Capital & Main Scores 10 First Place Wins at Southern California Journalism Awards

Capital & Main took home 21 Southern California Journalism Awards, including 10 first place wins, at the L.A. Press Club’s annual gala in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday night. 

Capital & Main reporter Jeremy Lindenfeld won the prestigious Journalist of the Year award in the Online Journalist Tied to a Publication category for impactful reporting that explores how national policy decisions ripple through the lives of ordinary people.

The publication won first and second place in the Public Service News or Feature category. Reporter Robin Urevich took home the first place award for her series “Locked Out: How Some of Los Angeles’ Biggest Landlords Leave Section 8 Tenants Behind,” with one judge commenting, “The out and out rejection of one of the nation’s best ways to help families lift themselves out of poverty is reprehensible. Hopefully this reporting will lead to serious sanctions against the offenders.” 

Second place in this category went to Robert J. Lopez for his investigative series “California’s Child Farmworkers: Exhausted, Underpaid and Toiling in Toxic Fields,” which found that California is failing to protect underage farmworkers who labor in harsh and dangerous conditions to provide Americans with fresh fruit and vegetables. The series was produced in collaboration with the Los Angeles Times. Robert’s series also won first place in the Investigative Reporting category for large-circulation print publications. 

The series featured photography by acclaimed photojournalist Barbara Davidson, who won first place in the Photo Essay, News/News Feature category. A judge commented, “These images masterfully tell a visual story that is extremely difficult to tell. It gives light to a sensitive topic while maintaining artful composition.”

Columnist and reporter Mark Kreidler won first place in the Obituary/In Appreciation of Politics/Business/Arts Personalities category for his piece “The Loss of Kent Wong and the Future of Labor and Immigrant Rights in California.” On Mark’s piece, the judges wrote, “This is not only a lovely commemoration of a life, but a look forward at what his community will be without Kent Wong. The analysis is incisive and well told.” 

Kreidler also took another first place win in the Columnist on Politics (online) category for his column “State of Inequality.” “Mark Kreidler is a storyteller in the truest sense of the word. His work blends anecdotal and narrative writing with hard facts and persuasive argumentation,” wrote one of the judges. “Further, his writing possesses a deep sense of empathy and compassion for his subjects. In short, great work!”

In the Columnist on Current Events (online) category, Erin Aubry Kaplan won first place for her column “The Arc.” A judge commented, “Erin Aubry Kaplan beautifully captures and elucidates history with a strong voice and perspective. Kudos on a fine set of columns!”

Lindenfeld also won a first place award for his ICE-related immigration reporting in “‘I’ve Never Seen Anything Like it.’ Aggressive ICE Raids Led One Man to Ask: Should I Self-Deport?” The judge wrote, “This story details the agonizing choice made by Juan Ramón González to self-deport back to Mexico rather than risk being seized in a violent arrest and shipped off to prison. His dread of being targeted in an immigration raid led to his heartbreaking decision to leave the Pasadena community where he had lived for decades.”

Kate Morrissey snagged a first place win in the Activism Journalism (online) category. The judges wrote about her article “International Tribunal Condemns U.S. Border Officials for Torturing, Killing Immigrant,” “Great interview and investigation. The images in the article brought the human aspect of this story to light — with the wife mourning.” 

A complete list of winners is below.

JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR

ONLINE JOURNALIST, tied to an organization
* 1st Place – Jeremy Lindenfeld

ALL MEDIA PLATFORMS

FAITH/SPIRITUAL REPORTING
* 3rd Place – Jeremy Lindenfeld, “Trump’s War on ICE-Fearing Catholics”

PRINT/ONLINE

PUBLIC SERVICE NEWS or FEATURE
* 1st Place – Robin Urevich, “Locked Out: How Some of Los Angeles’ Biggest Landlords Leave Section 8 Tenants Behind”
* 2nd Place – Robert J. Lopez, “California’s Child Farmworkers: Exhausted, Underpaid and Toiling in Toxic Fields”

LOCAL POLITICS/GOVERNMENT REPORTING, Homelessness/Housing
* 3rd Place – Robin Urevich, “Locked Out: How Some of Los Angeles’ Biggest Landlords Leave Section 8 Tenants Behind”

LOCAL POLITICS/GOVERNMENT REPORTING, Governing
* 2nd Place – Robert J. Lopez, “California’s Child Farmworkers: Exhausted, Underpaid and Toiling in Toxic Fields”

OBITUARY/IN APPRECIATION, Politics/Business/Arts Personalities
* 1st Place – Mark Kreidler, “The Loss of Kent Wong and the Future of Labor and Immigrant Rights in California”

IMMIGRATION REPORTING, ICE related
* 1st Place – Jeremy Lindenfeld, “‘I’ve Never Seen Anything Like it.’ Aggressive ICE Raids Led One Man to Ask: Should I Self-Deport?”

IMMIGRATION REPORTING, Sociopolitical
* 2nd Place – Kate Morrissey, “Stranded”

SPORTS COMMENTARY
* 3rd Place – George B. Sánchez-Tello, “Running While Black, Latino or Asian American — Under Trump”

ART/PHOTOGRAPHY All Platforms

NEWS PHOTO, Single Image
* 1st Place – Jeremy Lindenfeld, “Smoke drifts over Will Rogers State Beach during the Palisades fire”

PHOTO ESSAY (single topic), News/News Feature
* 1st Place – Barbara Davidson, “California’s Child Farmworkers: Exhausted, Underpaid and Toiling in Toxic Fields”

NEWSPAPERS Over 50,000 circulation

NEWS FEATURE, General News/Hard News
* 2nd Place – Robert J. Lopez, “California’s Child Farmworkers: Exhausted, Underpaid and Toiling in Toxic Fields”

INVESTIGATIVE
* 1st Place – Robert J. Lopez, “California’s Child Farmworkers: Exhausted, Underpaid and Toiling in Toxic Fields”

ONLINE

HARD NEWS
* 3rd Place – Jeremy Lindenfeld, “Forest Service Cuts Leave Firefighters Mowing Lawns While Morale Craters”

INVESTIGATIVE, Entertainment or Business Related
* 3rd Place – Jennifer Oldham, “Oil and Gas Companies Used Banned Toxic Chemicals Near the Rocky Mountains”

INVESTIGATIVE, Government Related
* 2nd Place – Robin Urevich, “Locked Out: How Some of Los Angeles’ Biggest Landlords Leave Section 8 Tenants Behind”

ACTIVISM JOURNALISM
* 1st Place – Kate Morrissey, “International Tribunal Condemns U.S. Border Officials for Torturing, Killing Immigrant”

HARD NEWS FEATURE, General News
* 2nd Place – Jerry Redfern, “The David vs. Goliath Story of a Ranching Family and an Oil Giant”

COLUMNIST on Politics
*  1st Place – Mark Kreidler, “State of Inequality”

COLUMNIST on Current Events
*  1st Place – Erin Aubry Kaplan, “The Arc”

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