FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025

CONTACT: Laura Wenus at 650-996-3112 or spjnorcal@gmail.com, or Ben Trefny at 415-290-2421

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SAN FRANCISCO — The Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California chapter, honors Hilda Gutiérrez of NBC Bay Area as Journalist of the Year for the 40th Annual Excellence in Journalism Awards to be held Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025.

Gutierrez has been at the forefront of immigration coverage across the Bay Area since January. She was the first reporter to break the news that undercover ICE agents were hanging out at San Francisco’s immigration court, and one of the first journalists to report on the arrests that began taking place there. 

She has broken stories on the firing of immigration judges, new civil penalties levied against Bay Area immigrants, and new federal policy memos dramatically changed immigration enforcement. Additionally, Gutierrez reported on vulnerable tenants facing eviction, problems plaguing women in the fire service, a rodent infestation at Whole Foods, a day care where two children drowned, and inadequate responses to sexual assault allegations against law enforcement.

The SPJ NorCal board honors Kevin Fagan with the Career Achievement Award in print journalism. Fagan spent decades doing award-winning, on-the-ground reporting about the realities of homelessness in the Bay Area for the San Francisco Chronicle, from which he retired this year. He went so far as to spend six months on the streets to give readers a clearer picture of what it means to be unsheltered. In “The Lost and the Found,” published this year by Simon & Schuster, Fagan’s own reporting plays a role in reuniting two people, who slid into deep despair on city streets, with their families. Earlier in his career, Fagan covered crime, disaster and war. He reported an international hit podcast series about the “Doodler,” a murderer who targeted gay men in San Francisco. Somehow, through years of tireless reporting on wrenching aspects of the human experience, Fagan has remained a steadfastly kind and sunny person who regularly regales colleagues with bawdy songs about being an ink-stained wretch in the news business. 

The board honors Monica Campbell with the Career Achievement Award in broadcast journalism. Monica is a longtime public radio reporter who spent her career as an immigration reporter in the Bay Area and Latin America. During her time as the Mexico City correspondent for PRI’s “The World,” Campbell’s stories ranged from covering indigenous education along Nicaragua’s Mosquito Coast and the investigation of civil war crimes in Guatemala, to Mexico’s rising drug cartel violence, and dissident poets in Cuba. This year, she stepped up to lead the state-funded California’s Local News Fellowship program, which places up-and-coming journalists in newsrooms around the state. 

The board honors Jane Braxton Little, editor-in-chief of The Plumas Sun, with the Distinguished Service to Journalism Award. After decades in environmental journalism, Jane played an integral role in starting The Plumas Sun, following the discovery that the county’s last news outlet was shuttering. Now in its third year, The Plumas Sun newsroom relies on Little’s leadership to produce essential coverage in rural northeastern California. 

Kevin Epps receives this year’s Silver Heart Award. When the San Francisco Bay View National Black Newspaper was on the brink of closure, Epps stepped in as executive editor to stabilize it, revitalize the newsroom and reconnect it to the people it serves. He brought fresh energy, multimedia storytelling and digital innovation to one of the Bay Area’s last Black-owned newspapers, ensuring that it remains a vital platform for truth. Through journalism and film, including his groundbreaking documentary, “Straight Outta Hunters Point,” Epps amplifies voices often ignored, while mentoring young writers and artists. His leadership has saved a treasured institution and strengthened the heartbeat of Black media in San Francisco.

Alejandra Armstrong of Cityside is being honored with the Unsung Hero Award. As audience engagement editor, Armstrong ensures that reporting from Cityside’s three newsrooms is published with readers as the priority. Her strategic vision, editorial creativity and data savviness ensure that fundamental coverage questions are addressed long before reporting begins.

The John Gothberg Award for Meritorious Service to SPJ NorCal goes to Shadeed Wallace-Stepter, former chair of San Quentin’s SPJ chapter. Wallace-Stepter spent countless hours this year training journalists inside the prison on visual storytelling, giving the chapter’s program an incredible boost. His work has been instrumental in getting a new wave of journalists to be familiar with video equipment. Plus he has trained an entire production crew that is now capable of producing stories and films. 

