If there was a theme to the numerous awards Voice of OC journalists received this year from the California Newspapers Association, it’s our team’s ability to jump on breaking news investigations.
Voice of OC received multiple awards for its coverage of the oil spill off the coast of Huntington Beach and our coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Voice of OC was awarded first place in General Excellence and first place for Public Service for our oil spill coverage.
“From ignoring expert coastal panels (and folding just two experts into a beaches, parks & rec panel, showing how little people were prioritizing environmental issues) to the problems on the day of the spill with communication and with conflicting timelines in the days that followed, this work shows how quickly the Voice of OC started asking deep questions about the response to the oil spill….Then the FOIA-driven story one month after the spill showed a pattern of violations. Impressive work keeping people informed with smart follow-ups.”
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This recognition shows that a small newsroom can make a big impact.
Voice of OC’s Director of Photography, Julie Leopo, won first place for feature writing for her story, Are Santa Ana’s Historic Murals Doomed to Fade into History. Leopo’s ability to both write and photograph this story personifies the flexibility and creativity of the Voice of OC newsroom.
“Beautifully written and researched piece exploring that intersection between art, community pride, gentrification, and civic engagement. This one stuck with me for quite some time after reading.”
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Voice of OC Arts & Culture Senior Editor, Richard Chang received a third place and honorable mention for his coverage Symphony on the Go Reaches Out to New Audiences.
“Well-written and interesting. I liked the call to action at the end.”
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Here’s a complete list of all the staff recognitions.
Voice of OC’s Award Winners
First Place in General Excellence, Voice of OC, Voice of OC Staff.
First Place in Public Service, Voice of OC Staff, for “Investigating Big Oil’s Run in with Orange County” How Were More Than a Million People Allowed Along Huntington Beach Coast as a Massive Oil Slick Approached?, Oil Spill Impacting Nearly All Orange County Coastline, Cleanup Effort Begins As Oil Washes Ashore, Pipeline Operator Had Problems with Shut-Down Valves, Pressure Sensors in Years Leading Up to Oil Spill, Pipeline Operator Waited Over 3 Hours to Shut Down Oil Leak, 6 Hours to Report It, Feds Say, Why Didn’t an Auto Shut-Off System Prevent the Massive Oil Leak off OC’s Coast?: Judge Comment “From ignoring expert coastal panels (and folding just two experts into a beaches, parks & rec panel, showing how little people were prioritizing environmental issues) to the problems on the day of the spill with communication and with conflicting timelines in the days that followed, this work shows how quickly the Voice of OC started asking deep questions about the response to the oil spill. The timing couldn’t have been worse, with over 1 million people on the beach for an air show. Voice of OC also quickly tracked down the 1979 report about the auto-shutdown capabilities. Then the FOIA-driven story one month after the spill showed a pattern of violations. Impressive work keeping people informed with smart follow-ups.”
First Place in Feature Story, Julie Leopo, for Are Santa Ana’s Historic Murals Doomed to Fade into History?:Judge Comment “Beautifully written and researched piece exploring that intersection between art, community pride, gentrification, and civic engagement. This one stuck with me for quite some time after reading.”
First Place in Home Page Layout & Design, Sonya Quick. Judge Comment “Great balance of headline, article teases and photos/visuals throughout the landing page. The organization of the dropdown menu was particularly standout. Enjoyed clicking through the website from the homepage.”
Second Place in Columns, Norberto Santana, Jr, for Latino’s Left Behind in Vaccination Push by Orange County Leaders: Judge Comment “This was a well written and thoughtful pair of columns. I come from an area that is more than 85 percent Latino, so it’s always eye opening to read columns like this where advocating for Latinos over health issues isn’t just a given. This was important information to impart and Santana does so sensitively.”
Second Place in Coverage of the Covid-19 Pandemic, Spencer Custodio, Nick Gerda, and Norberto Santana, Jr .OC Officials Remain Behind in Vaccination Efforts, “Vaccine Passport” Controversy Puts Renewed Focus on OC’s Secretive, Costly, Glitchy App, OC Community Clinics Criticize County Effort to Keep Them Out of the Loop on $20 Million Vaccination Expansion: Judge Comment ”Authoritative writing, backed by deep knowledge of government processes and the ways in which they were being evaded during the process of rolling out vaccines. The work never lost sight of the vulnerable residents who were being failed by their leaders and the process.”
Second Place in Coverage of Local Government, Nick Gerda, Norberto Santana, Jr, Spencer Custodio and Sonya Quick, for “ Giving the Public a Voice on the Budget” Tuesday is the Public’s Last Chance to Weigh in on $8 Billion in County Spending Before It’s Finalized, What Should OC Do With its Hundreds of Millions in Extra Tax Dollars? What Do You Think?, Orange County Speaks: Voice of OC Gives Public a Voice on the County’s Nearly $1 Billion in Unrestricted Funds, Santana: Local Taxpayers Deserve To Be Heard At Local Public Meetings They Pay For, Do OC Residents Deserve More Transparency On COVID-19 Bailout Spending?: Judge Comment “Writer takes a good approach to telling this story. Well written.”
