Pilot reporter wins breaking news award

Sue Doyle

COSTA MESA -- Former Daily Pilot reporter Greg Risling won first place in

the breaking news category for his coverage of the Costa Mesa playground

tragedy at the Orange County Press Club awards Sunday night.

“I was very surprised,” Risling said. “The story means a lot to me, and

it will always stick with me.”

Daily Pilot photographer Eric Santucci won second place in the feature

photography category. Santucci’s winning photo featured a portrait of a

construction worker inside the Old Balboa Theater.The Press Club

distributed more than 100 awards in 40 different categories. The

countywide awards highlighted the best of news writing, sports, columns,

photography, graphic design and page layout.

About 150 journalists attended the event inside the Doubletree Hotel in

Costa Mesa.

Risling’s story was about the deaths of 3-year-old Brandon Wiener and

4-year-old Sierra Soto at the Southcoast Childhood Learning Center.

In the same category, a team of Los Angeles Times reporters won second

place for the coverage of a shooting at Anaheim Memorial Hospital.

Another team of reporters from The Times took a third place in the same

category.