Dozens of volunteer judges chose award recipients for 70 categories, including Public Service, with awards going to Cynthia Dizikes and Joaquin Palomino of the San Francisco Chronicle; Lydia Chavez, Abigail Van Neely and Oscar Palma of Mission Local; and Alastair Boone, Victor Tence and Angela Johnston of KALW. 

All 2025 winners will be honored at SPJ NorCal’s 40th Excellence in Journalism Awards Ceremony, to be held Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025, at the Bayview Opera House in San Francisco. 

Early bird pricing is available through Wednesday, Nov. 5. Award winners should watch for an email about their tickets and other event details.

2025 Award Winners

Board Awards

• JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR: Hilda Gutierrez, NBC Bay Area
• CAREER ACHIEVEMENT — PRINT: Kevin Fagan
• CAREER ACHIEVEMENT — BROADCAST: Monica Campbell
• DISTINGUISHED SERVICE TO JOURNALISM: Jane Braxton Little, The Plumas Sun
• UNSUNG HERO: Alejandra Armstrong, Cityside
• SILVER HEART: Kevin Epps, San Francisco Bay View
• JOHN GOTHBERG/MERITORIOUS SERVICE TO SPJ NORCAL: Shadeed Wallace-Stepter

Contest Awards 

• ARTS & CULTURE (print/online — large division): Luke Tsai, with Beth LaBerge, Estefany Gonzalez and Thien Pham, of KQED, for culture stories covering crab fishing, authentic Puerto Rican cuisine and a hidden soul food gem.
• ARTS & CULTURE (print/online small division): Marijke Rowland of The Intersection from the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative for “This Black-led Valley orchestra addresses mental health with sounds for the ‘soul.’”
• ARTS & CULTURE (radio/audio/podcast — large division): Bianca Taylor, Nastia Voynovskaya, Sasha Khokha, Victoria Mauleón, Suzie Racho, Brendan Willard and Hussain Khan of KQED for “The California Report Magazine” for the “California Composers” series, a tribute to three underappreciated musical talents from across the state. 
• ARTS & CULTURE (radio/audio/podcast— small division): Hana Baba, Leila Day, Kristina Loring and James Rowlands of “The Stoop” for “This Ain’t Texas, It’s Africa.” 
• BEST SCOOP (all media — large division): Ashley Zavala of KCRA 3 News for “Capitol Annex project shrouded in secrecy.” 
• BEST SCOOP (all media — small division): Sarah Stierch of The Mendocino Voice for “Mendocino County offering employees up to $25,000 to voluntarily resign in wake of budget shortfalls.”
• BREAKING NEWS (print/online — large division): Nate Gartrell, Shomik Mukherjee, Jakob Rodgers, Ray Chavez and Chase Hunter of the East Bay Times for their coverage of the indictment of former Oakland mayor Sheng Thao.
• BREAKING NEWS (print/online — student division): Aarya Mukherjee and Ava Hu of The Daily Californian for “12 UC Berkeley students’ legal status restored by ICE in nationwide reversal.”
• COMMENTARY/ANALYSIS (print/online — large division): Steve Brooks for “What California’s Prop 6 Meant for Incarcerated People” published by Time Magazine, and “Single-Occupancy Prison Cells Aren’t the Solution — Sending Rehabilitated Home Is” published by Local News Matters, and “‘I Was Silenced’: San Quentin News Editor-in-Chief Fired for Prison Reform Efforts” published by Prism.
• COMMENTARY/ANALYSIS (print/online — small division): Lauren Markham with the Earth Island Journal for “Small Memorials Can Help With Both Climate Grief and Action.”
• COMMENTARY/ANALYSIS (radio/audio/podcast): The team producing KQED’s “Hyphenación,” a podcast featuring personal stories, and broader cultural criticism and commentary through a hyphenated Latino lens: Xorje Olivares, Ana De Almeida Amaral, Alex Tran, Chris Hambrick, Christopher Beale, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Vivian Morales, Matt Morales and Michael Palmer. 
