Night football is harder to shoot than say a day soccer game from a exposure point of view which is why this image was chosen over third place. |
| Sports Action Photo | 2nd | The Sonoma Index-Tribune | Lady Dragons Lose Soccer Shootout | Bill Hoban | The photographer captured some nice expressions on the faces of these soccer players — the joy of gaining the goal, and the anguish of having been scored on. |
| Sports Action Photo | Honorable Mention | Times-Herald, Vallejo | Contact Sport | Chris Riley | Obviously they key element is the ball in the face, but more importantly is the fact that you can see the emotions on both of the player’s faces. |
| Sports Action Photo | Honorable Mention | Tracy Press | One giant leap | Glenn Moore | I love the composition of this photo; the flying sand, the low, intimate angle, the cartwheeling body and the sense of weightlessness. |
| Sports Action Photo | 1st | Visalia Times-Delta & Tulare Advance-Register | Mt. Whitney vs. El Diamante baseball | Ron Holman | A great example of how an Arts section can dive into one of a region’s largest events and give it extensive coverage without overexposing or boring readers. The pre-festival coverage and the post included interviews with big-name musicians that offered insight and novelty. The rest of the two sections were thorough, varied, and fun to read. |
| Sports Feature Photo | 1st | Chico Enterprise-Record | Red and gold | Dan Reidel | Good use of colors and layers during a non-action scene of a sporting event. |
| Sports Feature Photo | Honorable Mention | Los Angeles Daily News | The flying bat | John McCoy | Great capture of fraction of a second off the field action |
| Sports Feature Photo | Honorable Mention | Folsom Telegraph | A coach’s cry of joy | Bill Sullivan | |
| Sports Feature Photo | Honorable Mention | Free Lance | Women’s U.S. Open | Nick Lovejoy | |
| Sports Feature Photo | 2nd | Ledger Dispatch | Making History: Champions! | Staff | |
| Sports Feature Photo | Honorable Mention | Ledger Dispatch | Can’t Fence Me In! | Staff | |
| Sports Feature Photo | 1st | Los Altos Town Crier | Don’t miss out on the playoffs | Megan V. Winslow | Great action shot, very dynamic. |
| Sports Feature Photo | Honorable Mention | Los Altos Town Crier | Players race by cheerleaders | Megan V. Winslow | |
| Sports Feature Photo | 2nd | Los Angeles Times | U.S. Boxer Shakur Stevenson | Robert Gauthier | The photo captured a peculiar reaction by the losing opponent at just the right moment — a testament to the photographer’s sharp-eyed attention. Sad moment but the emotion is captured perfectly. You can see the outline of his frown under his shirt. Great image. |
| Sports Feature Photo | Honorable Mention | Los Angeles Times | Iceland Gymnast | Wally Skalij | Photographer imagined an image and made it happen. Such a great detailed shot. |
| Sports Feature Photo | 2nd | Moorpark Acorn | Cold night | Michael Coons | |
| Sports Feature Photo | 2nd | Porterville Recorder | Coach showered with Gatorade | Chieko Hara | Great job capturing a moment of unbridled joy in victory. |
| Sports Feature Photo | Honorable Mention | Redlands Daily Facts | High jump | Jennifer Cappuccio | |
| Sports Feature Photo | 1st | San Francisco Chronicle | Celebrating with Steph | Scott Strazzante | This photo screams victory with a stunning clarity and force. It almost puts the viewer courtside to the point where the victory yell can be heard. |
| Sports Feature Photo | Honorable Mention | San Jose Mercury News | Coaching a game he’s never played | Nhat V. Meyer | Very moving image. The photo is so well crafted, with the two lights, the push of the athlete and the look of determination on the face of the coach. |
| Sports Feature Photo | 1st | Sierra Star | Yosemite Youth Football | Brian Wilkinson | Photographer captures a moment for the ages in youth football as two tiny players stare intensely at their young comrade, all of them in very professional 3-point stances. Are they awaiting his command? Are they all executing a winning Super Bowl play? The subjects’ faces and body language naturally convey the spirit of both youth sports and teamwork. |
| Sports Feature Photo | Honorable Mention | Sierra Star | Waite, Burns win 29th Annual Smokey 10K | Brian Wilkinson | This collection of images documents lesser-seen moments in a running event. Photographer showcases various facets of an all-ages event that humanize and bring depth to what are usually predictable photos. |
