The San Francisco Chronicle won a total of 43 accolades at this year’s California Journalism Awards, including first place for photography, feature writing, arts and entertainment coverage, and layout and design by www.sfchronicle.com.
The awards are presented annually by the California News Publishers Association, a nonprofit trade organization that represents print and digital media. They are among the most prestigious journalism awards in the state. The Chronicle placed first for sfchronicle.com front page layout and design. The judges called it “the homepage of California’s premier news site.”
“The Chronicle Newsroom prides itself on providing Bay Area residents with the essential information, on a wide range of topics, that they need to live their lives,” said Emilio Garcia-Ruiz, Chronicle Editor-in-Chief. . “These awards, combined with the others we have won this spring, demonstrate how successful we have been.”
Feature films and writing were among The Chronicle’s most notable categories. In the Print division, journalist Jason Fagone won first place writing for “The Jessica Simulation,” a long story about a man who used an AI chatbot to simulate conversations with his late fiancée. Former Chronicle reporter Lizzie Johnson’s story of a former incarcerated man’s journey to becoming a firefighter won the award in the wildfire reporting category.
In the wider “open” division, columnist Heather Knight and photographer Gabrielle Lurie’s story about a San Francisco mother’s struggle to save her daughter from fentanyl addiction won best feature. footage. Knight also ranked first for her columns.
Chronicle’s photo team has also won numerous awards, including Lurie, who won first place for a photo depicting a fentanyl overdose in San Francisco, and for the visually rich feature film “Evicted: A Girl’s Story,” on which she worked with Johnson, about a Fresno family forced from their home during the pandemic.
“These recognitions are a testament to the amount of work our team does every day to tell the stories of the Bay Area,” said assistant visuals director Emily Jan, “of documenting the heartbreaking overdose crisis in San Francisco and intimate human-interest stories of eviction to celebrate the artistry and energy of our cities’ sports teams.
In the digital division, The Chronicle’s Datebook team won Best Arts & Entertainment Coverage for their memorial tribute to Lawrence Ferlinghettti, which included stories and commentary from friends and admirers of the late writer and culminated to a virtual event of poetry readings and live music. Datebook also placed third for Best A&E Coverage in Print, with judges calling the section’s submissions “probably the best entry on the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on entertainment”.
“When live shows stopped in the Bay Area, that didn’t mean there weren’t stories to tell within the local arts community. The Datebook team understood this and worked hard to uncover these stories,” said Mariecar Mendoza, Arts and Entertainment Editor. “COVID has taken a toll on everyone, including artists who have worked hard to keep everyone entertained during the pandemic doldrums, and we wanted to highlight that as best we could.”
See below for the full list of The Chronicle’s California News Publishers Association digital and print awards.
CNPA Open Division Competition
Reportage (1st place, print)
A Mother’s Last Hope – Heather Knight, Gabrielle Lurie
Columns (1st place, numeric)
briar knight
News Photo (1st Place, Digital)
Overdose crisis in SF — Gabrielle Lurie
CNPA Printing Contest (Circulation: 50,001 and more)
Photo Story / Essay (1st place)
Evicted: A Daughter’s Story – Gabrielle Lurie, Lizzie Johnson
Writing (1st place)
Jessica’s simulation – Jason Fagone
Report (1st place)
A Mother’s Last Hope – Heather Knight, Gabrielle Lurie, Alex Fong, Danielle Mollette-Parks, Nicole Fruge
Wildfire Feature Coverage (1st Place)
After prison, the fight to become a firefighter — Lizzie Johnson
Sports report photo (2nd place)
Submariner – Scott Strazzante
Report (2nd place)
A 100-year-old secret — Sarah Feldberg, Jessica Christian
Wildfire Feature Coverage (2nd Place)
Cities Transformed by Fire – JD Morris, Yalonda James
Wildfire News Coverage (2nd Place)
The San Francisco Chronicle Staff
In-depth reports (2nd place)
Point Blank – Rachel Swan
Company news article or series (2nd place)
Rising Reality – John King, John Blanchard
Public Service Journalism (2nd place)
Homegrown and Homeless in Oakland – San Francisco Chronicle Staff
Photojournalism (3rd place)
Images of 2021 — San Francisco Chronicle Photo Team
Sports reporting (3rd place)
Oakland Warrior – Connor Letournaeu
Arts and Entertainment Coverage (3rd Place)
January 3 and 10 — Calendar Staff
Report (3rd place)
Swept Away – Nora Mishanec
Overall Excellence (4th place)
The San Francisco Chronicle Staff
Coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic (4th place)
The San Francisco Chronicle Staff
News Photo (4th place)
COVID and the elderly — Gabrielle Lurie
Investigative reporting (4th place)
Windsor Mayor Inquiry — Alexandria Bordas, Cynthia Dizikes
Illustration (4th place)
Giant Burrito — Glo Wan
Profile History (4th place)
Mass Shooting Widow – Nora Mishanec
Informative graphic (5th place)
History Shots – Mike Massa, John Blanchard, Nick Lozito
CNPA digital contest (monthly unique visitors: 400,001 and more)
Homepage layout and design (1st place)
sfchronicle.com – San Francisco Chronicle Digital Team
Arts and Entertainment Coverage (1st Place)
Remembering Lawrence Ferlinghetti — Tony Bravo, Gary Kamiya, Barbara Lane, Mariecar Mendoza, Mozes Zarate
Columns (1st place)
briar knight
News Photo (1st place)
Overdose crisis in SF — Gabrielle Lurie
Overall Excellence (2nd place)
The San Francisco Chronicle Staff
Investigative reporting (2nd place)
Windsor Mayor Inquiry — Alexandria Bordas, Cynthia Dizikes
Columns (2nd place)
Sun Ho
Report (2nd place)
A Mother’s Last Hope – Heather Knight, Gabrielle Lurie, Alex Fong, Danielle Mollette-Parks, Nicole Fruge
Company news article or series (2nd place)
Rising Reality – John King, John Blanchard, Paula Friedrich
Layout and design of the story overview page (2nd place)
Best Day Ever in Uptown Oakland – Paula Friedrich, Alex Fong
Report (3rd place)
Waking the Dead – Gregory Thomas, Santiago Mejia, John Blanchard, Abhinanda Bhattacharyya
Public Service Journalism (3rd place)
Homegrown and Homeless in Oakland – San Francisco Chronicle Staff
Featured photo (3rd place)
A Mother’s Last Hope – Gabrielle Lurie
Informative graphic (3rd place)
Caldor Prescribed Burn/Fire Maps — Yoohyun Jung, Paula Friedrich, Dan Kopf
In-depth reports (4th place)
Point Blank – Rachel Swan
Layout and design of the story overview page (4th place)
Jessica’s simulation — David Deloso, Evan Wagstaff, Daymond Gascon, Danielle Mollette-Parks
Report (5th place)
A 100-year-old secret — Sarah Feldberg, Jessica Christian, Emily Jan, Alex Fong
Company news article or series (5th place)
The Doodler – Kevin Fagan, Paula Friedrich, Santiago Mejia, Daymond Gascon
About the San Francisco Chronicle
The San Francisco Chronicle (www.sfchronicle.com) is Northern California’s largest newspaper and the second largest on the West Coast. Acquired by Hearst Corporation in 2000, The San Francisco Chronicle was founded in 1865 by Charles and Michael de Young and received six Pulitzer Prizes for journalistic excellence. Follow us on Twitter at @SFChronicle.