Sister papers, Glendale News-Press, Burbank Leader and La Cañada Valley Sun all score state awards
The Glendale News-Press, Burbank Leader and La Cañada Valley Sun, all sister publications under the Times Community News banner, captured several journalism awards for their work in 2019, it was announced Tuesday by the sponsors of the annual contest, the California News Publishers Assn.
News-Press public safety reporter Andy Nguyen captured first place for his feature story, “Glendale couple sues fertility clinic after woman gives birth to their son in embryo snafu.” A contest judge noted the piece was a “Well written story showing local compassion to a national topic.”
Jeff Tully, the sports editor for all three of the TCN papers, won first place for his feature, “Vicky Oganyan is the 40-year-old freshman for Glendale College basketball,” which appeared in both the Burbank Leader and the News-Press last fall.
Winning second place in the public service journalism category was News-Press reporter Lila Seidman for her coverage of the Montrose senior citizens who found themselves trapped in their living facility for a week without a functioning elevator. Her work on the subject was deemed by judges “a good example of a reporter bringing to light an issue important to the disadvantaged.”
Placing third in the “Youth and Education” category was Andrew Campa, for “Friends, parents, champion LGBTQ inclusion through elementary book donations,” a story that appeared in both the Valley Sun and the News-Press. Campa is currently reporting for the Los Angeles Times.
Photographer Raul Roa, who is regularly assigned to shoot stories for all of the TCN papers, captured third place for a sports feature photo he shot at a Flintridge Prep girls’ water polo championship game and fifth place for a news photo of a scuffle that broke out while Rep. Adam Schiff was being honored in Glendale at an Armenian town hall event.
Valley Sun reporter Sara Cardine won first place for public service journalism in the papers’ circulation division for her extensive coverage of the Devil’s Gate Dam sediment removal project. A contest judge wrote Cardine did an “excellent job of keeping on top of a story obviously important to the community.”
Cardine also took fourth place in the Youth and Education category for her story about the discrimination lawsuit against La Cañada Unified School District filed last year by parents of La Cañada High students who in the fall of 2018 were expelled from an AP history class for cheating.
“I am grateful that CNPA continues to recognize the important work done by our community journalists,” said John Canalis, an assistant managing editor at the L.A. Times. “Despite the difficult climate for newspaper journalists, our staff continues to do important, up-close work that makes a difference in the lives of their readers. I am so proud of everyone who won an award — as well as everyone else on our team who has devoted their careers to covering local news.”