Voice of OC is honored as one of California’s best news agencies — awarding the nonprofit newsroom one of the top three spots for General Excellence.
The General Excellence win is just one of 12 the news agency has won so far in the prestigious statewide newspaper competition.
The California News Publishers Association contest honors the best in digital news and newspaper operations across California.
CNPA judges were blown away with the quality content produced at Voice of OC — a rare scenario where a small staff competes alongside newspapers with readership as high as 400,000.
Just look at what judges had to say about Voice of OC on the general excellence award:
“This scrappy nonprofit website punches well above its weight. It has done exemplary work covering the pandemic in Orange County, particularly its impact in disadvantaged communities even as elected officials were proclaiming “all is well.” The site is well designed and easy to navigate, and the uncluttered content templates load quickly.”
General excellence was independently judged – awarding Voice of OC third in the category but judges noted in competition comments that: “It was a real privilege to be able to spend so much time on these sites. This was a tough competition, with not much separating the Top 3 sites especially.”
Previously, Voice of OC was recognized fourth place in general excellence in 2019. In 2020 judges took special note of Voice of OC’s columns and reporting which earned top awards, saying “this is why journalism exists.”
While Voice of OC’s budget is small, Voice of OC journalists took home a record 18 wins this year. This is the third year in which Voice of OC, a digital outlet, was included in the California News Publishers Association awards contest, originally created for traditional newspapers.
And remember, this award-winning work at Voice of OC comes to you free-of-charge, with no advertising disrupting the experience. But that also means we rely on your support to sustain and expand our efforts — please become a donor today.