Weeklys publications consistently bring home top awards at the California Journalism Awards and other contests, including six of the state’s top award, General Excellence—Good Times won it four times in a row—and, in recent years, and four consecutive first place wins for investigative reporting.
Metro Silicon Valley was chosen three years in a row for providing the state’s best weekly Arts & Entertainment coverage.
We are proud to deliver some of California’s best journalism and writing. Below are some of the awards we’ve won.
California Journalism Awards
General Excellence
Pajaronian, First Place, 2022
Good Times, First Place, 2022
Good Times, First Place, 2021
Good Times, First Place, 2020
Good Times, First Place, 2019
Gilroy Dispatch, First Place, 2018
Good Times, 4th Place, 2023
Investigative Reporting
Metro Silicon Valley, Second Place, 2020: VTA’s Contract Missteps Risk Derailing Diridon Station Project
North Bay Bohemian, First Place, 2019
Metro Silicon Valley, First Place, 2018: Racist, Sexist, Homophobic Texts Between Sheriff’s Deputies Force Resignation of Deputy Sheriffs’ Association President, Jennifer Wadsworth
Metro Silicon Valley, First Place, 2016: Skipping Out on Bail, Jennifer Wadsworth “Powerful indictment of a corrupt and dysfunctional bail bonds system. Deep, careful reporting and clear writing make this one of the top entries in a hyper-competitive category.”
North Bay Bohemian, Second Place, 2013
Metro Silicon Valley, Second Place, 2005: Hungry, Stett Holbrook
Metro Silicon Valley, Second Place, 2004
Metro Silicon Valley, First Place, 2002: Lauren Stein, Jagged Little Pill
Metro Silicon Valley, First Place, 1997: Unhung Hero, Ami Chen Mills
Metro Santa Cruz, Crash Hotels, Kelly Luker
Arts & Entertainment Coverage
Good Times, Second Place, 2019
Metro Silicon Valley, Third Place, 2019
Metro Silicon Valley, First Place, 2018
Metro Silicon Valley, First Place, 2017
Metro Silicon Valley, First Place, 2016
Metro Silicon Valley, Second Place, 2010
Metro Silicon Valley, First Place, 2009
Metro Silicon Valley, First Place, 2008
Metro Santa Cruz, First Place, 2006
North Bay Bohemian, First Place, 2004
Metro Silicon Valley, Second Place, 2001
Metro Silicon Valley, Second Place, 2001
In Depth Reporting
Metro Silicon Valley, Third Place, 2020: In-Depth Reporting, California Gets Devastating Welcome to Era of Megafires
Metro Silicon Valley, First Place, 2017: CEQA Racket Extracts 11th Hour Payoffs Amidst Housing Crisis, Jennifer Wadsworth, Dan Pulcrano, Tom Gogola “Through its digging, extensive reporting and clear but passionate writing, Metro Silicon Valley produced first-rate work.”
Public Service Journalism
Metro Silicon Valley, First Place, 2020: SJPD Officers Mock Muslims, BLM Protesters on Social Media
Metro Silicon Valley, First Place, 2018: Dominic Caserta Sexual Harassment Exposed, Jennifer Wadsworth “A great example of a newspaper not waiting around for government types to get rid bad actors. Bad news teacher meant big news for this winner.”
Pacific Sun, 2nd Place, 2023: Nikki Silverstein, Two police officers cited for felonies after Pacific Sun coverage of beating focuses attention on issue
Breaking News
Metro Silicon Valley, Breaking News, First Place, 2020: CCW Defendants Seek to Disqualify DA
Morgan Hill Times, First Place, 2019: “Community news reporting at its best.”
