Overview:
Fresnoland collected numerous awards during the recent California Journalism Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, including top honors for investigative journalism, community focus and housing reporting.
Fresnoland collected numerous awards during the recent California Journalism Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, including top honors for investigative journalism, community focus and housing reporting.
Fresnoland’s government accountability reporter Omar S. Rashad captured first place in the Investigative Journalism category for his work last year examining finances and spending at Valley Children’s Hospital. You can read that full story here.
Omar also was part of the two-reporter team with housing reporter Pablo Orihuela that won a first place award in the housing and homelessness category for their breaking down the effects of a contentious new anti-camping law that critics say essentially criminalizes the unhoused community. You can read that story here.
Gisselle Medina, Fresnoland’s religion and culture reporter, won the Community Focus Award for their story detailing the struggles and efforts of inclusive groups to continue their work amid Donald Trump’s anti-diversity crackdown. You can read their story here. Gisselle also picked up a third place prize in the religion reporting category for their deep dive last year into the efforts of a small, secretive church to silence the women who suffered abuse from church leaders for years. You can find that story here.
Fresnolandia, our still-new podcast that’s approaching its one-year anniversary, won the Best Podcast award for the Sept. 30 episode: “Homelessness is a Housing Problem,” where cohosts Danielle Bergstrom and Jordan Mattox discuss the roots of homelessness, why public perception of the unhoused and the media focus so much on drug use, and Fresno’s controversial anti-camping bans. You can listen to that episode (and subscribe to the podcast!) here.
And This Week in Fresnoland, written by Fresnoland editor Rob Parsons, collected first place in the newsletter category for the March 24, 2024, edition that focused on the outrage last year over executive salaries at Valley Children’s Hospital. You can find that newsletter here and don’t forget to subscribe!
Fresnoland’s labor and economy reporter Julianna Morano also won a second place prize in the coveted Public Service category for her exclusive reporting last year that exposed a politically powerful developer’s efforts to transfer his gated community in the foothills into the neighboring Clovis Unified School District, where property values are significantly higher. Julianna’s series on the Ventana Hills also received a second place prize in the education category. You can find those stories here.
Gregory Weaver, Fresnoland’s environmental reporter, collected a second place prize in the writing category for his deep dive into a controversial multi-million-dollar settlement over contaminated drinking water. Greg’s reporting also earned him a third place prize in the enterprise news category for the same investigative story. You can find that story here.
