Voice of OC journalists competed with more than 2300 of their peers from across the Southern California region in this year’s SoCal Journalism Awards gaining eight nominations in seven categories.

Judges took special note of coverage about the collapse of the Anaheim stadium deal in the wake of an FBI corruption probe recognizing Publisher and Editor in Chief Norberto Santana for his columns on the scandal as well as staff writer, Brandon Pho for his insightful reporting on the residents left out in Anaheim in recent years amidst the focus on stadium deals. 

Another highlight of the nominations was the recognition for Unheard: Orange County Shuts Out Deaf Residents From Public Meeting Broadcasts.

The story began as part of a Chapan University journalism class. One of the  students, who has a close relative who is deaf, became curious about the availability of closed captioning at city meetings, Voice of OC editors encouraged them to pursue that investigation, which resulted in the collaboration with Reporters Hosam Elattar and Noah Biesiada and shared a byline for Chapman University Journalism students Abbie Demuth and Sara Bass. 

Winners of the 65th Annual LA Press Club Awards will be announced at their annual banquet June 25, 2023.

Here’s a full list of the LA Press Club Finalists, with links to the coverage. 

Brandon Pho: Finalist Local Political/Government Reporting  Westminster Officials Fight Over ‘Fake News’ for 2 Hours, Discuss City Bankruptcy for 30 Minutes

Omar Sanchez and Julie Leopo: Finalists Portrait Photo, Non-Entertainment

Orange County Reflects on Indigenous People’s Day

Julie Leopo: Finalist Photo Essay (single topic) Culture/Entertainment (for her work with KCET)  Photo Essay: In Oxnard, Latinos by the Beach Create ‘A New Reality’

Norberto Santana Jr: Finalist Columnist Santana: FBI Reveals The Secret Agenda Behind Anaheim’s Sale of Angel Stadium

Brandon Pho: Finalist Hard News Fallout From the FBI Corruption Probe Triggers a New Kind of Open Mic Night in Anaheim

 Brandon Pho: Finalist General News Latino Small Business Owners Push for a New Downtown Santa Ana

Noah Biesiada and Brandon Pho: Finalists Investigative Does Your Local Police Department Need A Military-Grade Armored Truck?

Hosam Elattar, Noah Biesiada, Abbie Demuth and Sara Bass: Finalists Investigative  Unheard: Orange County Shuts Out Deaf Residents From Public Meeting Broadcasts

Hosam Elattar: Finalist Pandemic Reporting  “California’s Mask Mandate Ends. Did Orange County Ever Follow It?

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