The Marin Independent Journal has been a beacon of top-notch journalism for decades, and this year has been no different.
The organization earned 20 awards — including five first-place honors — in an annual statewide journalism contest.
The California News Publishers Association announced the results of its California Journalism Awards at a gala in Universal City on May 17. The association, which distributes awards by circulation division, includes hundreds of publications.
The judges honored the IJ with a first-place award for in-depth reporting for a six-part series on President Trump’s impact on Marin. The paper also took the top prize for outstanding local news coverage of the November 2024 elections.
“This year’s awards are special because they recognize the achievements of nearly every member of the news team, through the in-depth reporting and election night accolades,” said Rob Devincenzi, president and publisher of the Independent Journal. “I am thankful for the daily impact of our news team and to the important correspondents who add so much depth to our efforts.”
Photo editor Alan Dep won first place for a photo story/essay capturing a dog photography workshop for children. Political columnist Dick Spotswood won a first-place award for pieces on affordable housing and election integrity.
Political cartoonist George Russell won first- through fifth-place awards for topics ranging from a trail sharing plan on Mount Tamalpais to a gubernatorial order to remove camps of homeless people from state land.
The Independent Journal also was recognized with second- and fourth-place awards for editorials by Brad Breithaupt on San Quentin’s transformation and the newly unified Sausalito Marin City School District campus.
In coverage of local government, reporter Richard Halstead won third place for a series of stories on the extended closure of the Marin Veterans’ Memorial Auditorium.
Photographers took home a slew of awards. Aside from his first-place honor, Dep earned second place for a feature photo, fourth place for an artistic photo and fifth place for a news photo. Sherry LaVars was honored with a fourth-place win for a feature photo and fifth place for a sports action photo.
Danny Schmidt won third place for a sports feature story on the dilemma Marin fans faced over whom to root for in the NFC title game: the 49ers, or local favorite Jared Goff, the quarterback for the Lions.
Music columnist Paul Liberatore earned second- and fourth-place awards for a tribute to the late Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh and the rebirth of the historic Record Plant recording studio in Sausalito.
“These wins spotlight the depth and talent of the IJ’s reporters, photographers, editors and contributors,” said Jennifer Upshaw Swartz, managing editor of the Independent Journal. “We’re so proud of their dedication to high-quality local news.”