| Sports Feature Photo | 1st | Simi Valley Acorn | Tough break | Michael Coons | Great photo. Nice, sharp focus on the agony of defeat, with the thrill of victory in the background. Great job getting into a spot to capture both in the same frame. |
| Sports Feature Photo | 2nd | St. Helena Star | Let the Games begin | Yousef Baig | Well-composed and timed shot that creates anticipation for what happens next in both the photo and the subject’s story. |
| Sports Feature Photo | Honorable Mention | The Acorn | All hands on deck | Bobby Curtis | |
| Sports Feature Photo | 2nd | The Bakersfield Californian | BCHS football team loss to Campolindo High | Henry Barrios | Nice moment of good sportsmanship captured |
| Sports Feature Photo | 1st | The Davis Enterprise | Diving silhouette | Wayne Tilcock | |
| Sports Feature Photo | Honorable Mention | The Desert Sun | Cub Swanson | Richard Lui | Very clean, well executed shot feature shot. |
| Sports Feature Photo | 1st | The Modesto Bee | Rodeo | Andy Alfaro | This is an outstanding “right-place, right-time” photograph. The bewildered, mud-soaked cowboy, the staggering, mud-soaked cow tell a tale of man and beast losing to nature. A compelling, timeless image. |
| Sports Feature Photo | Honorable Mention | The Modesto Bee | Basketball celebration | Staff | Great celebration shot! |
| Sports Feature Photo | Honorable Mention | The Napa Valley Register | Julia SanGiacomo | JL Sousa | |
| Sports Feature Photo | Honorable Mention | The Record | Manteca Base | Clifford Oto | Celebrations are not easy to shoot, but this came out pretty well. Excitement comes through in moment on faces as well as actions of kid. |
| Sports Feature Photo | 2nd | The Tribune | Fired Up Football | Joe Johnston | Clean, effective photo showing the spirit of competition and player intensity. Captures the emotion of the moment without necessarily being the action photo. |
| Sports Feature Photo | Honorable Mention | The Weekly Calistogan | One of Calistoga’s greatest comes home | Dave Mosher | Photographer chose a vantage point for a speaker shot that takes full advantage of the leading lines, patriotic elements and subtle details throughout. Shifting the focal point however led to a lack of detail in the featured subject’s face. |
| Sports Feature Photo | 2nd | Thousand Oaks Acorn | Thrill of victory | Michael Coons | Great job capturing emotion in the girls’ faces close up. |
| Sports Feature Photo | Honorable Mention | Thousand Oaks Acorn | Hey Blue, Should We Call the Game? | Richard Gillard | |
| Sports Feature Photo | 1st | Visalia Times-Delta & Tulare Advance-Register | Girls basketball player of year | Ron Holman | Perfect timing. Clean background. Most importantly is the fact that we can see the face of the runner! Without that face the photo wouldn’t be as strong. Even though their are shadows, you can see hit eyes. Great action combined with emotion is the key to a great sports action photo. |
| Sports Feature Story | Honorable Mention | Appeal-Democrat | Playin’ with the boys | Jimmy Graben | Well-written and engaging athlete feature. |
| Sports Feature Story | Honorable Mention | Los Angeles Daily News | Vin Scully’s final call | Tom Hoffarth | Vin Scully touched so many people’s lives for so many generations and like this writer says it doesn’t matter which chair you find yourself in you can always envision yourself at a Dodgers game with Scully’s voice at the helm. He will be missed and definitely this story evoked the most emotion out of the group. |
| Sports Feature Story | 1st | Free Lance | Life Renewed for Hughes-Fudge | Emanuel Lee | |
| Sports Feature Story | 1st | Grunion Gazette | LBUSD Sports Facilities: The Students’ Story | Mike Guardabascio, JJ Fiddler | Very well researched with extensive interviews. Really did a good job of giving the entire picture of the failing LBUSD athletic facilities. |
| Sports Feature Story | 1st | La Cañada Flintridge Outlook | LCHS Grad Surveys NFL From Thoughtful Distance | Mirjam Swanson | Well-written and fun to read about a local kid who ended up making it big as an adult. |
| Sports Feature Story | 2nd | Los Angeles Times | Organ Donor | Mike Hiserman | |
