For the second year in a row, Good Times has won first place for General Excellence in the 2021 California Journalism Awards, the California Newspaper Publishers Association announced on Friday.
In awarding GT its top prize for largest-circulation weekly newspapers (25,000 and above), the CNPA’s judges noted the paper is “distinguished by its enterprise reporting.” Good Times also won the award in 2020, and previously in 2006 (when the awards were called the Better Newspapers Contest).
GT’s covers by Kara Brown were recognized with a second-place win in the Front Page Layout and Design category. The judges noted “excellent high-impact covers with true local focus and appeal.”
Alisha Green won second place in the Feature Story category for her story “Shooting For Change,” on conservationist nature photographers, with the judges calling it a “well-written story on an important topic. A different kind of Covid story.”
Jacob Pierce won second place in the Coverage of Local Government category for his article “Blue Shift” on the failure of predictive policing; judges said it was “a fascinating read.” He also won fourth place in Wildfire News Coverage for “Burned After Reading,” his analysis of missed wildfire warnings, and fifth place in Wildfire Feature Coverage for “Heroes or Hindrance?,” about the controversy over citizen brigades.
Steve Palopoli won third place in the Feature Story category for his article “Wild Things,” on the strange challenges faced by the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter during the pandemic, with a judge citing, “Lively writing that made me laugh out loud.” He also won third place in the Profile Story category for his profile of Santa Cruz musician Keith Greeninger, “Music Without Borders.”
