E-R picks up two more awards in state competition

The Enterprise-Record has picked up two more awards in the 2021 California Journalism Awards competition.

Former E-R reporters Natalie Hanson and Sharon Martin were both honored for their work in the Wildfire Features division of the contest.

Hanson placed third in the category with her story “A second tragedy: Facing theft after the North Complex fires.” The story took a look at reports of nearly 100 cases of property theft suffered by survivors of the fire in the Berry Creek area.

Martin was fourth in the same category with her story “When the Dixie Fire threatened, 8 men fought to save 154-year-old Californian barn.” Martin drove to the remote area near Chester to tell the story of a group of men who successfully kept a local landmark from the blaze.

The awards brought the E-R’s total in this year’s contest to three. On Tuesday, the E-R’s “Why we (still) love Chico” series was honored for Public Service Journalism.

Also on Tuesday, Hanson received first place in Local Government Reporting for her coverage of homeless issues in Marin County. Hanson left the E-R for the Marin Independent-Journal, one of our sister publications, in May 2021; Martin later left for a role with the Bay Area News Group.