| Sports Feature Story | Honorable Mention | Los Angeles Times | Corey Seager | Andy McCullough | |
| Sports Feature Story | 2nd | Moorpark Acorn | Rancho deluxe | Eliav Appelbaum | |
| Sports Feature Story | Honorable Mention | Pasadena Outlook | Claire’s Baseball Evolution Spans a Half-Century | Nick Ostiller | |
| Sports Feature Story | Honorable Mention | Pleasanton Weekly | Cricket Anyone? | Jeremy Walsh | |
| Sports Feature Story | 2nd | Porterville Recorder | Football is Family | Nayirah Dosu | Great concept! The placement of this story on the front page was right on — using sports and the sacrifices athletes make as a microcosm of the town. |
| Sports Feature Story | Honorable Mention | Record Searchlight | Young at heart | T.J. Holmes | Engaging feature story. |
| Sports Feature Story | Honorable Mention | Register-Pajaronian | Watsonville native rises from life-changing ’mistake’ | Tony Nunez | Inspirational story. Did a good job focusing on the background of the main person in the story. |
| Sports Feature Story | 1st | San Francisco Chronicle | The Najee Chronicles | Ron Kroichick, Michael Macor | |
| Sports Feature Story | 2nd | San Marino Tribune | Kindred Spirits | Mitch Lehman | There was a lot of research for the statistics. It was a nice, feel good story. |
| Sports Feature Story | Honorable Mention | San Marino Tribune | You fight like a girl’ a Huge Compliment In Claire Garcia’s World | Mitch Lehman | Females don’t often get enough credit in the sports world, so it was neat to see so much ink dedicated to that. I thought it did a good job of keeping my attention. |
| Sports Feature Story | 2nd | Santa Cruz Sentinel | Co-football champions SLV, Harbor to settle a score — 20 years after epic tie | Jim Seimas | |
| Sports Feature Story | 1st | Sierra Star | Badger girl makes history on baseball field | Mark Evan Smith | |
| Sports Feature Story | 2nd | St. Helena Star | Unbeatable, humble Schuh to be famous | Yousef Baig | |
| Sports Feature Story | Honorable Mention | The Ark | Tiburon man, 65, overcomes heart, lung problems … | Matthew Hose & Elliot Karlan | |
| Sports Feature Story | 1st | The Bakersfield Californian | Blazing his own trail | Zach Ewing | I am sure it’s hard to carve a name out for yourself when your family is equally as talented! I loved this story and how he makes his own way. Great job! |
| Sports Feature Story | 2nd | The Bakersfield Californian | Eliades: The World War II Air Force veteran is still an institution at North High | Jeff Evans | I loved how in depth this article was and how this one man was not only a hometown hero but a war hero and deserves to be recognized. Great story. Very well written. |
| Sports Feature Story | 1st | The Desert Sun | Concussion awareness | Andrew John | |
| Sports Feature Story | Honorable Mention | The Fresno Bee | At 86, slowing down’s last thing on mind of Clovis sprinter Don Cheek | Marek Warszawski | A true testament to tenacity and well written story! I wish there was another 2nd place because this one was so good!! |
| Sports Feature Story | Honorable Mention | The Salinas Californian | Muhammad Ali: to know him was to love him | Pete Wevurski | Great first-person account of a legendary athlete. |
| Sports Feature Story | Honorable Mention | The Salinas Californian | Pilot wraps art and athleticism into one | Jeff Mitchell | Good insight into a profession that not a lot of people know about. |
| Sports Feature Story | Honorable Mention | The San Diego Union-Tribune | 2 runners from Africa linked by track, past | Mark Zeigler | |
| Sports Feature Story | Honorable Mention | The Tribune | Olympic medalist, Atascadero resident Jan Johnson continues to be a giant in pole vaulting world | Travis Gibson | |
| Sports Feature Story | Honorable Mention | The Weekly Calistogan | ’Frustrating’ year of football | Yousef Baig | |
| Sports Feature Story | 2nd | Thousand Oaks Acorn | Hockey hero: Westlake girl inspires | Eliav Appelbaum | Good job giving us a sense of who Lola is both on and off the ice. |
| Sports Feature Story | Honorable Mention | Ventura County Star | The Rams Next Door | Joe Curley | |
| Sports Feature Story | 1st | Visalia Times-Delta & Tulare Advance-Register | Richard Torrez Jr. feature | Mike Hazelwood | This is a very engaging story. The details are great and made me understand the boxer as a person and world-class athlete. |
