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SPJ NorCal Honors 2024 Excellence in Journalism Award Winners

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: WEDNESDAY, Oct. 30, 2024

CONTACT: Ida Mojadad imojadad [at] gmail.com or Ben Trefny (415) 290-2421

SAN FRANCISCO — The Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California chapter, honors Lisa Fernandez of KTVU as Journalist of the Year for the 39th Annual Excellence in Journalism Awards to be held Nov. 15.

The board honors Fernandez with this prestigious award for her relentless reporting that exposed the widespread sexual abuse of women held at the federal prison in Dublin, Calif. 

Fernandez’s reporting contributed to the unearthing of a massive scandal that ultimately led to the prison’s recent closure and unprecedented criminal charges against the warden and other staff. 

Even after the prison’s closure, Fernandez continued reporting on the hundreds of women at the heart of her stories, including their experience of a horrific bus ride to a Nevada airport, and later, about how they were faring at new prisons. Congratulations to Fernandez for shining light on an extremely dark corner of the Bay Area and for amplifying the voices of the vulnerable women who were abused there.

The SPJ NorCal board honors Julie Haener with the Career Achievement Award in broadcast journalism for her 27 years at KTVU. The Emmy-winning journalist recently retired from KTVU, where she became a fixture in living rooms across the Bay Area. From a field reporter to beloved anchor, Haener covered significant moments for the region, including the 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosion, the 2016 Ghost Ship fire and numerous sports championships. 

The board honors William Drummond of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism with the Career Achievement Award in print journalism. His storied career has taken him from New Delhi and Jerusalem as a bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times, to positions in the White House under the Ford and Carter administrations, and later, inside the walls of San Quentin state prison, where he teaches journalism to the incarcerated population and helped revitalize the prison’s famed newspaper. 

Drummond became the founding editor of NPR’s Morning Edition before joining UC Berkeley faculty in 1983. Today he’s a mainstay in the school’s journalism department, bringing hundreds of students over the years to work with the incarcerated journalists who write for San Quentin News. The prison newspaper was the subject of Drummond’s recently-published book “Prison Truth: The Story of the San Quentin News.” 

The board honors Ginny LaRoe, advocacy director at the First Amendment Coalition, with the Distinguished Service to Journalism Award. LaRoe is a reporter at heart, and brings that sense for what’s important to her advocacy with the First Amendment Coalition. SPJ is proud to honor LaRoe for her stewardship of our California journalism community, helping connect journalists to attorneys in times of need and remaining vigilant to ensure the public access required by law for all — and especially for journalists.

Genoa Barrow receives this year’s Silver Heart Award. As senior reporter for The Sacramento Observer, Barrow has served the city’s Black community for more than two decades, shining a spotlight on people, issues and voices that often go unheard.

In her latest journalistic venture, Barrow authored the “Head Space” series, which focuses on the mental health needs of Black men in Sacramento.

Sapna Satagopan of CalMatters is being honored with the Unsung Hero Award. Since joining CalMatters nearly four years ago, Satagopan has been the visionary leader behind products like Digital Democracy, Recall Voter Guide, newsletters and explainers. She also founded Xyza: News for Kids, a subscription news platform for young readers. Satagopan believes in democratizing news access and works behind the scenes to bring Californians news products that help them make informed decisions. 

The John Gothberg Award for Meritorious Service to SPJ NorCal goes to Kelsey Oliver of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism for organizing a chapter at the school, and for getting students involved as volunteers with the SPJ chapter at San Quentin.

Dozens of volunteer judges chose award recipients for more than 60 categories, including Public Service, which goes to Alexia Fernández Campbell, April Simpson, Pratheek Rebala, Nadia Hamdan, Roy Hurst, Steven Rascón and Cynthia Rodriguez of “Reveal” from The Center for Investigative Reporting for “40 Acres and a Lie,” a project that traces the legacy of the U.S. government’s broken promises to Black Americans in the wake of the Civil War.

All 2024 winners will be honored at SPJ NorCal’s 39th Excellence in Journalism Awards Ceremony, to be held Friday, Nov. 15, at Verdi Club in San Francisco. RSVP and learn more via Eventbrite. Early bird prices through Monday, Nov. 4.

2024 Award Winners

Board Awards

Contest Awards

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