2019 California Journalism Awards Open Contest winners

The table below displays the 2019 California Journalism Awards Open Contest winners by category.

First-place and second-place plaques will be shipped directly to the winning publications in a few weeks.

Personalized certificates will also be mailed to winners in each category.

Category	Publication	Entry Title	Credits	Judge’s Comments
Public Service Journalism	Long Beach Post	Close to home: Climate change in Long Beach	Long Beach Post Staff	An exhaustive look at how climate change most certainly within the next 30 years will endanger Long Beach neighborhoods, raise temperatures and create droughts and more ferocious storms, even subjecting Long Beach to wildfires for the first time. The web presentation was superb.
In-Depth Reporting	Los Angeles Times	American fallout: The Marshall Islands	Susanne Rust, Carolyn Cole, Ali Raj, Lorena Iñiguez Elebee	Great Pulitzer-worthy investigative piece on American nuclear waste deposited in the Marshall Islands, in a container now at risk rising ocean levels. Spectacular nine part series (with excellent artwork and graphics as well) - you could expand it just a little and turn it into a good book.
Investigative Reporting	Los Angeles Times	American fallout: The Marshall Islands	Susanne Rust, Carolyn Cole, Ali Raj, Lorena Iñiguez Elebee	In a category packed with some of the nation's most powerful journalism, this entry stood out. Few Americans know anything about the Marshall Islands. This series documented atrocities inflicted by the United States on unsuspecting islanders. The upshot is that this is a U.S. badge of shame, and this series provides the only chance for redemption.
Enterprise News Story or Series	San Francisco Chronicle	One Day, One City, No Relief	San Francisco Chronicle Staff	Cutting-edge storytelling with concise, vivd writing, superb photography and smart graphics. The format of one day may be familiar, but the execution here is innovative and wonderfully reader-friendly. A brilliant fusion of journalistic skills.
Feature Story	Santa Barbara Independent	In Cryonics Lawsuit, Son Fighters for Father’s Frozen Head	Tyler Hayden	Very poignant but tasteful writing of a macabre subject that few people know anything about.
Columns	Los Angeles Times	He died Sunday on a West L.A. sidewalk. He was homeless. He is part of an epidemic; A homeless musician changed my life. I wish I could do more to change his	Steve Lopez	A heartbreaking look at Los Angeles' homeless epidemic. If this writer can't move the bureaucracy, who can?
Photojournalism	San Francisco Chronicle	July 31, Nov. 3 & Dec. 1, 2019	San Francisco Chronicle Photo Staff	Fine photography throughout, but the real grabber for me was the black and white visuals (alongside the also-excellent writing) in the package on San Francisco's homeless. The black and white starkness made it gripping and evocative both.
News Photo	Santa Monica Daily Press	Police prevent suicide	Matthew Hall	Wow. This photo grabs the reader instantly and tells a powerful, life-or-death story. High, high drama skillfully captured.
Feature Photo	Los Angeles Times	The end of the season for Paradise High	Wally Skalij	Such eloquence. Powerful, graceful and superbly composed. This image is timeless.