L.A. Times and Times Community News Earn 16 Honors in the Orange County Press Club Contest
The Los Angeles Times and Times Community News’ the Daily Pilot have racked up 16 honors in the Orange County Press Club competition. The awards were presented on June 13 at a ceremony in Anaheim.
The L.A. Times earned nine awards in the contest, and the Daily Pilot took home seven honors.
Among the highlights: Daily Pilot Staff Writer Andrew Turner won first place for Best Music/Entertainment Story for his article about an immersive art experience at the Orange County Fair that elicited “visceral reactions” from fair-goers. The competition’s judges lauded Turner for “his excellent descriptions and interviews” which “place the reader in the middle of the event.”
L.A. Times Staff Writer Hannah Fry took first place in the Best Health/Wellness Story category for her article examining why young people are having less sex. “The story draws the reader in immediately and keeps them interested,” the judges noted.
TimesOC Feature Writer Gabriel San Román won the Real O.C. Award for his story about the first Black council member of a former Orange County “sundown town,” which the judges described as “an extremely well-written story and a good read,” adding, “The reporter did a great job of incorporating the historical context in the community with what an achievement it was for Rodney ‘Blair’ Stewart to become the first Black council member.”
Below is the complete list of winners from the Daily Pilot and L.A. Times:
The Daily Pilot
Best Music/Entertainment Story
First Place: Andrew Turner, ‘Musical Meltdown Moments’: Art of Music Experience at O.C. Fair prompts visceral reactions
Second Place: Sarah Mosqueda, Santa Ana marks Chicano Heritage Month with a festival and new mural
Best Food/Restaurant Review
Second Place: Edwin Goei, Birria, done that: the champion ingredient filling tacos in Santa Ana
Honorable Mention: Edwin Goei, Where to hu tieu: Introducing a dish that might become your new favorite
Best Political Story
Honorable Mention: Matt Szabo, Huntington Beach’s 27-year-old declaration on human dignity could be in jeopardy
Best Sports Story
Second Place: Andrew Turner, Brayden Belden ‘on top of the world’ with Brooks Street surfing success
Best Environmental News Story
Honorable Mention: Sara Cardine, O.C. Sanitation to demo tech that kills ‘forever chemicals,’ turning waste into water, clean energy
Los Angeles Times
Best Travel Story
Third Place: Edwin Goei, 12 glorious spots to take in the crisp 70-degree air on a Central Coast road trip
Best Health/Wellness Story
First Place: Hannah Fry, A ‘failure to launch’: Why young people are having less sex
Best Education Story
Second Place: Gabriel San Román, Whose stories do we tell? Israeli-Palestinian tensions polarize an Orange County school district
Best Public Affairs Story
Third Place: Hannah Fry, Newport Beach battles a new breed of luxury party houses: fractional ownership
Best Environmental News Story
Third Place: Gabriel San Román, Amid crumbling cliffs, Orange County considers moving its famously scenic rail line inland
Best News Feature
Second Place: Gabriel San Román, La Habra condo owners see a gaping chasm where their greenbelt used to be
Best Beat Reporting
Third Place: Hannah Fry, OC News and Enterprise
Breaking News Story
Second Place: Los Angeles Times Staff, Ex-cop was gunning for estranged wife, then shot randomly, killing 3 and wounding 6 at O.C. bar
The Real O.C. Award
First Place: Gabriel San Román, He’s the first Black council member of a former Orange County ‘sundown town’
To learn more and see the complete list of winners, visit orangecountypressclub.com.