| Sports Game Story | 2nd | Antelope Valley Press | Paraclete makes full recovery | Merisa Jensen | Great quotes. Well-written. Good stats. |
| Sports Game Story | 1st | Chico Enterprise-Record | Garrett captures title | Nick Wilson | Large photos. Good lead. Strong quotes. Great writing. Holds reader’s interest |
| Sports Game Story | Honorable Mention | Elk Grove Citizen | Elk Grove Loses State Championship to Cajon, 55-36 | John Hull | Well written. |
| Sports Game Story | Honorable Mention | Los Altos Town Crier | Panthers outpace Priory:Pinewood uses speed to overwhelm visitors | Pete Borello, Shirley Pefley | |
| Sports Game Story | 1st | Los Angeles Times | Kobe Bryant’s Last Game | Mike Bresnahan | Good clean account, nice detail and color. Good flow, great insight to an amazing player’s remarkable last game. |
| Sports Game Story | Honorable Mention | Los Angeles Times | Super Bowl 50 | Sam Farmer | Great way to break news. Nice, touching stuff with Archie, cute quotes with mom. |
| Sports Game Story | 2nd | Merced Sun-Star | Warren overcomes nerves in Merced’s football win over Gregori | Shawn Jansen | Great lede. Great combo of information and quotes right off the bat. I got flavor and all the nuts and bolts of the story in the first three graphs, then followed up with more solid quotes from players and coaches to help really tell the story. |
| Sports Game Story | Honorable Mention | Moorpark Acorn | Back in the finals | Eliav Appelbaum | |
| Sports Game Story | Honorable Mention | Petaluma Argus-Courier | Wild OT win by hobbled Gauchos | John Jackson | |
| Sports Game Story | 1st | Poway News Chieftain | Broncos incredible run ... | Michael Bower | |
| Sports Game Story | 2nd | San Francisco Chronicle | Giants eliminated after bullpen suffers a final meltdown | Henry Schulman | Great account, rich with detail and context that adds to the raw details of the play. This piece embraces the pain of defeat that had seemed like a victory. It grabs the reader from the beginning and doesn’t let go. The imagery is awesome. |
| Sports Game Story | 2nd | San Marino Outlook | Wick Brothers Finish High School as State Champs | Oscar Areliz | This was one that practically wrote itself, and that is what made it sing, it never felt forced. And what made it even better is the two winning state titles during a year when brothers ruled at state. You could tell reporter did homework. |
| Sports Game Story | 2nd | St. Helena Star | Defense keeps Saints in game in comeback win | Yousef Baig | The writer does a good job setting the theme of the piece (defense) early and following it throughout. Use of some solid quotes adds to the success of this one. |
| Sports Game Story | Honorable Mention | St. Helena Star | Saints rout Drake with big plays | Yousef Baig | A solid story spiced with some good quotes. |
| Sports Game Story | 1st | The Bakersfield Californian | Bakersfield High, Bakersfield Christian capture titles | Zach Ewing | Great — you had me at the lead. Great work with very good flow. It’s put the reader right in the action. |
| Sports Game Story | 2nd | The Camarillo Acorn | Scorpions tell Walnut to take a seat | Eliav Appelbaum | |
| Sports Game Story | 1st | The Davis Enterprise | Going out with a bang | Bruce Gallaudet | Great story from top to bottom. Tied in the all of the hoopla surrounding the game with the game itself. Nice blending and flow. Never felt clunky or disjointed. |
| Sports Game Story | Honorable Mention | The Fresno Bee | Clovis North’s Rhesa Foster golden in long jump | Andy Boogaard | Good — brings the same level of respect, professionalism, and detail to a lesser-known sport as football and basketball get. Very crisp account. Solid section about Rhesa Foster, great background filler. Nice, short details on the rest of the meet. |
| Sports Game Story | 1st | The Gridley Herald | Gridley Herald sports game story entries | David Vantress | The stories were easy to read and flowed well. They had a nice balance of quotes, background and game details. Overall, a strong series of stories. |
| Sports Game Story | Honorable Mention | The Napa Valley Register | Horn tosses no-hitter in final Big Game matchup | Marty James | Great story. Stating the facts directly at the top so as not to make the reader wait too long for the good stuff, then getting into the details to keep the reader going. Well written. |
