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Awards

Since our founding in 1988, the Monterey County Weekly has been recognized with 100+ prestigious national, state, regional and local awards, including General Excellence in California in 2023 and 2024. 

2024 Awards

California Journalism Awards from the California News Publishers Association:

  • First Place, General Excellence (Division 4).
  • First Place, Investigative Reporting - Sara Rubin, for coverage of a culture of silence at Carmel Unified School District.
  • First Place, Health Reporting - Pam Marino, for coverage of health care costs in Monterey County, including a cover story and a variety of follow-up stories about topics such as insurance coverage and California Office of Health Care Affordability board hearings. 
  • First Place, Community Calendar - Agata Popęda, for the print and digital calendars.
  • First Place, Transportation Reporting - David Schmalz, for coverage of the SURF! busway, including a cover story about the 4.3-mile, $105 million project.
  • First Place, Cover Page Layout and Design - Karen Loutzenheiser and Daniel Dreifuss for cover design and photography.
  • Second Place, Public Service Journalism - Monterey County Weekly and the Media Literacy Coalition, for efforts to provide readers of local news a greater understanding of how to discern truth from fiction, and credible media from propaganda. This included a cover story and a live event with a panel discussion, in addition to other stories about the coalition and its efforts.
  • Second Place, Enterprise Reporting - David Schmalz for coverage of a tyrannical HOA in the East Garrison community
  • Second Place, Cover of Business and the Economy - Erik Chalhoub, for news stories about Amazon’s arrival in Salinas.
  • Second Place, Columns - Sara Rubin, for “The Local Spin.” 
  • Second Place, Photo Story/Essay - Daniel Dreifuss and Sloan Campi for a slideshow about the first-ever Worlds Away festival. 
  • Third Place, Best Newsletter - for Monterey County Now.
  • Third Place, Special Section - for Family Guide Best of Monterey Bay ® magazine.
  • Fifth Place, Food Writing/Reporting - Dave Faries, for coverage of the local food scene.
  • Fifth Place, Housing and Land Use Reporting - Celia Jiménez, for a cover story on the city of Marina’s growth.
  • Fifth Place, Profile Story - Agata Popęda, for a cover story on artist Belle Yang.

Press Photographers Association of Great Los Angeles:

2023 Awards

California Journalism Awards from the California News Publishers Association:

  • First Place, General Excellence (Division 4). “Here's what sets it apart,” the judges 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.” 
  • First Place, Best Newsletter. “Particularly enjoy the conversational, first-person perspective and analysis,” the judges wrote.
  • First Place, Health Reporting - Pam Marino, for her coverage of the mental health care crisis—and a potential, partial solution. 
  • First Place, Food Writing/Reporting - Dave Faries, 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.
  • First Place, Feature Writing - Agata Popęda, for her cover story on the Western Flyer. “A terrific tale, engaging from the 1st sentence to the last, and filled with delightful details throughout,” the judges wrote.
  • Second Place, Investigative Reporting - for reporting on conditions inside the Monterey County Jail. “Tenacious efforts to get documents and pursue follow-up reports and other updates provide a great service to readers,” the judges wrote. The series of stories considered included a post with thousands of pages of newly released documents, coverage of the Weekly’s legal engagement as an intervenor in a federal court case, and a cover story. 
  • Second Place, Enterprise Reporting - for a collaborative cover story featuring a side-by-side comparison of all 12 local cities’ annual budgets. 
  • Second Place, Environment Reporting - David Schmalz, for his cover story (and supplemental board game) on the Monterey Peninsula’s water supply woes. “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,” according to the judges.
  • Third Place, Coverage of Local Government - Pam Marino, for making sense of the City Hall drama in Pacific Grove. 
  • Third Place, Columns - Sara Rubin, for “The Local Spin.” 
  • Fourth Place, Breaking News - Celia Jiménez, for coverage of catastrophic flooding in Pajaro immediately following the levee breaking. 
  • Fifth Place, Front Page Layout - Karen Loutzenheiser, for cover design.

National awards from the Association of Alternative Newsmedia (AAN): 

  • First Place, Innovation/Format Buster - David Schmalz and Karen Loutzenheiser, for “Cease and Desist,” the water board game. “A very fun way to engage readers over a wonky issue, undoubtedly getting more involved in following the story,” the judges wrote.
  • Second Place, Feature Story - Agata Popęda, for her cover story on the Western Flyer. Third Place, Newsletter - “This newsletter does a great job of connecting readers with a particular story, giving them a reason to be interested,” the judges wrote.

2022 Awards 

California Journalism Awards from the California News Publishers Association:

2021 Awards

Press Photographers Association of Greater Los Angeles

California Journalism Awards from the California News Publishers Association:

  • First Place, public service journalism - for mobilizing the community to take a stand against anti-Asian hate. “This is journalism in action,” the judges wrote. “By consistently beating the drum and shedding light on a divisive festival, this news organization helped make positive change. This was well-researched. Really solid, comprehensive journalism.” 
  • First Place, Coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic - Pam Marino and Monterey County Weekly staff. “The gold standard for this competition,” the judges wrote. “Nice reporting and writing throughout. Puts a face on the impact of COVID throughout all segments of society; obviously a tremendous amount of time and effort went into this, and it was well worth it.”
  • First Place, coverage of local government - Pam Marino, for her coverage of the assessment appeals process. 
  • First Place, columns - Sara Rubin, for “The Local Spin”
  • Second Place, general excellence
  • Second Place, special publication - for the 2021 Senior Guide
  • Second Place, feature story - Tajha Chappellet-Lanier, for her cover story on Deetjen's Inn, a rare piece of built history on the Big Sur coast.
  • Second Place, land-use reporting - David Schmalz, for coverage of FORTAG (the Fort Ord Regional Trail and Greenway) 
  • Third Place, in-depth reporting - Christopher Neely, for coverage of redistricting. “Redistricting is hard to comprehend for many, but this guide not only explained the process that goes into decisions, but possible ramifications that might come from those decisions,” the judges wrote.
  • Third Place, enterprise news story - Sara Rubin, for coverage of a stadium lights drama at Monterey High School
  • Fourth Place, cover layout and design - Karen Loutzenheiser
  • Fifth Place, sports feature story - Celia Jiménez, for coverage of Hartnell’s soccer team

2019 Awards 

Association of Alternative Newsmedia (AAN)

  • 1st Place: Investigative reporting category - “How Nuestra Familia, a criminal organization, took control of MILPA, a community group in Salinas” (I, II, III, IV) by Monterey County Weekly staff with KSBW and Voices of Monterey Bay (Sara Rubin, Mary Duan)

Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California

  • Excellence in Journalism Awards, for Investigative Reporting 
  • (“How Nuestra Familia, a criminal organization, took control of MILPA, a community group in Salinas,” with Voices of Monterey Bay and KSBW) 

California Journalism Awards from the California News Publishers Association:

  • 1st Place, Breaking News - staff (for reporting on the aftermath of the shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival (“Unique and compelling approach to an all too familiar story. The inclusion of community leaders gave depth to the story.”)
  • 3rd Place, Coverage of Youth and Education - Marielle Argueza (for “Monterey County is producing more college-bound students than ever. Is that too much of a good thing?”)
  • 4th place, General Excellence category - staff
  • 4th place, In-Depth Reporting - Mary Duan (for reporting on SB 1421, with the comments: “Critical government accountability reporting by a reporter who clearly understands how public records work and why they are so important.”
  • 4th Place, Special Section - Dave Faries+staff (Eat+Drink Guide) 
  • 4th Place, Special Section Cover - Karen Loutzenheiser 

Awards Archive