News

The California Newspaper Publishers Association held its annual awards gala over the weekend and we are pleased to announce the Journal took home 12 awards, including top honors in four categories.

The association, which was founded in 1888 and has more than 500 member papers throughout the state, holds the annual California Journalism Awards contest to showcase and honor the state’s best journalism in a variety of categories across several circulation divisions. Submissions are graded by a panel of judges from CNPA member papers’ newsrooms, with the top five in each category receiving honors.

Here’s a quick rundown of the categories in which the Journal received an award — finishing in the top five — and a brief explanation of the work and who created it. We are proud of our winning writers, designers and illustrators, and those sales and administrative staff who do the unseen hard work that makes each issue possible. And we offer a huge thank you to the community of readers who support us, without whom none of this would be possible.

A brief look at the awards:

First Place Arts and Entertainment Coverage to Journal Arts and Features Editor Jennifer Fumiko Cahill, Calendar Editor Kali Cozyris, a small army of freelancers and the Journal’s production staff. This is the fourth time the Journal has taken home top honors for arts and entertainment coverage in the last five years. One of this year’s judges notes: “A very nice local A&E section with sharp graphic design, lively writing and headlines, and very comprehensive coverage of community events. Nicely done.”

First Place Profile Story for Thadeus Greenson’s “A Giant Falls Among the Redwoods,” a profile of the late John Hudson, a Purple Heart war veteran, caregiver, advocate, community organizer and Sister of Perpetual Indulgence.

First Place Special Section for the June 7 Media Literacy Issue, which featured a variety of news and opinion pieces aimed at helping readers better understand how the Journal — and media in general — operates.

First Place for Special Publication for the summer/fall edition of Humboldt Insider. One judge’s take: “Publication is very well done and serving the area with quality writing, useful information and great graphic design and promotions.”


Second Place for Coverage of Local Government for assistant editor Kimberly Wear’s coverage of Arcata’s decision to remove the statue of President William McKinley from the center of the plaza. “Wear brings great voice to this series of stories about the controversy an old statue of a former president brought to Arcata, California,” a judge wrote. “Wear brings the reader into contentious city council meetings. Vivid quotes from residents coupled with details about the challenges confronting local officials made the series compelling.”

Second Place for Inside Page Layout and Design for Jonathan Webster’s layout of “In the Wind,” the Journal’s Feb. 22 cover story about the prospects of an offshore wind energy farm off the North Coast.

Second Place for Illustration for Jacqueline Langeland’s cover illustration for “Plight of the Abalone,” the Journal’s March 8, 2018, cover story.

Third Place for General Excellence, which judges the entirety of the paper’s content, front to back, in two consecutive issues on Feb. 1, 2018, and Feb. 8, 2018. “This paper is an adventure,” one judge wrote. “It’s totally engaging and covers the serious to the frivolous. I would read it every week, just for the fun of it … It has great ad support and is friggin’ beautiful, too.”

Third Place for Special Section Cover Layout and Design for our March 15, 2018, “The Cannabis Issue,” and Nov. 22, 2018, “Gift Guide,” cover illustrations by Jonathan Webster and our Sept. 13, “Burger Week 2018,” cover illustration by Jacqueline Langeland.

Third Place for Special Publication for the Spring 2018 Humboldt Cannabis Magazine.

Fifth Place for Feature Story for Kimberly Wear’s March 8, 2018, story “Plight of the Abalone.” One judge described it as “A gripping tale of an environmental disaster while we are still in the middle of it, and a look at how government officials are scrambling to address it and hoping they can reverse the effects of this ‘perfect storm’ that is killing a treasured and important part of the coastal ecosystem.”

Fifth Place for Front Page Layout and Design for our Feb. 22, 2018, cover illustration for “In the Wind” by Jonathan Webster, our Aug. 23, 2018, cover for “Art in the Streets,” designed by Webster with a photo from freelancer Alexander Woodard, and our Oct. 25, 2018, cover for “Catch me if You Can,” illustrated by Dave Orchard and designed by Webster. “Very cool illustrations, with great typography on those pieces,” wrote one judge.