Times of San Diego writers, editors and photographers won 20 awards Tuesday at the San Diego Press Club’s Excellence in Journalism Awards, and took top honors for Best Local News Site.
Chris Stone of La Mesa, the Times’ contributing photographer, claimed the most awards of the night — 11, including four first places. Her husband, Ken, won eight awards.
Launched in March 2014, TimesOfSanDiego.com claimed seven first-place awards, six second-place awards and seven third-place awards at the Jo & Vi Jacobs Center near Lincoln Park.
Chris Jennewein of Del Mar, founding editor and publisher of Times of San Diego, said: “This is a tribute to the creativity, enthusiasm and hard work of our team of contributing editors. To go from startup to best local news website in just two and a half years is a real achievement. I couldn’t be more proud and grateful.”
Some 425 people attended the 43rd annual awards dinner, sampling fare from 30 local restaurants, wineries and breweries.
Press Club executive director Terry Williams said members submitted a record 1,200 entries in daily, nondaily, magazine, radio, TV and college media categories. Nearly a dozen other press clubs did the judging, including ones in New Orleans; Madison, Wisconsin; Denver; Rochester, New York; San Francisco; and (for the first time) Alaska.
San Diego radio veteran Cliff Albert, news director at KOGO, received the Harold Keen Award for outstanding contribution to journalism. Former Tribune business editor Tom Gable, who founded The Gable Group in 1976, won the Andy Mace Award for outstanding contributions to public relations.
And native San Diegan and radio veteran Mary Ayala — now executive producer at KOGO — won the Jim Reiman Award for enlightened media management.
April Harter Enriquez of Wordpop Public Relations handed the president’s gavel to Pauline Repard, crime and public safety reporter at The San Diego Union-Tribune, who smiled and said she would accept her post “since the results turned out the way they did,” adding amid laughter: “Another election rigged by the media.”
Turning serious, Repard told members of one of the largest press clubs in the nation they will continue to struggle with “our image as the evil media.”
“We’ll need to ensure that we present our stories in a fair and ethical way,” said Repard, the 41st club leader since its founding in 1973 — and the sixth straight female president.
Best of show awards were given in these categories:
- Best Television Entry: JW August, Mari Payton, Lynn Walsh, Jay Yoo for “Songs: A Nuclear Problem,” NBC 7/39
- Best Nondaily Newspapers Entry: Pam Crooks, Suzan Peterson, Patti Anderson for “Balboa Park Beyond 1915: Legacy of the Exposition San Diego Business Journal”
- Best Magazines Entry: Darlene Davies, Bill Abrams, Chloe Pedersen, Mia Park for “Celebrating 100 Years of the San Diego Zoo Ranch and Coast Magazine”
- Best Websites Entry: San Diego Zoo Global Staff for San Diego Zoo Kids
- Best Radio Entry: Jean Guerrero for “Tijuana Migrants Hide In Tunnels As Police Raids Turn Deadly,” KPBS-FM
- Best Daily Newspapers and Web Entry: Peter Rowe, Howard Lipin, Luis Cruz, Rod Huerto, Ruby Gaviola for “How a Girl Born at Two Pounds Became a Happy Boy,” The San Diego Union-Tribune
- Wildcard Category: Miriam Raftery for “Border Fire leaves Residents Burned over Bureaucratic Bungling,” eastcountymagazine.org
- Rising Star (for a professional with five or fewer years): Leonardo Castaneda, inewsource.org
Times of San Diego contributors won these awards:
First-place awards
- Chris Jennewein, Ken Stone, Debbie Sklar, Hoa Quach and Chris Stone for Times of San Diego (Best Local News Site)
- Chris Jennewein for Times of San Diego Primary Election Guides (Daily newspapers and websites: Election Coverage)
- Chris Stone for Rare Birds: Miracle Flying, Photos at Miramar Air Show (Photography — Still: Feature)
- Chris Stone for Discovering an Old Friend, Honoring the Fallen for Memorial Day (Photography — Still: News)
- Chris Stone for Pride and Puddles: Parade Drenched with Joy (Photography — Still: News)
- Ken Stone for ‘Clandestine’ Bid Helped S.D. Land World Beach Games — Preface to Olympics? (Daily newspapers and websites: General News)
- Ken Stone for headlines that appeared in MyNewsLA.com, the Jennewein-managed sister site of Times of San Diego.
Second-place awards
- Ken Stone for Times of San Diego headline portfolio (Daily newspapers and websites: Headlines)
- Ken Stone for Meet Mario Koran: San Diego Journalist of the Year and Ex-Con (Daily newspapers and websites: Profile)
- Pat Launer for Personal Sleight of Hand in InnerMission’s ‘Disappearing Act’ (Daily newspapers and websites: Reviews: Theater-Opera)
- Chris Stone for Police Clear Protesters After Trump Rally; 35 Arrested (Photography — Still: Breaking News)
- Chris Stone for Point Loma Providence: Church Is Spared, But Souls Are Disturbed (Photography — Still: News)
- Chris Stone for Barrels of Fun in Ramona: Rodeo Highlights in Photos (Photography — Still: Sports)
Third-place awards
- Chris Jennewein for Op-ed columns (Daily newspapers and websites: Essay / Commentary / Opinion)
- Ken Stone for Sick of Used-Textbook ‘Rip-Off,’ Once-Secretive Aztec Touts Online Market (Daily newspapers and websites: Business & Financial)
- Ken Stone for Nixon Still Noxious, Warns Watergate Legend Bob Woodward at UCSD (Daily newspapers and websites: History)
- Ken Stone for Thrills and Chills: How North Pole Marathon Challenged San Diego Pair (Daily newspapers and websites: Sports)
- Chris Stone for How Ship Gave Sight to the Blind in Mission of Mercy (Daily newspapers and websites: Military)
- Chris Stone for ‘I Feel Incredible’: 3 Minutes of Family Time as Border Gates Open (Daily newspapers and websites: Multicultural)
- Chris Stone for Flipping Through Radio Channels, He Flipped His Car (Photography — Still: Breaking News)