• COMMUNITY JOURNALISM (print/online — large division): Dani Anguiano of The Guardian for “Shasta County: How extremist politics divided this conservative California community.”
• COMMUNITY JOURNALISM (print/online — small division): Mariana Duran and Pablo Unzueta of El Tecolote for their reporting on San Francisco’s immigrant and working-class Latinx communities.
• COMMUNITY JOURNALISM (multimedia — large division): Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí, Gina Castro, Carly Severn and Anna Vignet of KQED for “The SF Barber That Welcomes All Trans People Into His Shop.”
• COMMUNITY JOURNALISM (TV/video): Tamara Richter and Jack Noonan of KCRA 3 for “Farm to Fork: Growing a Movement.” 
• COMMUNITY JOURNALISM (radio/audio/podcast — large division): Cecilia Lei and Juliana Yamada of KQED for their reporting on the struggles of older Japanese Americans in the Bay Area.
• COMMUNITY JOURNALISM (radio/audio/podcast — small division): KALW’s “Uncuffed” team at the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center and the California Institution for Women — including Greg Eskridge, Matt Sheppard, Anthony Gomez, André Davis, William Harris, Haena Worthing, Patricia Bellows, Daphnye Luster, Julie Harper, Koi Bagnerise, Keyna Osorio, Jeremy Strain, Vincent O’Bannon and Eric “Mazerati-E” Abercrombie — for their episodes “Where were you in ‘92,” “The Truth” and “Mama.”
• EDUCATION REPORTING (print/online): Ida Mojadad with The Frisc for reports on San Francisco Unified School District’s new interim superintendent, unspent voter funds and an administrative mistake that continues to affect special education students.
• EDUCATION REPORTING (TV/video): Andie Judson, Gonzalo Magaña, Sabrina T. Sanchez, Tyler Horst and Mike Bunnell of ABC 10 for “Who’s watching? — Charter school spent millions in public funds without rigorous oversight.”
• ENVIRONMENT REPORTING (print/online — large division): John Beck and Kent Porter of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat for “How The Nature Conservancy came to broker a secret deal to end Point Reyes National Seashore’s ranching era.”
• ENVIRONMENT REPORTING (print/online — small division): Lisa M. Krieger with Bay Nature for “Point Reyes After The Cattle.”
• ENVIRONMENT REPORTING (radio/audio/podcast): Kerry Klein of KVPR, with Ravenna Koenig of NPR, for “‘It’s unprecedented’ — Central Valley beekeepers devastated by honeybee die-offs.”
• ENVIRONMENT REPORTING (TV/video): Stephany Scarlett Galván Rueda and Jose Villareal of Univision 19 for “Land of Women.”
• EXPLANATORY JOURNALISM (print/online — large division): Megan Fan Munce and Susie Neilson of the San Francisco Chronicle for “Burned: An investigation of the underinsurance crisis devastating California fire survivors.” 
• EXPLANATORY JOURNALISM (print/online — small division): Abigail Van Neely and Ronna Raz of Mission Local for “Profiling San Francisco’s ‘alternative courts.’”
• EXPLANATORY JOURNALISM (radio/audio/podcast — small division): Wren Farrell, Isabel Angell and James Rowlands of KALW for “Bathing while trans: Behind the changing policies at Archimedes Banya.” 
• EXPLANATORY JOURNALISM (radio/audio/podcast — large division): Ericka Cruz Guevarra, Lesley McClurg, Alan Montecillo, Jessica Kariisa and Mel Velasquez of KQED for “How RFK Jr.’s Message Took Root in a Small Marin Town.”
• EXPLANATORY JOURNALISM (TV/video): KCRA 3’s “Very Local” staff for “Lowrider Legacy: A History of Resistance on Wheels.” 
• FEATURES JOURNALISM (print/online — large division): Laura Bliss with Bloomberg Businessweek for “Parks and Degradation: The Mess at Yosemite.”
