The San Diego Union-Tribune Staff received 38 awards at the annual San Diego Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists banquet for work published in 2023. The newspaper earned 19 first-place awards, nine second-place awards and 11 third-place awards.
The newspaper also received the 2024 Excellence in Journalism Award for its in-depth project, “72 Hours: Inside San Diego County’s Mental Health Crisis.”
FIRST PLACE:Daily Reporting and Writing — Investigative/Enterprise Story. “72 hours”. The San Diego Union-Tribune staffDaily Reporting and Writing — Arts/Entertainment Story (Performing Arts). “Hip-hop at 50: Its global impact has surpassed that of rock ‘n’ roll a generation earlier”. George VargaDaily Reporting and Writing — Profile. “Matt Swanson is San Diego’s globe-trotting uncommon denominator between Eric Clapton and Jason Mraz”. George VargaDaily Reporting and Writing — Opinion/Editorial. “SB 596 would “chill” First Amendment rights at school board meetings”. Jan GoldsmithDaily Reporting and Writing — Review/Criticism. “Joni Mitchell’s surprise performance at Hollywood Bowl Wayne Shorter tribute earns standing ovation”. George VargaDaily Reporting and Writing — Science/Technology Story, “Is the El Cajon Police Department sharing license plate data illegally? Some lawyers, lawmakers say yes.” Lyndsay Winkley
Daily Reporting and Writing — Series. “20 years after the Cedar fire: How the firestorms of 2003 shaped San Diego County”. Teri Figueroa, Karen Kucher, David Garrick, Gary Robbins and Paul SissonDigital — Entertainment Site. The San Diego Union-Tribune entertainment site. The San Diego Union Tribune staffDigital — News Site. The San Diego Union-Tribune. The San Diego Union-Tribune Staff
Daily Reporting and Writing — Breaking News Story. “Dramatic video shows suspect shooting San Diego police sergeant in head at close range”. Lyndsay Winkley
Daily Reporting and Writing — Business Story. “Leather Magic, longtime Point Loma shoe and leather repair shop, hopes for a second life”. Roxana PopescuDaily Reporting and Writing — Column. “Voracious and victorious in Vegas; Never a dull moment with Zizzy in town; Brooklyn home: No views, no peace, no quiet, no parking: $4 million”. Irv ErdosDaily Reporting and Writing — Criminal Justice Story. “Audio reveals tense, emotional meeting in DA’s office over SDSU gang rape allegations”. Lyndsay Winkley and Teri Figueroa
Daily Reporting and Writing — Education Story. “Perkins K-8”. Kristen TaketaDaily Reporting and Writing — Feature Story (Light Subject). “At San Diego potluck, friendship and pie are on the menu. Flakes need not apply.”. Roxana PopescuDaily Reporting and Writing — Food Story. “Apple picking season on track for success in Julian, even in Hilary’s aftermath”. Lauren Mapp
Daily Reporting and Writing — Government Story. “San Diego’s new short-term rental rules say no more than one license per person. So how did one owner get more than 100?” Lori Weisberg and Roxana PopescuDaily Reporting and Writing — Health Story. “A new court to treat mentally ill people is being billed as ‘completely voluntary.’ But is it?” Teri Figueroa and Lyndsay Winkley
SECOND PLACE:
Daily Reporting and Writing — Arts/Entertainment Story (Performing Arts).. “Appreciation: Burt Bacharach, dead at 94, was a music legend who spoke out: ‘I account for what I will say’” George VargaDaily Reporting and Writing — Opinion/Editorial. “Yet another ‘commitment’ to a sewage fix doesn’t cut it. San Diego needs results. Now.” The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial BoardDaily Reporting and Writing — Science/Technology Story. “12-year-old amputee surfs again with ‘water leg’ from this San Diego company”. Natallie Rocha and Nelvin Cepeda
Daily Reporting and Writing — Review/Criticism. Stevie Nicks spun an expertly calibrated musical web at her San Diego concert”. George Varga
Daily Reporting and Writing — Sports Story. “Analytics would make football more entertaining — unlike baseball, basketball”. Chris Reed
Daily Reporting and Writing — Breaking News Story. “Man trapped for possibly days in Sunset Cliffs crevasse freed after 19-hour rescue”. Lauren J. Mapp and Jeff McDonald
Daily Reporting and Writing — Business Story. “Without much choice, Comic-Con goes back to its roots”.Phillip MolnarDaily Reporting and Writing — Column. “I come from a cross-border family just like the hero of Cinco de Mayo, Ignacio Zaragoza; How the arrest of Dodgers star Julio Urías evoked a grim memory; My parents could wash their hair in the Tijuana River. That all changed in the 1970s.” Tania NavarroDaily Reporting and Writing — Criminal Justice Story. “The politician, the beauty queen and the lawyer: How a failed councilman came to face 8 days in jail”. Jeff McDonald
THIRD PLACE:
Daily Reporting and Writing — Profile. “Former DEA agent has a rare gift: kids actually listen to him”. Karen Kucher
Daily Reporting and Writing — Arts/Entertainment Story (Performing Arts). “Should there be a mandatory retirement age from concerts for over-the-hill rock stars?” George Varga
Daily Reporting and Writing — Multicultural Story “For Indigenous men playing in world championship this week, lacrosse isn’t just a sport. It’s medicine.” Lauren J. Mapp
Daily Reporting and Writing — News Story. “Infamous producer of failed Del Mar horse show arrested on suspicion of murder-for-hire” Lyndsay Winkley
Daily Reporting and Writing — Series, “The real cost of child care.” Kristen TaketaDaily Reporting and Writing — Breaking News Story. “‘We lost all our fuel’: Pilot killed when small Cessna crashes in La Jolla”. Karen Kucher, Teri Figueroa and Caleb Lunetta
Daily Reporting and Writing — Column. “The whitest paint ever made can help respond to the climate emergency. Really.; Will artificial intelligence take a sinister or a strange turn? It’ll decide.; Global basketball revolution began in… San Diego? Here’s the case.” Chris ReedDaily Reporting and Writing — Food Story. “San Diego TikTok influencer left a $1K tip. Now, this local taco vendor is busier than ever”. Natallie RochaDaily Reporting and Writing — Health Story. “Parents dream of a cure for Sanfilippo syndrome, a childhood dementia that comes with a ‘death sentence’”. Lauren J. MappDaily Reporting and Writing — Housing/Development Story. “Will this state housing law destroy San Diego’s single-family neighborhoods?” Phillip Molnar and Emily AlvarengaDaily Reporting and Writing — Housing Insecurity Story. “San Diego County is the nation’s second-most expensive metro area. What does that mean for seniors?” Lauren J. Mapp
In addition, Irv Erdos was awarded the Herbert Lockwood “Woody” Award for Humor Writing. “Brooklyn aunts proclaim: ‘Tis the sea, son’”.
This story was corrected to reflect that Gayle Lynn Falkenthal's first place award was won on behalf of another media outlet.