| Sports Game Story | Honorable Mention | The Napa Valley Register | Indians break their Gold Country curse with victory in double-overtime | Andy Wilcox | Very good to great detail and quotes from players and coaches in the meat of the story. |
| Sports Game Story | Honorable Mention | The Orange County Register | Rio Olympics: With all-around gold medal, Simone Biles vaults to the top as greatest female gymnast | Scott M. Reid | Very colorfully written. Good quotes, nice scene setter. Good depth with nice diversity of quotes. What was missing, though, was more of Biles’ reactions to winning in the Olympics. |
| Sports Game Story | 2nd | The Press Democrat | Cardinal Newman championship | Phil Barber | A good, deep and balanced story. It’s nice to see a significant quote from the losing team in a championship game. |
| Sports Game Story | Honorable Mention | The Press Democrat | Stephen Curry returns | Phil Barber | Good. Cute lead, evocative writing, good context for the emotion of the game, great quotes and vignettes from the sideline. |
| Sports Game Story | Honorable Mention | The Record | Heartbreaker and Shakespearian finish for St. Mary’s | Thomas Lawrence, Kevin Neindorff | Heartbreaker — great photos, lead and writing. |
| Sports Game Story | Honorable Mention | The Tribune | Sawyer May does his best Kirk Gibson impression in Arroyo Grande playoff win | Travis Gibson | Great story. Great writing and good photos. |
| Sports Game Story | Honorable Mention | The Weekly Calistogan | Wildcats able to hold off Panthers | Yousef Baig | Nice job of capturing the excitement of the game. A couple of good quotes added a lot to the story. |
| Sports Game Story | 1st | Times-Standard | Coming up aces | Danny Penza | Great lede that made me smile envisioning a happily impending doom of a dogpile on the mound. Followed by great quotes from player and coach. Well done. |
| Sports Page or Section | Honorable Mention | Antelope Valley Press | Aug. 19 and 20, 2016 | Sports Staff | |
| Sports Page or Section | 2nd | Appeal-Democrat | Oct. 1 and 2, 2016 | Staff | |
| Sports Page or Section | Honorable Mention | Auburn Journal | March 29 and 30, 2016 | Megan Houchin, Ike Dodson | |
| Sports Page or Section | 2nd | Chico Enterprise-Record | Dec. 17 and 18, 2016 | Staff | |
| Sports Page or Section | Honorable Mention | Desert Review | Dec. 20 and 27, 2016 | Staff | |
| Sports Page or Section | 1st | Glendale News-Press | Pride on line as Hoover, Glendale clash | Staff | |
| Sports Page or Section | 2nd | La Cañada Valley Sun | La Cañada Valley Sun Sports Section | Staff | Well-edited section. Lively writing. Strong local focus. Obviously a very hard-working staff. |
| Sports Page or Section | Honorable Mention | Ledger Dispatch | Ledger Sports Takes the Day! | Staff | |
| Sports Page or Section | 1st | Los Angeles Times | Los Angeles Times Staff | Top marks or near-top marks in every criteria, reflecting what has to be considered one of the best Sports sections in the nation. Quality of writing, breadth of coverage and section’s organization especially stand out. | |
| Sports Page or Section | 1st | Mariposa Gazette | Aug. 25 and Sept. 1, 2016 | Matt Johnson | Very good job of covering local sports. Well-written stories and attractive page design. |
| Sports Page or Section | Honorable Mention | Poway News Chieftain | June 9 and 16, 2016 | Michael Bower | |
| Sports Page or Section | 1st | Roseville Press Tribune | Nov. 4 and 11, 2016 | Steven Wilson | Staff does an outstanding job of local-based sports coverage. Solid writing, event coverage and features. |
| Sports Page or Section | Honorable Mention | San Francisco Chronicle | April 13 and 14, 2016 | Staff | |
| Sports Page or Section | 2nd | San Jose Mercury News | March 10 and 11, 2016 | Staff | Excellence in every aspect of this section. Only a slight notch below first place in what is a very competitive category. |
| Sports Page or Section | Honorable Mention | Sierra Star | Sept. 15, 2016 | Staff | |
| Sports Page or Section | 2nd | St. Helena Star | Aug. 25 and Sept. 1, 2016 | Yousef Baig | Very solid sports section. Good emphasis on local sports, and not top heavy on results. Some good writing. |
