At the 43rd annual Greater Bay Area Journalism Awards hosted by the San Francisco Press Club, El Tecolote—the Bay Area’s premier Latino bilingual community newspaper—took home an impressive 20 awards. Judges from the press clubs of Milwaukee, New Orleans, San Diego and Cleveland evaluated this year’s entries from journalists in TV, print, radio, digital media and public relations.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s event was celebrated virtually on Sept. 17.

“The news is constantly in a state of flux,” said San Francisco Press Club President Jim Kirkland. “And now we’ve had to contend with an array of disruptions. But journalists always rise to the challenge.” 

The Press Club also honored El Tecolote’s founder Juan Gonzales with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his work at City College of San Francisco, which under his guidance has produced outstanding journalists and the award-winning student run newspaper, The Guardsman. 

Competing in the category of Non-Daily Newspapers, Sita Kuratomi Bhaumik took first place in “Blog/Commentary” for her article “Pilgrimage to former internment camp reveals untold story of Japanese Latin American incarceration.” In “Columns-News/Political,” Sage Mace placed first while Adriana Camarena took second place with her “Unsettled in the Mission” series. 

In “Editorial Cartoon,” Yanely Rivas placed first for her comic “Humanitarian aid is never a crime”.

For “Entertainment Review,” Elissa Jiménez placed first for her piece “Pinay MCs latest album challenges systemic oppression of women,” and Megan Xotchilt Espinoza placed second for her article “Documenting herstory: Book captures the beauty, power of Iconic Maestrapeace mural.” 

In “Feature Story/Light Nature,” Amanda Peterson placed second for her story “All female crew challenges gendered stereotypes of graffiti artists.” In “Feature Story/Serious Nature,” Casey Ticsay placed third for her story “Latina therapist volunteers time at detention camps, turns experiences with migrants into art.”

Jacqueline Pinedo placed second in “General News” for “2020 Census count to play a vital role in funding health for immigrant community.” For “News Story,” Izzy Alvarez placed first with her story “Mission community expresses heartbreak, outrage for death and suffering at the border,” and David Mamaril Horowitz placed third for “Family seeks justice for slain Indigenous mother.”

El Tecolote did exceptionally well in photography, sweeping those categories. In “Photography/Feature,” Carla Hernández Ramírez earned first place with “Mayan Culture,” Amanda Peterson placed second with “Grrrl Brigade,” and Beth LaBerge placed third with “Alex Nieto Anniversary.” 

In “Photography/News,” Amanda Peterson earned first place with “Oakland Teachers Strike,” and Mabel Jiménez placed second with “Tijuana.” In “Photography/Photo Series,” Mabel Jiménez earned first place for “La Frontera.” The “La Frontera” series also earned Mabel Jiménez first place in “Series or Continuing Coverage”

In “Profile,” Gracie Ngo placed first with “Refugee community activist faces deportation from only land he’s ever known.”

And for the first time in its history, El Tecolote earned “Overall Excellence” in “Newspapers-Non-Daily.”

¡Felicidades a todos! Including this year’s Keynote Speaker, Joel Simon. Since 2006, Joel has been the Executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, and got his start as a journalist at El Tecolote in the mid 1980s.

For a complete list of awards, please visit: https://sfpressclub.org/2020/09/17/2020-final-winners-list/