CalMatters’ investigative journalism and newsletter take top honors in statewide contest

CalMatters journalists took home the top two investigative awards, along with first place for in-depth reporting and first place for an email newsletter, at this weekend’s California Journalism Awards. 

Byrhonda Lyons won first place for her investigative reporting on California’s parolee rehabilitation failures, which triggered statewide impact.

The judges described her work as “great storytelling and impressive depth of reporting” and said this: “CalMatters’ rehab investigation by Byrhonda Lyons revealed how a prisoner rehab operator manipulated the very people who came to him for help. Lyons’ work with court records is outstanding.”

Robert Lewis and Wendy Fry won first place for environmental reporting for exposing the ways California dumps toxic waste across state borders. The judges called their work a “well-reported and well-written series of articles that focuses on what could easily have been an overlooked problem.” The reporting was a finalist earlier this year in the Investigative Reporters and Editors awards contest.

Their work also won second place in the investigative category, with these judges’ comments: “This is a great example of explanatory journalism about a potentially dull topic. I wasn’t bored at all as a reader, and even though it was a very long series of stories, it kept me engaged and curious about what’s being dumped in our own landfills.” 

Lauren Hepler won first place for in-depth reporting for her four-part series dissecting the pandemic fiasco in the state’s unemployment system. Read more about how Hepler completed the year-long investigation involving more than 2,500 pages of public records.

The judges described her work this way: “Powerful, impactful journalism done by a single staffer over the course of a year. Truly impressive. It localized a national issue while showing how deserving people suffered while criminals victimized and businesses profited.” In another category, the judges called her work “top-notch” and said she “methodically strips away the chaos and the finger pointing to show how tens of billions of dollars evaporated.”

Lynn La won first place in newsletter writing for the weekday WhatMatters email newsletter. If you don’t already receive it, sign up now!

The reporting awards were shared with many CalMatters journalists who brought the work to life, including: Miguel Gutierrez, Jr., with photography, Adriana Heldiz with illustrations, Jeremia Kimelman with data reporting and Liliana Michelena with web production.

Other CalMatters honors include:

• Alexei Koseff won second place in business and economy reporting for reporting on the cannabis economy. Judges said: “This series gave an in-depth look into how the legalization of the cannabis industry changed things for the key stakeholders. The human elements to the story were presented with empathy balanced with facts and voices from those impacted.” He won first place in the Best of the West awards earlier this year for the same work.
• Marisa Kendall won second place in homelessness reporting for her work contrasting California’s approach to homelessness with what has worked in Texas.
• Ben Christopher won third place for a series of stories on housing and land-use reporting. Said one judge: “I really enjoyed Christopher’s ability to take state/local policy matters and mold them into locally relevant, well-written portraits of how things are playing out on the ground in communities like San Diego and Santa Monica.”
• Julie Cart won third place in environmental reporting for her story, “Harnessing a windfall.” Judges said: “Well-researched articles. Proposed questions that nobody can answer, yet was effective because that is really the whole point of the stories.”
• Rachel Becker won third place in feature reporting for a story examining the world’s largest dam demolition on the Klamath River.
• Gutierrez won third place in news photography for “Gavin Newsom, the sequel: Governor starts second term as leader of liberal America.”
• Nicole Foy won third place in labor reporting for “The hidden cost of California’s hot workplaces: 20,000 job injuries a year.”
• Koseff also won fourth place in public service journalism for “A failure to communicate: California government cuts back press access.”
• Joe Hong and Erica Yee won fourth place in youth and education coverage for “The teacher turnover trap.” Judges said it was “a detailed and well-presented series on the reasons why some schools struggle to hold onto experienced teachers, the effects of high turnover on student achievement and the barriers to solving the problem. The writers ask tough questions of lawmakers in charge.”
• Kristen Hwang, Ana Ibarra and Yee won fourth place in enterprise reporting for their coverage of maternity ward closures that are leaving large stretches of the state without care. Judges said it was “an important topic fleshed out with interviews and data; good graphics, too. Should be held up by readers demanding action.”