| Sports Page or Section | 1st | The Bakersfield Californian | 2016 Varsity Preview | Staff | Amazing design, and almost all of it about Bakersfield. Lots of local bylines and credits. And 50+ pages on a Thursday is impressive. |
| Sports Page or Section | Honorable Mention | The Fresno Bee | June 3 and 4, 2016 | Staff | |
| Sports Page or Section | Honorable Mention | The Napa Valley Register | Oct. 12 and 13, 2016 | Marty James, Andy Wilcox, Yousef Baig | |
| Sports Page or Section | 2nd | The Press Democrat | Feb. 7 and Feb. 8, 2016 | Staff | Nice mix between wire and local. The local stories are very well written and the design works. Can’t go wrong with Lowell Cohn. Nice job overall. |
| Sports Page or Section | 1st | The Tribune | Oct. 15, 2016 | Staff | |
| Sports Page or Section | Honorable Mention | Ventura County Star | Dec. 15 and 16, 2016 | Marc Jenkins | |
| Video Journalism | Honorable Mention | Chico Enterprise-Record | The Road to State | Dan Reidel | |
| Video Journalism | 2nd | East Bay Times | First day of school offers recent immigrants a fresh start | Staff | This video does a good job of sharing a diverse set of personal stories and experiences. The producer does a good job of bringing all of these stories together into on coherent narrative. |
| Video Journalism | 1st | Grunion Gazette | Discovered History: Jergins Tunnel | Jesse Lopez | |
| Video Journalism | 1st | Lompoc Record | Agnes of Harris Grade | Jason Anderson | |
| Video Journalism | 1st | Los Angeles Times | Mothers Who Lose a Second Child to Violence | Callaghan O’Hare | The emotional impact of this video is undeniable. Needless to say the photo department is out of tissues now. While some of the cuts are a little too quick, the audio throws the viewer into an empathic position and straps them there. This is community journalism at its finest. Great work on building the trust to tell this story. |
| Video Journalism | 2nd | Rosamond News | Bialecki’s backyard riding train | John Joyce, Mike Crabtree, Gayle Joyce | |
| Video Journalism | Honorable Mention | Rosamond News | Football Camp Packs Marauder Stadium | John Bogna, Gayle Joyce, Mike Crabtree | |
| Video Journalism | 1st | San Francisco Business Times | Oakland nonprofit Gameheads seeks to diversify tech through gaming | Emma Marie Chiang | This video is very well put together, and it covers and important topic. The storytelling is clean, effective and engaging, while the video quality is excellent. |
| Video Journalism | 2nd | San Francisco Chronicle | The Regulars: Suu the Street Sweeper | Erin Brethauer | The strongest technical video of all the entries along with an amazing subject matter. Kudos to the photographer’s skills and storytelling ability. |
| Video Journalism | 2nd | Santa Maria Times | Hour of Code | Jason Anderson | |
| Video Journalism | Honorable Mention | Santa Ynez Valley Star | Letters from Home | Raiza Giorgi | |
| Video Journalism | 2nd | The Acorn | Saving Chesebro Meadow | John Loesing | |
| Video Journalism | Honorable Mention | The Beach Reporter | Pumpkin Race video | Daniella Segura | |
| Video Journalism | 1st | The Desert Sun | Queens of the Desert | Zoe Meyers | |
| Video Journalism | 1st | The Fresno Bee | Apartment family lives with roaches, mice, mold and neglect. Why will no one help? | Silvia Flores | This video does an excellent job in giving voice to people who have not been heard. It quickly and effectively transports the viewer into their situation, sharing the feeling of living in an infested apartment with few other options. |
| Video Journalism | Honorable Mention | The Modesto Bee | Sights and Sounds: A daylong tribute to Stanislaus County Deputy Dennis Wallace | Staff | |
| Video Journalism | Honorable Mention | The Sacramento Bee | No Safe Place | Jessica Koscielniak | |
| Video Journalism | Honorable Mention | The Sacramento Bee | Recovery on Cobb Mountain | Paul Kitagaki Jr. | |
| Video Journalism | 1st | The Signal | Residents move forward from Sand Fire | Austin Dave | |
| Video Journalism | 2nd | The Tribune | Knife maker | Joe Johnston | |
| Video Journalism | Honorable Mention | The Union | Prep Football: Nevada Union tops Lincoln in overtime | Laura Mahaffy | |