• FEATURES JOURNALISM (print/online — small division): Ayla Burnett and Alex Lash with The Frisc for “How a Single Mom in S.F. Fought to Get From Homelessness to Paradise.”
• FEATURES JOURNALISM (radio/audio/podcast — large division): Ana De Almeida Amaral, Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz and Caroline Smith of KQED for “San Francisco’s Oldest Lesbian Bar Has Been a Safe Space for More Than 60 Years.”
• FEATURES JOURNALISM (radio/audio/podcast — small division): Eliza Peppel, Lisa Morehouse, Galnadgee Joe-Johnson and Truc Nguyen of KALW for “Taking the long way: San Francisco’s Crosstown Trail.”
• FEATURES JOURNALISM (TV/video): Rashel Cedeño de Abreu, Andrea Igliozzi, Christian Vázquez-García, Bryan Albor and Vladimir Araya of Univision 19 for part one of “The Cost of the Harvest.”
• HEALTH REPORTING (print/online): Zhe Wu and Mel Baker of the San Francisco Public Press for their series “Hepatitis B — a Silent Killer.” 
• HEALTH REPORTING (TV/video): Candice Nguyen and Alex Bozovic of NBC Bay Area News for “The Nurse Whistleblower,” (Parts 1, 2 and 3).
• INTERVIEW (print/online): Roselyn Romero and Darwin BondGraham of The Oaklandside for “Pamela Price wishes more people understood the job of district attorney.”
• INTERVIEW (radio/audio/podcast — large division): Brian Watt, Alexander Gonzalez and Dana Cronin of KQED for “How Oakland Style Empowered A’s Great Rickey Henderson and Other Athletes.” 
• INTERVIEW (radio/audio/podcast — small division): Elizabeth Arakelian and Jonathan Linden of KVPR Valley Public Radio for “Author Mas Masumoto On Finding The ‘Sounds Of Our Histories.’”
• INTERVIEW (TV/video — small division): Paula Sibulo with the Golden Gate Xpress for “District 7 Supervisor Candidate Matt Boschetto discusses his plan for San Francisco’s west side.”
• INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING (print/online — large division): Cynthia Dizikes and Joaquin Palomino of the San Francisco Chronicle for “Failed to Death,” (Parts 1, 2 and 3).
• INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING (print/online — small division — series): Liza Gross and Peter Aldhous of Inside Climate News for “Captured: How pesticide regulators place industry profits above public health.”
• INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING (print/online — small division — single story): Yesica Prado and Erika Carlos of El Tecolote for “San Francisco is weaponizing parking rules to displace RV communities. Here’s how it started.”
• INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING (print/online — student publication): Abby Sigler, Marrion Cruz and Tom Whitehead of The Guardsman for their investigation into “ghost student” registrations at City College of San Francisco.
• INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING (TV/video): Andie Judson, Gonzalo Magaña, Vanessa Bozzuto and Tyler Horst of ABC10 for “Investigating SeaQuest,” (Parts 1, 2 and 3).
• LONGFORM STORYTELLING (print/online — large division): Lauren Smiley with WIRED for “Priscila, Queen of the Rideshare Mafia.”
• LONGFORM STORYTELLING (print/online — small division): Bing Lin, Paul Horn and Michael Kodas of Inside Climate News for “Miles to Go,” (Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4).
• LONGFORM STORYTELLING (radio/audio/podcast — large division): Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí, Victoria Mauleón, Suzie Racho, Brendan Willard and Sasha Khokha of KQED for “A 129-Year-Old San Francisco Lawsuit Could Stop Trump From Ending Birthright Citizenship.”
