Mercury News, East Bay Times honored with awards
Reporters and photographers for The Mercury News and East Bay Times won numerous top honors at the 33rd annual Excellence in Journalism awards.
The Northern California chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists on Wednesday named Matthias Gafni the 2018 Journalist of the Year for “his tireless pursuit of public records and relentless reporting to get to the bottom of systemic problems” and recognized Mr. Roadshow— Gary Richards — for career achievement.
Other Bay Area outlets, including KQED, AJ+ and Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting, also took home top honors.
Gafni chronicled how an Air Canada plane nearly crashed into other aircraft at San Francisco International Airport, revealed how a toddler died from methamphetamine poisoning in foster care, and helped uncover how downed utility lines contributed to the Wine Country fires last year.
Richards was honored for his years of doggedly responding to reader questions about transportation woes in the Mercury News “Roadshow” column.
“It’s a true honor to be recognized by our peers for the great local journalism we do every day, and it’s especially gratifying to see Gary and Mat- thias win these awards reflecting the tremendous contributions they have each made here,” said Neil Chase, the executive editor of The Mercury News and East Bay Times.
Thomas Peele, with Harriet Blair Rowan, won top honors for investigative reporting in the print/ online large news outlet division for “Burned Out,” chronicling the failure of fire inspectors across the Bay Area to perform mandated inspections of apartment buildings and schools.
Julia Prodis Sulek and LiPo Ching took home the award for best long-form storytelling in the print/ online large news outlet division for “Hanging: The Mysterious Case of the Boy in the Barn,” which also won a national Society of Professional Journalists national award for feature reporting.
And Marisa Kendall earned top marks for her ongoing coverage of the area’s housing crisis, which has included stories that range from homebuyers writing love letters to sellers to how the housing supply is impacted by the shortage of construction workers.
Karl Mondon won a top photojournalism award for his photo of a solitary wheelchair in the fire-ravaged Coffey Park neighborhood of Santa Rosa, while Jose Carlos Fajardo won for his portfolio of work, capturing everything from memorable sports moments to vibrant community members.
Lisa Krieger earned high marks for her science, environment and health reporting, covering everything from the notion of treating genetic diseases with CRISPR to plant smuggling.
The 2018 winners will be honored at a dinner in San Francisco on Nov. 14.