| Video Journalism | 2nd | Tracy Press | Wildfire live updates | Michael Langley | This is a fabulous example of breaking news coverage in the digital age. The commentary is informative, giving the community exactly what it needs to know in the situation. The video is, as expected, Facebook Live quality, but in this situation the quality of the video was far less important than the content. It takes talent to record video, explain what you’re seeing, what you’ve learned from newsgathering and keep your composure while a fire threatens the area and you’re live. While the video is shaky at times, you hear traffic noise and the wind, all elements you try to avoid, it works here because it adds to the intensity of the situation and your audience will forgive you knowing it’s live. It’s the storytelling and effectiveness of this video that win out over technical quality. |
| Video Journalism | 1st | Turlock Journal | Arrests follow Turlock Sikh Temple Fight | Frankie Tovar | |
| Video Journalism | 2nd | Turlock Journal | The Blitz SNH: Turlock vs Merced | Frankie Tovar and Eddie Ruiz | |
| Video Journalism | Honorable Mention | Ventura County Star | During university “dead week,” library comes alive | Anthony Plascencia | |
| Video Journalism | Honorable Mention | Vida en el Valle | Gol! Ecstatic play-by-play soccer announcers with Fresno Fuego Fútbol Club | Dan Casarez | |
| Writing | 1st | Appeal-Democrat | Lola | Steve Miller | It was a touching recount of a dog’s life without being overly sentimental. I especially liked how the writing mirrored the dogs life, from being energetic at the start, like a puppy, to a slowed down pace at the end, like the end of the dog’s life. |
| Writing | 2nd | Del Norte Triplicate | Plugged in to new technology | Jessica Cejnar | Great quotes, interesting story made better by the writing. |
| Writing | Honorable Mention | Half Moon Bay Review | Rome wasn’t built in a day | Clay Lambert | This is a wonderful read, emotional but not overly sentimental. Writing about something so close is a hard line to walk, but it’s done here with grace. |
| Writing | Honorable Mention | Idyllwild Town Crier | Drama in the descent | Marshall Smith | Solid writing, great detail, awesome reporting. |
| Writing | Honorable Mention | Los Altos Town Crier | Circle of life: Tanzanian safari offers animal & cultural encounters | Megan V. Winslow | |
| Writing | 1st | Los Angeles Times | Framed | Christopher Goffard | An amazing story largely due to the way it is told. So well written. Great job of introducing the main characters and enticing the reader to care what happens in this sordid and shocking story. The piece is presented in a well-organized format. The story surprises as it unfolds. |
| Writing | 2nd | Marin Independent Journal | Trailer residents say goodbye to paradise | Paul Liberatore | Nice read on an era slipping away — for better or worse — on the California Coast. Fluid show-not-tell, if not poetic, writing. |
| Writing | 2nd | Metro Silicon Valley | Stuck Lovers | Jennifer Wadsworth | Interesting issue told well through the experiences of those who have struggled. |
| Writing | 2nd | Monterey Herald | When a neighbor can’t be trusted | Claudia Melendez Salinas | The writer did a great job of intermixing the personal story with details of the case and statistics on child abuse. Very impressive research. Story had a good flow. |
| Writing | 1st | North Bay Bohemian | Condemned Men Talking | Staff | Well written with such descriptive words one can hear and see the prison doors opening and slamming shut. |
| Writing | 2nd | Palisades News | Germans United a Neighborhood | Laurel Busby | Interesting, heart-warming story, on many levels. Very good read. |
| Writing | Honorable Mention | Register-Pajaronian | A troubled life, remembered | Todd Guild | Great idea clearly described in opening. A great ending |
| Writing | 1st | Sacramento News & Review | Bros gone wild | Dave Kempa | Lively writing, well constructed. This story drew me in; I wanted to know more about this sub-culture. Well done! |
| Writing | Honorable Mention | San Francisco Chronicle | Last Men Standing: The Forgotten Survivors of AIDS | Erin Allday | In category full of compelling, engaging entries, the Last Men Standing report deserves its place among those at the top. Wonderfully written words pull us into the story, helping us to know and care about these men. Great use of graphics, photography and video in this stellar example of storytelling. Congratulations on your work! |