• LONGFORM STORYTELLING (radio/audio/podcast — small division): Hana Baba, Leila Day, Kristina Loring and James Rowlands of “The Stoop” for “Bury Me Whole.”
• LONGFORM STORYTELLING (TV/video): KCRA staff for “Always Remember Your Name.”
• ONGOING COVERAGE (print/online — large division): Maanvi Singh of The Guardian for reporting on the Trump Administration’s crackdown on immigration.
• ONGOING COVERAGE (print/online — small division): Royal Calkins of Voices of Monterey Bay for “Pain, Death and Secrets: Ongoing coverage of conditions at the Monterey County Jail.”
• ONGOING COVERAGE (radio/audio/podcast): Vanessa Rancano and Guy Marzorati of KQED for their reporting on California’s crackdown on homeless encampments.
• ONGOING COVERAGE (TV/video): Lysée Mitri, Jack Noonan and Victor Nieto of KCRA 3 News for “Dignity Delayed,” (Parts 1, 2 and 3).
• OUTSTANDING EMERGING JOURNALIST (all media): Zhe Wu of the San Francisco Public Press for her ongoing community coverage in San Francisco.
• PHOTOJOURNALISM (photo essay — large division): Charles Russo and Douglas Zimmerman of SFGate for “Part celebration, part funeral: The A’s final game in pictures.”
• PHOTOJOURNALISM (photo essay — small division): Pablo Unzueta of El Tecolote for “As homeless mothers seek refuge, waiting takes a toll.”
• PUBLIC SERVICE (print/online — large division): Cynthia Dizikes and Joaquin Palomino of the San Francisco Chronicle for “Failed to Death,” (Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4).
• PUBLIC SERVICE (print/online — small division): Lydia Chavez, Abigail Van Neely and Oscar Palma of Mission Local for documenting conditions on the streets in one part of the Mission District to hold City Hall accountable.
• PUBLIC SERVICE (radio/audio/podcast — small division): Alastair Boone, Victor Tence and Angela Johnston of KALW for “Sidewalk Stories,” (Parts 1, 2 and 3).
• SCIENCE REPORTING (print/online — small division): Tanvi Dutta Gupta, Jillian Magtoto and Guananí Gómez Van-Cortright with Bay Nature for “Sea Stars, Sea Otters, and Sperm Whales: Coastal Discoveries.”
• SCIENCE REPORTING (print/online — large division): Ramin Skibba with Rolling Stone for “It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Space Trash!”
• SCIENCE REPORTING (radio/audio/podcast): Laura Klivans, Ezra David Romero and Danielle Venton of KQED for the series “Science Meets Daily Life in KQED’s Audio Reporting,” (Parts 1, 2 and 3).
• SCIENCE REPORTING (TV/video): Gabriela Quirós, Josh Cassidy, Rosa Tuirán, Mimi Schiffman and Laura Klivans of KQED for their “Deep Look” series, (Part 1, 2 and 3).
• STUDENT JOURNALISM (print/online — student publication): The staff of The Citizen at Laney College for “The Citizen’s Watchful Eye on PCCD,” (Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4).
• STUDENT JOURNALISM (print/online — community publication): Isaac González Díaz and Precious Rios with Voices of Monterey Bay for “Young Voices coverage of the City of Salinas,” (Parts 1, 2 and 3).
• STUDENT JOURNALISM (TV/video): Camille LeDuc with The Express and LPCExpressNews.com For “The Hawks Sterling Leader.” 
• STUDENT JOURNALISM (radio/audio/podcast — small division): Arundathi Nair with Peninsula Press for the series “American Myths.” 
• STUDENT JOURNALISM (radio/audio/podcast — large division): Audreyanah McAfee with KQED for “A Basketball Trailblazer: My Mother, the WNBA Star You’ve Never Heard Of.”
• TECHNOLOGY REPORTING (print/online — small division): Troy Wolverton with the San Francisco Examiner for a series on San Francisco’s large tech companies.
• TECHNOLOGY REPORTING (print/online — large division): Stephen Council of SFGate for reporting on LinkedIn and PG&E. 

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