Southern California News Group journalists were honored with 86 top-five finishes, including 19 for first place, at the California Journalism Awards Gala held Saturday at the Universal Hilton.
In the statewide competition that recognized work from 2024, SCNG had 59 first-, second- or third-place awards, nearly as many total awards (first through fifth place) as it had the previous year.
Reporter Kristy Hutchings led the way with four first-place finishes and recognition in 13 categories for her coverage of local government and coastal issues. Andre Mouchard (environment reporting, labor reporting) and Jeff Collins (coverage of business and the economy, in-depth reporting) each took first place in two categories. Coverage by two SCNG groups also took first place: for breaking news – student protests in Orange County; and for music writing/reporting – the 2024 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival.
“This is a testament to the great journalism produced by the hard-working staff members of our Southern California newspapers,” said Executive Editor Frank Pine. “We have a passionate and dedicated team that is committed to serving our readers, and I could not be more proud of their work across categories, from breaking news to environmental reporting to housing and real estate, music and food. Thanks to CNPA for recognizing these efforts.”
The competition, which is run by the California News Publishers Association, honors finalists in multiple divisions per category, including for daily, weekly, online-only and campus news organizations.
While the awards were for work from last year, Daniel Tedford, SCNG’s senior editor for crime and public safety, delivered a speech about the SCNG newsroom’s efforts during the wildfires that devastated Los Angeles County earlier this year and the continued coverage of the recovery efforts.
Here are the SCNG honorees, listed by category:
Agrictultural Reporting
Second: Pat Maio
Third: Brock Keeling
Artistic Photo
Second: Mark Rightmire (see photo above)
Third: Will Lester
Arts & Entertainment Coverage
Fourth: Emily St. Martin and Erik Pedersen
Audience/Community Engagement Award
Second: Samantha Dunn and Julie Corlette
Breaking News
First: Orange County Register staff
Fifth: Brian Rokos, Mona Darwish and Beau Yarbrough
Columns
First: Harry Saltzgaver
Fourth: Rich Archbold
Fifth: David Allen
Coverage of Business and the Economy
First: Jeff Collins
First: Kristy Hutchings
Third: Kristy Hutchings
Fourth: Tyler Evains
Coverage of Local Government
First: Kristy Hutchings
Second: Beau Yarbrough
Second: Donna Littlejohn
Coverage of Youth and Education
Second: Joe Nelson, Scott Schwebke and Beau Yarbrough
Second: Kristy Hutchings
Third: Jeff Horseman and Jordan Darling
Fourth: Mindy Schauer
Enterprise News Story or Series
Second: Jason Henry
Fourth: Kristy Hutchings, Donna Littlejohn, Olga Grigoryants and Erika Ritchie
Fifth: San Gabriel Valley Tribune staff
Environment Reporting
First: Andre Mouchard
First: Michael Hixon
Second: Kristy Hutchings
Third: Chris Haire
Fifth: Jeff Horseman
Feature Photo
Fifth: David Crane
Food Writing/Reporting
First: Tyler Evains
Third: Andre Mouchard
Fourth: Jonathan Horwitz
Health Reporting
Second: Kristy Hutchings
Fourth: Scott Schwebke
Fourth: Christina Merino
Homelessness Reporting
First: Christina Merino
Third: Kristy Hutchings
Housing and Land-Use Reporting
First: Teresa Liu and Anissa Rivera
Second: Kristy Hutchings
Third: Whittier Daily News staff
Fourth: Jeff Collins
Fourth: Jeff Horseman
Illustration
Fifth: Jeff Goertzen
Immigration Reporting
First: Scott Schwebke
Second: Hanna Kang, Victoria Ivie and Mona Darwish
In-Depth Reporting
First: Jeff Collins
First: Kristy Hutchings
Second: Jeff Horseman
Third: Kristy Hutchings
Fifth: Lisa Jacobs and Michael Hixon
Informational Graphic
Fifth: Jeff Goertzen and Kurt Snibbe
Investigative Reporting
Third: Scott Schwebke
Labor Reporting
First: Andre Mouchard
Second: Kristy Hutchings
Third: Scott Schwebke
Local Coverage of Election 2024
Second: Jeff Horseman
Third: Kaitlyn Schallhorn and Teri Sforza
Fifth: Andre Mouchard
Music Writing/Reporting
First: Features/Press-Enterprise staff
News Photo
Fourth: Leonard Ortiz
Photo Story/Essay
Third: Mindy Schauer
Photojournalism
Third: SCNG Photo Staff
Print Special Section
First: Grunion Gazette
Second: Samantha Dunn
Second: The Beach Reporter
Fourth: Grunion Gazette
Print Special Section Covers
First: Jeff Goertzen
Second: Jeff Goertzen
Profile
Third: John Murphy
Fourth: Jonathan Horwitz
Fourth: Kaitlyn Schallhorn
Fifth: Todd Harmonson
Religion and Faith Writing
Third: Kaitlyn Schallhorn
Social Media Innovation Award
Second: Carolyn Burt
Fourth: Dorothy Elder
Sports Action Photo
Second: Keith Birmingham
Second: Will Lester
Sports Feature Story
First: Scott M. Reid
Technology Reporting
Second: Beau Yarbrough, Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Hanna Kang and Clara Harter
Tourism/Travel Writing/Reporting
First: Kristy Hutchings
Second: Christina Merino
Fifth: Todd Harmonson
Writing
Third: John Murphy
Fourth: Chris Haire