| Writing | 2nd | San Francisco Examiner | Measuring the half-life of Sept. 11 | Michael Howerton | This captures the sadness, helplessness and anxiety that followed 9/11. This is a poignant piece that offers a glimpse beyond the scenes as a reporter struggles to make sense of such senselessness. Nice detail. |
| Writing | Honorable Mention | San Gabriel Valley Tribune | How a stolen necklace led to deadly firebombing | Stephanie K. Baer | Good presentation of facts in the case and use of quotes. |
| Writing | Honorable Mention | San Jose Mercury News | The last hours of the Ghost Ship | Julia Prodis Sulek and Matthias Gafni | Congratulations to the reporters on this piece. The writing is clearly a top contender in this category, with details that flesh out the human aspect ... and wonderful use of videos and social media posts to bring the story home. Stellar storytelling of this horrific tale. |
| Writing | Honorable Mention | Santa Monica Daily Press | Pushing his cluck | Jeff Goodman | Great use of repetition in the opening paragraphs. Overall it had a wonderful flow and showed that the story wasn’t just about a unique car, but rather what it means to this one person. Made me smile. |
| Writing | 1st | The Ark | On tour of Richardson Bay anchorage … | Gretchen Lang | Very, very good. Great lede, great kicker, with solid info throughout. Very well executed. |
| Writing | 2nd | The Ark | Torn-out memorial bench | Deirdre McCrohan | Great detail and a nuanced discussion that honored all involved. A story completely and clearly told. |
| Writing | 1st | The Bakersfield Californian | The poet of the common man | Jennifer Self and Robert Price | Although written as a breaking-news obituary, this piece is packed with compelling voices and color on a man who lived an incredibly colorful life. This is a terrific read. |
| Writing | Honorable Mention | The Camarillo Acorn | Holocaust survivor shares harrowing past | Hector Gonzalez | |
| Writing | Honorable Mention | The Downey Patriot | How I Went From Journalist to Realtor | Eric Pierce | Well written, informative and personal. |
| Writing | Honorable Mention | The Fresno Bee | At age 85, this legendary rock climber still pushes the edge of adventure | Carmen George | |
| Writing | Honorable Mention | The Fresno Bee | Who shot Day Day? | Marek Warszawski | |
| Writing | Honorable Mention | The Napa Valley Register | Two years after Napa earthquake, First Presbyterian Church celebrates homecoming | Howard Yune | The writer has an excellent use of words and pacing. The details included really gave the story a sense of place and the overall atmosphere of the church. |
| Writing | 1st | The Record | Cause for HOPE | Alex Breitler | Excellent reporting, with multiple sources, use of factual and sensory details and turns of phrase to invite the reader in and serve up a full-course feast. I feel as if I now, too, have been to Mountain Ranch and experienced the fire and ensuing renaissance, and all the ups and downs in between. |
| Writing | 2nd | The Sacramento Bee | Recovery on Cobb Mountain | Cynthia Hubert | Powerful personal perspectives bring the reader into the real-life horrors in the aftermath of the immediate danger, to the point one can imagine the personal pain in reading the social media post “I’m so sorry. They just checked your place. It’s gone.” Wonderful writing and storytelling through both the words and multimedia aspects of the story package. Congratulations! |
| Writing | 1st | The Sonoma Index-Tribune | Leaf Blowers: And the Rest Is Silence / Changing the Culture of Rape | Jason Walsh | Hilarious writing that celebrates the best of local news in leafblowers. Clear standout winner. |
| Writing | Honorable Mention | The Sonoma Index-Tribune | Farewell to Linus / Daughters of the Revolution | Jason Walsh | Linus piece was a plaintive, thoughtful ode to an earlier era of newspapers. |
| Writing | Honorable Mention | Thousand Oaks Acorn | Betrayal threatens couple’s home | Becca Whitnall | |
| Writing | Honorable Mention | Ventura County Star | Army Airborne vets help protect Ojai Music Festival from vandals | Tom Kisken | Great premise for a fresh way of telling a story about veterans. Good anecdotes, too. |