Morgan Hill Times, Second Place, 2015: Lying MH veteran apologizes, Michael Moore, Jack Foley
The Pajaronian, 3rd Place, 2023: Tarmo Hannula, Todd Guild; Pajaro flooding
Environmental Reporting
North Bay Bohemian, First Place, 2017: Of Water and Wine, Stett Holbrook
North Bay Bohemian, Second Place, 2015: Lawson’s Landing, Thomas Gogola
Good Times, Second Place, 2015: “Foggy Notion,” “Tracing the Elements,” Maria Grusauskas, Henry Houskeeper
Metro Silicon Valley, First Place, 1997: To Shoot a Thief, Ami Chen Mills
Business News
Metro Silicon Valley, Second Place, 2020: Silicon Valley’s Arts Groups, Restaurateurs Struggle Through Covid Quarantine
Land Use Reporting
Metro Silicon Valley, Second Place, 2020: Catalyze SV Fights NIMBY Backlash by Forging Alliances with Residents, Developers
Metro Silicon Valley, Third Place, 2020: VTA’s Contract Missteps Risk Derailing Diridon Station Project
Columns
Metro Silicon Valley, Third Place, 2020: Local Labor Escaped Reckoning for Earlier Racist Campaigns
Writing
Pacific Sun, Second Place, 2022: Coverage of 2022 Elections
Metro Silicon Valley, First Place, 2020: Hundreds of Rubber Bullets Later, San Jose Confronts Human Toll of Forceful Tactics
North Bay Bohemian, First Place, 2016: Condemned Men Talking, Tom Gogola
Metro Silicon Valley, Second Place, 2016: Stuck Lovers, Jennifer Wadsworth
North Bay Bohemian, First Place, 2015: Music on the Margins, Charlie Swanson
Metro Silicon Valley, Second Place, 1998
Enterprise News Story or Series
Metro Silicon Valley, First Place, 2020: Racism in the Streets: How Homelessness Became a Civil Rights Issue in South Bay
Hollister Free Lance, First Place: Funds Missing from Charitable Trust, Barry Holtzclaw
Coverage of Local Government
Metro Silicon Valley, First Place, 2020: San Jose Quietly Drops Curfew Citations Amid Claims of Selective Enforcement
Pacific Sun, First Place, 2022
Good Times, First Place: Unit Shifter, Jacob Pierce
Freedom of Information
Metro Silicon Valley, 2003: County’s Bounty, a five-month battle with county officials to obtain salaries of top-level managers, who were given pay increases as county workers were being laid off
Coverage of the COVID-19 Pandemic-Health Reporting
Metro Silicon Valley, First Place, 2020: Prolonged Testing Delays Undermine Santa Clara County’s Efforts to Curb Coronavirus
Wildfire Coverage
Metro Silicon Valley, First Place, 2020: California Gets Devastating Welcome to Era of Megafires
Metro Silicon Valley, Third Place, 2020: South Bay Sees Bizarre ‘Mini Boom’ as Thousands of Fire Evacuees Pour into DTSJ
Front Page Design
Metro Silicon Valley, First Place, 2016: We Will Survive
Gilroy Dispatch, First Place, 2015: Stephanie Woehrmann, Roger Black, Dan Pulcrano
Pajaronian, First Place, 2023: Todd Guild, Tarmo Hannula, Johanna Miller, Erik Chalhoub, Hon Truong
Editorial Comment
Hollister Free Lance, First Place: San Benito County Leaders Silent on Dabo, Barry Holtzclaw
Sports Section
Hollister Free Lance, First Place: Emanuel Lee, sports editor
Sports Feature Story
Hollister Free Lance, First Place 2016: Life Renewed for Hughes-Fudge, Emanuel Lee
Sports Photo
Gilroy Dispatch, First Place, 2014: Goodbye, Lora Schraft
Association of Alternative Newsmedia AAN Awards.
Investigative Reporting (David Carr Award)
Metro Silicon Valley, Second Place, 2019: Sheriff Texting Scandal, Jennifer Wadsworth
Arts Feature
Good Times Santa Cruz, Second Place, 2019: Santa Cruz Goes Dark, Steve Palopoli
Cover Design
Good Times Santa Cruz, First Place, 2017: Tabi Zarrinnaal
Free Speech
Metro Silicon Valley, First Place, 2018: Milpitas City Manager Misuse of Taxpayer Funds, Jennifer Wadsworth
Food Writing
North Bay Bohemian, Second Place, 2011:Coldest Beer in Town, Black Diamonds and Building a Better Berry by Alastair Bland
North Bay Bohemian, First Place, 2007: Daedalus Howell, Swirl
Metro Santa Cruz, First Place, 2009: The Jester’s Quest, Christina Waters
Music Criticism
North Bay Bohemian, First Place, 2012: Morning Glory gOoD-bAiT and Lapse of Reason, Gabe Meline
Special Sections
Good Times, 2nd Place, 2023, Print Special Section Cover