Newspaper earns first-place photo award
Morgan Hill – The Morgan Hill Times has won five journalism awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association, including a first-place plaque for sports photography.
The awards were presented to journalists from across the state last Saturday during a luncheon at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Universal City.
“The wonderful news about our awards makes our staff at the Times want to continue to work hard to give our readers the best coverage of local news,” said Morgan Hill Times Editor Sheila Sanchez. “We’ve had several staff changes at the Times and those of us who are new realize what a great newspaper we’ve inherited and how hard we must continue to work to inform the community in a timely, accurate and balanced manner.”
Sanchez, who’s been editing the Times since late March, explained the paper has a new city reporter, new paginator and a new sports editor who are committed to journalism excellence.
“We’ll work together during the next few months to bring our readers some interesting features and in-depth coverage of local issues that we hope the community will appreciate as well as judges during next year’s contest,” Sanchez said. “We’re the best weekly in the state.”
Chief Photographer Chris Riley took first place in the sports photo category for weeklies with a circulation of 4,300 and under for his pix of the Live Oak baseball team following a loss in the Central Coast Section playoffs.
The Times also took second place honors in the coveted general excellence category, special issue, front page broadsheet and page layout and design.
“The annual CNPA awards validate the strong commitment to this community that our staff demonstrates every day,” said Publisher Steve Staloch. ” I’m proud of the Morgan Hill Times. Our reporting covers many aspects of life in Morgan Hill, and we are privileged to not only write the history of this community but to play a part in making it a better place to live and work.”
This year’s contest drew 4,200 newspapers from around the state, 38 of which competed with the Times, according to Terry Vanderveer, CNPA contest coordinator.
The Times’ sister papers, Gilroy Dispatch and Hollister Freelance – all of which are owned by Mainstreet Media Group – once again took home several significant honors.
The Dispatch took home nine awards, of which seven were first-place honors – including general excellence for the second straight year.
Sanchez said the Dispatch’s first place award for environmental ag resource reporting reflects well on the Times as Matt King, who covered several county issues for the Times and Dispatch, wrote the piece for both publications and left a legacy of excellent environmental coverage for the Times to continue.
Sanchez also noted the Dispatch’s first place award for sports story also reflects well on the Times, as Ana Patejdl is the sports editor for South Valley Newspapers, which includes the Times.
The Freelance took home five honors, including three first-place recognitions, including first place for investigative or enterprising reporting.
“The awards bestowed on Mainstreet Media Group publications prove that community newspapers can thrive if they are relevant and do not shy away from the tough issues,” Staloch said. “It’s a responsibility we do not take lightly and while recognition by your peers is important, the only judges that ultimately matter are our readers.”
Cheeto Barrera is an intern for the Morgan Hill Times. He can be reached at 779-4106 or at cb******@mo*************.com.