Second Place in Investigative Reporting, Nick Gerda for “Investigating Big Oil’s Run in with Orange County” Pipeline Operator Had Problems with Shut-Down Valves, Pressure Sensors in Years Leading Up to Oil Spill, Pipeline Operator Waited Over 3 Hours to Shut Down Oil Leak, 6 Hours to Report It, Feds Say, Why Didn’t an Auto Shut-Off System Prevent the Massive Oil Leak off OC’s Coast?: Judge Comment “This is amazing reporting. One of the challenges of a story like this is writing it in such a way that the average person who doesn’t have technical knowledge of the incident can understand it. This series of investigative stories does just that. Between the revelation of no shut-off valve, the pipe sitting above the seabed (with video) and the fact that the pipe kept pumping out oil for hours despite alarms going off means that this story is still not over. Once again, it appears that great journalism is going to lead to change.”
Third Place in Open-Public Service Journalism, Voice of OC Staff, for “Investigating Big Oil’s Run in with Orange County.”Pipeline Operator Had Problems with Shut-Down Valves, Pressure Sensors in Years Leading Up to Oil Spill, Pipeline Operator Waited Over 3 Hours to Shut Down Oil Leak, 6 Hours to Report It, Feds Say, Why Didn’t an Auto Shut-Off System Prevent the Massive Oil Leak off OC’s Coast?
Third Place in Investigative Reporting, Nick Gerda, Norberto Santana, Jr, and Spencer Custodio for “Carelessness on CARES Act Funds in OC” OC Hospital With the Biggest Known Covid Safety Problems Got the Most Federal Relief Dollars Distributed by County, OC Supervisors Spent More Covid Response Money on Sheriff Staff Than Health Workers, After Public Backlash, Orange County Officials Back Up on Secret Contracts: Judge Comment: “Oftentimes, a sign that journalists are exposing something that officials don’t want exposed is when those same officials start making fun of the news source. Seeing that the county approved $200 million in CARES Act spending by giving secret approvals boggles the mind. Bravo to the journalists who stayed dogged on this issue and eventually figured out how the money was spent, then presented that to the public. Seeing residents showing up at public meetings, quoting the work of the journalists, is mighty powerful to watch. This is investigative journalism at its finest.”
Third Place in Breaking News, Voice of OC Staff, for “Investigating Big Oil’s Run in with Orange County” Pipeline Operator Had Problems with Shut-Down Valves, Pressure Sensors in Years Leading Up to Oil Spill, Pipeline Operator Waited Over 3 Hours to Shut Down Oil Leak, 6 Hours to Report It, Feds Say, Why Didn’t an Auto Shut-Off System Prevent the Massive Oil Leak off OC’s Coast?: Judge Comment “Overall, a good series that goes in-depth and attempts to get to the bottom of why the spill happened and why local authorities screwed up in their response. A few parts of the stories were a little difficult to follow, but I admire the dedication to uncovering the dirty truth.”
Third Place in Informational Graphic, Sonya Quick for “Orange County COVID-19 Deaths.” Santana: A Chance to Cheat Death For Dia de Los Muertos: Judge Comment “There’s a lot going on in this one compact graphic and it took a few moments for this reader to get their bearings. But it conveys a lot of useful information and provides a good overall snapshot of the pandemic’s impact in OC….good use of color throughout and very eye-catching.”
Third Place in Arts and Entertainment, Richard Chang for Symphony on the Go Reaches Out to New Audiences: Judge Comment “Well-written and interesting. I liked the call to action at the end.”
Third Place in News Photo, Julie Leopo for Korean War Veterans Honored With New Memorial in Fullerton.
Third Place in Feature Photo, Julie Leopo for The Holidays Look Different for Families of the Incarcerated in Orange County: Judge Comment “Poignant pic.”
Fourth Place in Columns, Norberto Santana, Jr, for “OC Supervisors Attempt To Rewrite Rules On Pandemic and Elections.” Santana: Watching Orange County Supervisors Hot Wire the Public Health Department,
Santana: Orange County’s Own Coup Just Failed. What Can Residents Do Before Politicians Strike Again?: Judge Comment “Santana has a newspaper reader friendly clipped writing style that I think can be helpful in delivering these ideas of decisions that really seem to put capitalization and conservative viewpoints over life and health.”
Fourth Place in Enterprise News Story or Series, Nick Gerda, Norberto Santana, Jr, and Spencer Custodio for “Carelessness on CARES Act Funds in OC” OC Hospital With the Biggest Known Covid Safety Problems Got the Most Federal Relief Dollars Distributed by County, OC Supervisors Spent More Covid Response Money on Sheriff Staff Than Health Workers, After Public Backlash, Orange County Officials Back Up on Secret Contracts: Judge Comment“A great example of how persistence in obtaining local records can drive accountability journalism.”