SLO Tribune wins top honor at California Journalism Awards for second straight year

For the second consecutive year, The Tribune was named the top news organization in its category by the California News Publishers Association, winning first place for general excellence.

The award was one of 23 won by The Tribune and The Cambrian in the 2019 California Journalism Awards Contest, where The Tribune competes in the daily 15,000-and-under print circulation category and The Cambrian competes in the weekly 4,300-and-under category.

“Clearly the best of the field. Solid local content, and the design and photo usage is top-notch,” the judges said of The Tribune’s entry.

Overall, the newspaper was honored across a range of topics representing the entire staff, including five first-place awards, seven second place, three third place, five fourth place and three fifth place.

Monica Vaughan’s influential reporting on the Nipomo Mesa’s air quality earned a collection of awards, including second place for both public service journalism and investigative reporting.

“There are so many things to appreciate about this project from The Tribune detailing bad air quality at the Oceano Dunes,” the judges said of the project, which was a collaboration with the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism. “This is how issues and solutions journalism should be done.”

Other first-place awards included an editorial calling for a change to California’s police transparency law and two photos.

“What I like most about these awards is how well they represent the entire newsroom,” Tribune editor Joe Tarica said. “There isn’t a single person whose work isn’t represented here, and I can’t thank them enough for their dedication to telling the stories that are essential to San Luis Obispo County readers, each and every day.”

Here is a complete breakdown of the winning entries:

First place

• General excellence: Tribune staff
• Feature story: Monica Vaughan and Joe Johnston for “These eel-like fish look like horror movie monsters — and they’re back in SLO Creek”
• Editorial: Stephanie Finucane for “Police transparency law is shielding bad cops — and state lawmakers need to fix it”
• Feature photo: Laura Dickinson for “Excited grad”
• Photo illustration: David Middlecamp for “Murder petitions”

Second place

• Public service: Monica Vaughan, along with David Middlecamp and Stephanie Finucane for “Bad air from the Oceano Dunes forces people inside. Is it a crisis or exaggeration?” and the rest of the Nipomo Mesa coverage
• Investigative reporting: Monica Vaughan for “Bad air from the Oceano Dunes forces people inside. Is it a crisis or exaggeration?” and the rest of the Nipomo Mesa coverage
• Enterprise: Kaytlyn Leslie, Monica Vaughan and David Middlecamp for “This is the deadliest year at the Oceano Dunes. What is State Parks going to do about it?”
• Youth and education: Monica Vaughan for “Will fewer college students report sexual assault after this California court ruling?”
• Agriculture reporting: Carrie Schuman for “Morro Bay oyster farmers are thriving now — but they face a looming threat”
• Artistic photo: David Middlecamp for “Pismo dog walker”
• Columns: Kathe Tanner for “‘It was just meant to be’: How three people came together over tragedy — and guitars”; “Are there really ‘no dumb questions’ — just a lot of inquisitive idiots?”

Third place

• Local government: Nick Wilson for “SLO has plans for thousands of new homes, buildings. Not everyone is happy about it”
• Profile story: Lindsey Holden and David Middlecamp for “‘Radiator Don’ was a Paso treasure. But he died alone on the train tracks”
• Sports feature photo: David Middlecamp for “Touchdown celebration”

Fourth place

• Investigative reporting: Matt Fountain for “Many cops got breaks when charged with crimes in SLO County”
• Land-use reporting: Kaytlyn Leslie, Ashley Ladin and Monica Vaughan for “No more off-road riding at the Oceano Dunes? Coastal Commission staff says ‘it is time’ ”
• Youth and education: Monica Vaughan and David Middlecamp for “This Cal Poly student was in a battle with bulimia — and kept it a secret from everyone”
• Feature photo: David Middlecamp for “Curious seal”
• Video journalism: David Middlecamp for “See the Carrizo Plain wildflower super bloom from the air”

Fifth place

• Breaking news: Gabby Ferreira, Kaytlyn Leslie, Lindsey Holden and David Middlecamp for “SLO sheriff identifies suspect in 2 unsolved Atascadero murders — after 41 years”
• Youth and education: Monica Vaughan for “A fall in Big Sur took his ability to walk. How Cal Poly got this student back to the beach”
• Profile story: Sarah Linn and Joe Johnston for “This Cal Poly student runs a restaurant out of his apartment. Now he’s writing a cookbook”

This story was originally published April 1, 2020 at 3:28 PM.