E-R’s ‘Why we (still) love Chico’ feature is honored in statewide competition
The Chico Enterprise-Record’s “Why we (still) love Chico” feature was one of the most-read items in our newspaper during 2021.
As it turns out, judges for the California Journalism Awards competition loved it too.
The Enterprise-Record has been awarded fifth place in the state for Public Service Journalism in 2021 for the project, which asked readers to submit their thoughts on why they “still” loved their home town.
Initial results for the annual competition, sponsored by the California News Publishers Association, were announced Tuesday. The winners of various categories will be announced daily through Friday, May 27.
E-R editor Mike Wolcott thanked the newspapers’ readers for the award. He asked readers to submit their thoughts on why they still loved Chico in his Sunday column Oct. 17, 2021, and the response was “fantastic.”
“I was really struck by how much negativity was in the news and all over social media about certain issues in town, and I wondered if our readers were as sick of the negativity as I was,” Wolcott said. “So we came up with a plan to let the readers highlight the good things about our town. It was a great reminder that there is still so much more good here than bad, and people appreciated it.”
An entire Sunday edition was set aside to run the responses; even then, there were too many to fit into the print edition, Wolcott said, adding the feature would return again this fall.
One of the contest judges noted “These stories made me want to visit Chico! Wonderful job highlighting that city.”
The competition is judged by editors and publishers throughout California and, in some categories, the entire nation.
Former E-R reporter honored
Former Enterprise-Record reporter Natalie Hanson, who left this newspaper last year for the Marin Independent Journal, took first place in the CJA competition for her coverage of homeless issues.
Hanson won in the Coverage of Local Government category for her story “Marin’s homeless face tough challenges in housing quest.”
Hanson’s work was praised by judges, one of whom said “This entry shows the kind of on-theground work and perseverance that talented local reporters excel at. It also avoids feeling exploitative, which reporting on homeless communities can do, by focusing on real people and real solutions.”
Wolcott echoed those comments, saying “I couldn’t be happier for Natalie. She did an incredible job covering the same topic here and I’m glad to see that top-level journalists from all over the state have also recognized the high quality of her work. This is a very well-deserved honor.”
The Marin Independent Journal is owned by MediaNews Group, the same company that owns the Enterprise-Record and 10 other Northern California daily newspapers.