In summary
CalMatters work was praised for showing “deep reporting” and “empathy” in this year’s Golden State Journalism Awards from the Sacramento Press Club.
CalMatters won four of this year’s Golden State Journalism Awards, for Capitol and environment reporting, California Voices commentary, and TV reporting driven by Digital Democracy.
The awards are given by the Sacramento Press Club for politics and public policy reporting across the state.
Alexei Koseff won for daily Capitol beat reporting.
The award is for a body of journalism showing “consistent daily excellence in beat reporting about the Capitol and/or state government.” Other finalists were journalists from Politico, the Los Angeles Times and KFF Health News.
Judges wrote: “We found Koseff’s entry to have an impressive range of Capitol-related stories, with stories that would meet the interests and needs of all Californians. We appreciated the mix of Capitol coverage approaches — accountability, following the money, and an inside glimpse at how the sausage is made. The entry covering Gov. Newsom’s promises on gun control was singled out for its approach and ability to cast a national eye on what happens in California’s Capitol. His entry reflected a deep understanding and skill on this vital beat.”
Koseff was awarded for highlights of his beat reporting: stories explaining why Gavin Newsom’s gun control constitutional amendment hasn’t gone beyond California, how California Democrats struck back against local conservative rebellions on LGBTQ rights and abortion, why no one spent more money than Google to lobby California officials, how Gavin Newsom had fallen short of his pledge to release his tax returns every year, and why Democratic messaging pivoted from ‘Trump-proofing’ California to affordability after the November election.
Rachel Becker won for environmental reporting.
An award that “recognizes exceptional reporting about policy, politics and activism related to water, wildfire, energy, climate change, pollution, endangered species and other environmental topics.” Other finalists were journalists from KQED and Capital & Main.
Judges wrote: “These stories, with their geographic sweep and intimate portraits, reveal the human toll of the state’s failure to confront its multiple water challenges, and the interplay between them. Becker documents how the depletion of groundwater in the San Joaquin Valley has led to a wrenching battle between farmers and regulators, while tens of thousands of low-income residents lack the most basic necessity – clean drinking water. Becker’s coverage shines because of her deep reporting, thoughtful storytelling and empathy for people caught in the crosshairs of water politics.”
Her 2024 reporting exposed policy failures underlying California’s collapsing fisheries, dwindling groundwater, polluted drinking water and aging infrastructure. She paid special attention to disadvantaged rural communities and skillfully covered generations-old tensions between agriculture and wildlife.
Yousef Baig won for opinion and commentary.
The award for “exceptional commentary that changed minds, held the powerful to account or perhaps simply delighted its audience.” Other finalists were commentary writers from the Los Angeles Times (Robert Greene, who recently joined the CalMatters commentary section) and Capital & Main.
Judges wrote: “We’ve all heard the attacks on the ‘train to nowhere.’ It’s never particularly easy to go against the pack. But Yousef Baig decided to get past the rhetoric and do real reporting on California’s high-speed rail project. For most Californians high speed rail is out of sight, out of mind, one of a long list of state government boondoggles. But in Fresno, people see hope for the future and a chance for revival. Without pulling punches – Baig writes about the delays and cost overruns – he delivered an honest, clear-eyed and compelling defense of the nation’s most ambitious high-speed rail project, interviewing merchants and workers, and high government officials in an especially strong piece of commentary.”
Baig’s commentary reviews California’s high-speed rail project outside of the traditional political worldview: centered in the Central Valley cities where the bullet train’s path will be centered.
“If you listen to California’s political class, the high-speed rail project sounds like a textbook boondoggle – over-budget, delayed and larded up with waste,” Baig writes. “Yet in communities across California’s farm belt, the discourse is refreshingly different. It’s a symbol of transformation for a region that’s already bursting with activity.”
CalMatters’ collaboration with CBS News won for TV enterprise reporting.
The honor is a powerful pairing of the rich Digital Democracy government-transparency database with reporting by Julie Watts of CBS News. The award is for Watts, CalMatters reporter Ryan Sabalow and Foaad Khosmood, an architect of Digital Democracy at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Other finalists were journalists from ABC10 and KCRA. No judging comments were provided for this award.
“California’s Fentanyl Fight” focused on advocates for fentanyl legislation who were upset to learn through Digital Democracy that their bills died when legislators declined to vote.
Watts’ broadcast followed a CalMatters’ story — “Power is never having to say ‘no.’ How California Democrats kill bills without voting against them” — co-authored by Sabalow and Watts. The story used data from Digital Democracy to look at more than 1 million votes cast by current legislators and revealed that Democrats voted “no” less than 1% of the time. Instead of directly voting against a bill, Democrats often killed bills by declining to vote.
Christopher Buchanan, a former reporting fellow for the CalMatters College Journalism Network, and Shaanth Nanguneri, a former CalMatters reporting intern, were among the few journalists awarded for courage in journalism.
The award “recognizes a journalist or team of journalists who displayed exceptional courage to bring necessary coverage to the public.”
Judges wrote that a Gaza protest and counter-protest at UCLA “devolved into hours of violence, unchecked by the university or police. At least four UCLA student journalists were surrounded by counter-protesters, who sprayed the students with chemicals and punched and kicked two of them.”
Buchanan, covering the protest for the Daily Bruin at UCLA, was beaten and kicked. He lost his phone during the assault, but he found it later, retrieved the video he shot, and published it.”