The Guild congratulates nine members who have received Excellence in Journalism awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California chapter.
Guild members who got the prestigious accolade are Gary Richards, Julia Prodis Sulek, LiPo Ching, Karl Mondon, Thomas Peele, Marisa Kendall, Jose Carlos Fajardo and Lisa M. Krieger, all of the Mercury News/East Bay Times, and Joe Eskenazi for work at Mission Local and the San Francisco Public Press.
The awardees and their categories:
- Gary Richards, Career Achievement Award for Print, for his ever-popular, results-producing “Roadshow” column.
- Reporter Julia Prodis Sulek and photographer LiPo Ching, longform storytelling (print/online, large media), for their exhaustive, six-part look into “Hanging: The Mysterious Case of the Boy in the Barn.”
- Karl Mondon, photojournalism (breaking news, individual), for the “Lonely Wheelchair” photo he took in Santa Rosa’s fire-razed Coffey Park neighborhood.
- Thomas Peele, investigative reporting (print/online, large media), for “Burned Out,” detailing the failure of fire inspectors throughout the Bay Area to conduct state-mandated inspections of schools and apartment buildings.
- Marisa Kendall, ongoing coverage (print/online, large media), for housing crisis coverage, including stories on the shortage of construction workers, homebuyers sending “love letters” to sellers, vulnerable renters and a trend of startups hiring outside the Bay Area.
- Jose Carlos Farjado, photojournalism (portfolio), for “a portfolio of images including an array of compelling sports photojournalism, and capturing serious and delightful community moments.”
- Lisa M. Krieger, science, environment and health reporting (print/online), for reporting on subjects ranging from the prospect of treating genetic disease with CRISPR to the cause of rockfalls at Yosemite, plant smuggling along the California coast, the cost of Alzheimer’s disease to families and the search for extraterrestrial life.
- Joe Eskenazi is on reporting teams receiving awards in breaking news (print/online), for coverage of San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee’s sudden death; community journalism (print/online, general), for range, texture and depth of coverage in San Francisco’s Mission District; and ongoing coverage (print/online, small media), for coverage of San Francisco’s police department, including stories on reform efforts, communication with residents, analysis of an officer involved shooting and the police union.
