L.A. Times Earns Multiple Honors in Sacramento Press Club Awards
The Los Angeles Times was recognized with five awards and four finalist nods in the Sacramento Press Club’s third annual Journalism Awards Contest. The awards, which honor outstanding politics and policy reporting in California, were presented at a ceremony on March 29.
Three of the award wins were for The Times’ series Legal Weed, Broken Promises, an investigation into California’s dysfunctional and corrupt recreational cannabis market, which exposed regulators’ failure to protect the state’s cannabis workers.
The reporting team that produced the series earned the Courage in Journalism, Impact in Journalism and Business Labor Reporting awards. In addition, Staff Writer Melanie Mason earned an award for California Election Coverage, and Staff Writers Robert J. Lopez and Colleen Shalby won the Education Reporting award.
Photographer Brian van der Brug and Staff Writer Paige St. John received the Courage in Journalism award for their part in the “Legal Weed” investigation, which required on-the-ground reporting and photography in remote areas where outlawed weed farms and seasonal camps are guarded with guns.
The judges commented that their work represents “the best of journalism, dangerous coverage that reveals serious problems that dramatically affect the quality of life for many Californians.”
St. John said she was heartened to hear the judges’ comments, “because it underscored what we saw ourselves: the need for reporting on the invisible victims of cannabis.” But she added that the duo’s efforts didn’t feel courageous. “Those with courage were the workers who spoke to us or agreed to be photographed,” she said. “They live every day with the risks we took in small doses, always able to drive away and return to safe homes and ordered lives.”
St. John and van der Brug joined Staff Writers Adam Elmahrek, Lopez, Ruben Vives, Marisa Gerber and Kiera Feldman as honorees of the Impact in Journalism award for their work on the series. “The L.A. Times’ investigative work, punctuated by sharp, powerful writing and evocative storytelling, spurred immediate governmental action,” noted the judges.
In February, state lawmakers began incorporating measures to address the investigation’s findings in proposed legislation, and in late March, California held its first public hearing on the plight of cannabis workers. A second oversight hearing is planned this fall, along with an audit of the state wage claims system and an independent state investigation into cannabis-fueled public corruption.
Below is a complete list of The Times’ winners and finalists:
Impact in Journalism
Winners: Adam Elmahrek, Paige St. John, Robert J. Lopez, Ruben Vives, Marisa Gerber, Kiera Feldman and Brian van der Brug
Finalists: Robert J. Lopez and Colleen Shalby
Courage in Journalism
Winners: Brian van der Brug and Paige St. John
California Election Coverage
Winner: Melanie Mason
Business Labor Reporting
Winners: Paige St. John, Marisa Gerber and Brian van der Brug
Commentary
Finalist: Anita Chabria
Education Reporting
Winners: Robert J. Lopez and Colleen Shalby
Social Justice and Equity Reporting
Finalist: Mackenzie Mays
Photography – Feature
Finalist: Dania Maxwell
For the full list of honorees, visit sacpressclub.org.
