3 local journalists win L.A. Times awards
Three members of Times Community News, South (TCN) who produce the Daily Pilot, Coastline Pilot and Huntington Beach Independent were honored Thursday at the Los Angeles Times Editorial Awards.
Photo Editor Don Leach received the Editor’s Award, the highest honor, for his 18 years of service photographing and editing photos in coastal Orange County. Leach oversees photography for all three TCN newspapers in Orange County.
Staff writer Mike Sciacca, another 18-year employee, was recognized for sports reporting. Sciacca chiefly covers prep sports for the Coastline Pilot and Huntington Beach Independent but also reports on the U.S. Open of Surfing and other major events.
Alisha Gomez, who serves as managing editor for the Independent and Coastline Pilot and contributes frequently to the Daily Pilot, received the News Reporting award. She was recognized for her role as a writer, editor and manager.
“Don, Mike and Alisha are true professionals, producing some of the highest-caliber work in Orange County community journalism,” said John Canalis, editor of TCN South. “Not only do they make our local reporting strong, they also inspire those around them to do better.”
The editorial awards, which were given at a banquet at The Times, recognized work produced in 2012 by employees of the Los Angeles Times and its divisions, including TCN and Hoy, a Spanish-language publication circulated in L.A. and Orange counties.
Gomez, Leach and Sciacca received three of the six TCN awards. Three winners from the community papers in Los Angeles County also were recognized: Andrew Campa (sports reporting), Raul Roa (photography) and Jason Wells (Editor’s Award).
In addition, LA Now, a Los Angeles Times blog, received the award for best blog. The TCN staff in Orange County frequently contributes to the blog, which is produced by The Times’ metro staff.
A complete list of winners is available on the Los Angeles Times’ website.
Twitter: @TheDailyPilot