Times Reporter Wins Press Club’s ‘Best of Show’

Richard A. Serrano, a Los Angeles Times staff writer, won two San Diego Press Club awards--including “Best of Show”--for his investigative reporting last year on Sheriff John Duffy, the club announced at a ceremony Tuesday night.

Times theater critic Nancy Churnin also won an award at the ceremony, held at the San Diego Hilton on Mission Bay.

Serrano’s stories revealed, among other things, that Duffy frequently was away on personal business, did not disclose income earned as a private law enforcement consultant and enjoyed special protection of his home by sheriff’s deputies.

The sheriff announced last December that he would not run for reelection to a sixth term.

Theater critic Churnin took first place for her arts story on director Adrian Hall.

Two other writers for The Times--Dana Haddad and Susan Freudenheim--won awards for work they did at other newspapers. In another arts category, Freudenheim won the top award for “critical writing” for a story she wrote on the Faberge eggs while with the San Diego Tribune.

Haddad won first place for a sports story he wrote for the Light Newspapers on San Diego Padres announcer Jerry Coleman.

The San Diego Union and the San Diego Tribune each took 10 top writing and photography awards in the category for newspapers with circulation of 100,000 or more.

Judges for this year’s contest were the New England chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, Sigma Delta Chi.