The Weekly is celebrating state and national recognition in annual journalism awards.

Sara Rubin here, feeling so proud to be a member of the Monterey County Weekly and Monterey County Now team. In the news business, there’s always a deadline to meet—followed by another deadline to meet. The constant churn can make it hard to find the time to pause, look back at the work we’ve done and reflect on what we did best. 

Annual awards present an opportunity to do just that. We review stories, photographs and layouts published in the prior year, select our best work and submit. Then we wait. 

This weekend, the wait came to an end when two big journalism associations announced their 2023 awards, and the Weekly team took home high honors in a range of categories, including six first-place recognitions. 

Congratulations to Art Director/Production Manager Karen Loutzenheiser and Staff Writer David Schmalz for nabbing first place nationally in the Innovation/Format-Buster category from the Association of Alternative Newsmedia (AAN), for a cover story about the Monterey Peninsula’s water woes, which included a board game. (Have you played? It’s not too late to give “Cease and Desist” a go.) The same story also placed second in our division for environment reporting in the California Journalism Awards, presented by the California News Publishers Association (CNPA). “This package—an in-depth, easily-understood background on the region's water woes coupled with a topical board game—makes for a rare mix of informative, interactive and entertaining,” the CNPA judges wrote.

Congrats to Staff Writer Agata Popęda for first place in feature writing from CNPA and second place from AAN, for her cover story about a famous fishing boat. “A fascinating and well-written story about the Western Flyer, the legendary 77-foot-long boat that author John Steinbeck and marine biologist Ed Ricketts chartered for a 4,000-mile journey that inspired Steinbeck’s writing. Popęda masterfully fuses history and reporting to create a lively narrative about the boat,” the judges wrote. 

For health reporting, Staff Writer Pam Marino took home first place for her coverage of mental health care beds—or rather, the lack thereof—followed by a step forward to treat young people at Ohana. Marino also won third place for coverage of local government for reporting on antics in Pacific Grove City Hall, and the costs associated with investigating said antics.

Features Editor Dave Faries earned first place for food writing and reporting for his cover story on Jeffrey Birkemeier’s pursuit of master sommelier status. “Excellent, often humorous account of the incredible breadth of knowledge required to ascend to the summit of the industry. Best entry of the lot,” according to the judges’ notes.

Our team won second place from CNPA for investigative reporting for coverage of the Monterey County Jail and second place for enterprise reporting for a side-by-side comparison of city budgets. 

Staff Writer Celia Jiménez won fourth place for breaking news for her coverage of the Pajaro River levee breaking, and Loutzenheiser also won fifth for cover design. I placed third for column writing. 

The awards that most stand out to me, though, are those that go to the entire staff. We earned first place from CNPA and third from AAN for this very newsletter. And the cherry on top is a first-place win in General Excellence. The judges’ comments convey how what we do requires everyone to be on their A game—not just reporters, but also photographers, graphic designers, ad sales reps. “Here's what sets it apart,” they wrote. “Front page covers that talk to you and all-but make you look inside. ‘The Buzz’ feature is must-reading and a talker. Excellent photos…Ads that have a fresh look and draw you in.” 

It feels great to receive this kind of recognition, but ultimately it’s about how our journalism serves our readers. A few of us who attended the CNPA awards gala in Los Angeles were reminded of this immediately after the event when we got into a cab, and our driver was reflecting on the news of the day about the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump. He told us how he’d turned to old-fashioned radio news while driving, because he wanted to avoid the conspiracy theories and instead consume just the facts as they became known. 

For stories big and small, this is part of our mission, and it’s an honor to receive accolades for the hard work our team does. Congratulations to all of the winners.

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect the Weekly's third place award for local government. 

Newsletter

The Weekly takes home high honors. Discuss access to housing. The assassination attempt in photos.