Capital & Main Wins 20 Prizes at the Southern California Journalism Awards

Capital & Main won 7 first-place prizes and 20 overall at the 66th annual Southern California Journalism Awards, one of the largest regional media contests in the nation. Winners were announced by the Los Angeles Press Club at a gala on June 23 at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown L.A.

Cerise Castle was awarded first place in the Educational Reporting category for her stories on Temecula’s far-right school board. Judges described Castle’s work as “great storytelling that helps guide the reader through gnarly politics with real consequences for students.”

Robin Urevich and Gabriel Sandoval of ProPublica won top honors in the Culture News, Online category for their story on the long-term residents of a residential hotel, who lost their homes and communities when the property was converted into a tourist hotel. Said the judges, “This poignantly written and well researched story illuminates what is at stake in the displacement of affordable housing — not just roofs over people’s heads, but the loss ofentire supportive and creative communities.”

Jessica Goodheart’s reporting on the threat to background actors from artificial intelligence was awarded first place for Entertainment News, Online. 

Rick Wartzman took first place in the Consumer News or Feature category for his piece on the state of the U.S. education system. Judges wrote, “this eye-opening, detailed report on the structural failures of our system of higher learning is frightening — as well as a call to action.”

A complete list of winners is below.

First Place:

• Website, News Organization Exclusive to The Internet — Capital & Main staff
• Consumer News or Feature (all media platforms) — Rick Wartzman, College for All Has Failed America. Can It Be Fixed?
• Educational Reporting (print/online) — Cerise Castle, ‘The Kids Are Afraid to Be Themselves’
• Immigration Reporting (print/online) — Gabriel Thompson, For Many of the Poorest in a Central Valley Community, a Crisis Deepens
• Culture News (online) — Robin Urevich and Gabriel Sandoval, L.A. Promised to Preserve Low-Cost Housing. These Tenants’ Homes Were Turned Into Hotel Rooms Anyway. 
• Entertainment News, Film/Broadcast (online) — Jessica Goodheart, Background Actors Say Fears of Being Replaced by AI Come From Their Experiences
• Activism Journalism (online) — Jack Ross, In Los Angeles, a Friendship Grows Out of Housing Strife

Second Place:

• Technology Reporting (all media platforms) — Audrey Carleton, Crypto Mining at Gas Wells Sparks Regulatory Headaches, Outcry in Northwestern Pennsylvania
• Medical/Health Reporting (print/online) — Annakai Geshlider, No Time for Permission
• Hard News (online) — Jessica Goodheart, One of the Largest Evictions in Los Angeles History Is Based on Claims the City Denies
• General News (online) — Aaron Cantú, California Lets Companies Keep ‘Dangerous’ Oil Wells Unplugged Forever
• Investigative, Government Related (online) — Robin Urevich and Gabriel Sandoval, Checked Out: How L.A. Failed to Stop Landlords From Turning Low-Cost Housing Into Tourist Hotels
• Environmental Reporting (online) — Jerry Redfern, After a Century, Oil and Gas Problems Persist on Navajo Lands
• News Feature, Film/Broadcast (online) — Jessica Goodheart, Background Actors Say Fears of Being Replaced by AI Come From Their Experiences

Third Place:

• Online Journalist of the Year — Robin Urevich
• Public Service News or Feature (print/online) — Robin Urevich and Gabriel Sandoval, Checked Out: How L.A. Failed to Stop Landlords From Turning Low-Cost Housing Into Tourist Hotels
• Investigative, Government Related (online) — Cerise Castle, Los Angeles Sheriff’s Second-In-Command Has Alleged Gang Tattoo
• Hard News Feature, General News (online) — Jack Ross, In Los Angeles, a Friendship Grows Out of Housing Strife 
• Soft News Feature, General News (online) — Jack Ross, ‘There’s Just No Hiding’: Inside the Self-Defense Class for Landlords
• Columnist (online) — George B. Sánchez-Tello, California Uncovered