Southern California News Group journalists took home multiples awards from the Los Angeles Press Club’s 68th Annual Southern California Journalism Awards on Sunday, June 28, including for the group’s coverage of the Eaton and Palisades fires.
The honors — a celebration of top journalism in Southern California among a record-setting total of 2,700 submissions from last year — celebrated frontline journalists, from student reporters and photographers at local two- and four-year colleges to seasoned pros in print, television, radio, digital and social media platforms.
“Congratulations to all the SCNG journalists who were honored by the L.A. Press Club,” said Tom Bray, senior editor for SCNG’s Los Angeles County publications. “We’re pleased and proud that the organization chose to honor work done by our dedicated staff who do so much to serve our readers every day. We’re particularly honored by the award for the news staff’s outstanding coverage of the deadly Eaton and Palisades wildfires, which was a total team effort.”
Journalists packed a ballroom at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, where among the first-, second- and third-place winners were SCNG journalists, who span much of the group’s footprint, from the Inland Empire to the Orange and L.A. counties. That footprint is covered by 11 newspapers/websites: The Los Angeles Daily News, Orange County Register, Pasadena Star-News, Daily Breeze, Long Beach Press-Telegram, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Whittier Daily News, Riverside-Press Enterprise, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, San Bernardino Sun and the Redlands Daily Facts.
In the “Hard News” category, the top prize went to the SCNG staff collectively for team coverage of the Eaton and Palisades fires for the Pasadena Star-News and the Los Angeles Daily News.
Sunday night’s honors come on the heels of the news group’s recognition in May as a Pulitzer Prize Finalist for its breaking news coverage of the deadly wildfires.
Beau Yarbrough and Brian Rokos of the Press-Enterprise in Riverside took the top prize in environmental reporting for their piece, “Inland Empire faces significantly higher wildlife risk, Cal Fire says.”
Yarbrough, based in the Inland Empire, was also awarded second place for Distinguished Journalist of the Year for print outlets with circulation of less than 50,000.
In the News Feature category (General News/Hard News), SCNG City Editor Chris Haire’s “Eaton fire destroys 3 generations of Altadena family’s homes,” won first place. Haire is metro editor at the Daily Breeze and Long Beach Press-Telegram.
In the Local Politics/Government Reporting (Governing) category, Ryan Carter was awarded first place for his Los Angeles Daily News piece, “Amid fire recovery, lessons may linger from Riordan’s ‘say-sorry-later’ Northridge quake mantra.” Carter is city editor at the Pasadena Star-News, San Gabriel Valley Tribune and the Whittier Daily News.
SCNG graphics journalist Kurt Snibbe’s “Air Attack” took first prize while his colleague on the graphics desk Jeff Goertzen won second and third prize for his infographics “Footprints of Devastation” and “Tariff Tactics.”
Investigative reporters Jason Henry and Scott Schwebke took first place for their Los Angeles Daily News story, “Clients of Efren Martinez, under investigation by DA, received $16.5 million from Huntington Park over last 3 years.”
Anissa Rivera and Sierra van der Brug took second place in the “faith and spiritual” reporting category for their story: “At Easter, a Message of Renewal Hits Home Among Fire-Weary Faithful.” Rivera covers local government and general assignment in the San Gabriel Valley and Whittier and van der Brug covers crime and public safety in L.A. County.
Audience Engagement Journalists Carolyn Burt, Dorothy Elder, along with photojournalist Will Lester, won second place in Best Use of Social Media to Enhance or Cover a Story. Their piece: “The destruction and devastation caused by the LA fires.”
Steve Scauzillo, the group’s L.A. County reporter, took second place in the News Feature category (Society/Culture/History) for his Pasadena Star-News piece: “Norman the werewolf still stands as Altadena’s symbol of resilience — and dressed up for Halloween.”
Second place in the Hard News category went to the news group’s Erika Ritchie, for “Golden Dome defense system could involve many tech companies in SoCal.” Ritchie is based at the Orange County Register.
For reporting on Race and Society, SCNG’s Kristy Hutchings won second place for her piece: “Tribal leaders raise concerns about CSULB’s handling of sacred Puvungna site.”
Rich Archbold, longtime Long Beach Press-Telegram columnist, took second-place honors in the Obituary/In Appreciation category for his piece, “Chantara Nop, Long Beach Cambodian leader, dies at 70.”
Longtime Pasadena Star-News columnist Larry Wilson took second place for his overall work as a columnist. Long Beach Press-Telegram columnist Rich Archbold took third.
Also, columnist Patricia Bunin was awarded third place for her overall work in the over-50,000-circulation category.
Reporter Jason Henry won second place in the Investigative category (papers under 50,000 circulation) for his story, “Mold, rats and neglect: A year of inspections at Men’s Central Jail reveals ‘horrific’ conditions.”
In the same investigative category, Beau Yarbrough’s Riverside Press-Enterprise piece, “San Jacinto Unified investigates, reports board member to district attorney,” took third place.
Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News photojournalist, won third place for his images in his “UFC 311 kick” package.
SCNG Digital Features Editor Emily St. Martin’s Los Angeles Daily News piece, “Journalist and convicted murderer John J. Lennon takes on true crime in new book” won third place in the News Feature category (Society/Culture/History).
The body of work joined a mammoth number of winners from journalists across the region, much of it centering on seismic news that hit the region over the past year, including the wildfires and federal immigration raids. But subject matter ranges from the performing arts to public safety, on an array of platforms.
But amid the din of silverware on plates and conversation, Sunday was also a night that paused to reflect on why the work matters.
The L.A. Press Club gave five honorary awards, each in their own way pointing to the need for honest storytelling in an age of deep political polarization, disinformation and misinformation.
The Public Service Award went to singer Kenny Chesney. The Guardian Award, for contributions to press freedom, went to civil rights attorney Carol Sobel. The Daniel Pearl Award, for courage and integrity in journalism, went to journalist and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Maria Ressa. The Joseph M. Quinn Award, for lifetime achievement, went to ABC7’s Rob Fukuzaki, and The President’s Award, for impact on media, was given to NBC News’s Craig Melvin.
Special recognition was given to pioneering public radio journalist Will Lewis, who died in December.
For a list of all the finalists and the winners, please visit lapressclub.org.