Recorder staff writers honored
Nayirah Dosu wins first place
Porterville Recorder sports writer Nayirah Dosu won first place for Best Sports Story for daily newspapers under 35,000 circulation in the 28th annual George F. Gruner Awards.
Dosu was one of two Recorder staff writers honored Thursday night in Fresno. Staff writer Julissa Zavala won honored mention in the feature writing judging.
The awards are given to newspaper writers from Merced to Bakersfield. The divisions are weekly, smaller daily and then large daily papers.
The awards are for work published in 2016.
Fresno State’s Department of Mass Communication and Journalism coordinates the Gruner competition, named for George F. Gruner, a Fresno Bee executive editor who retired in 1988. Gruner was a figure in a freedom of the press issue in 1976 when, as a member of the “Fresno Four,” he was jailed for contempt of court for refusing a judge’s order to reveal a confidential source of information used in The Fresno Bee’s news stories concerning a city official.
Dosu won for her story on Strathmore High School’s football team’s “blue collar” values. It was published on Dec. 17, 2016.
“I am so proud of both these two young and talented reporters. Nayirah’s story definitely captured the hard work the players on the Strathmore football team acquired from their hard-working families,” said Recorder Publisher/editor Rick Elkins.
“Both Nayirah and Julissa have very promising futures in newspapers,” he added.
This year, 100 entries, including 11 in the Gruner Public Service category, were submitted for consideration from 21 newspapers. This year’s winners are:
In the Gruner Public Service category, the Fresno Bee won for its series of stories on substandard housing; the Visalia Times Delta for its stories on Tulare Local Healthcare District and the Los Banos Enterprise for its stories on the problems among the Los Banos school board.
In the feature category, former Porterville Recorder Marc Benjamin shared honorable mention with fellow Fresno Bee writer Tim Sheehan in the news story category.