Business Journal wins Gruner honorable mentions

The Business Journal had an honorable outing for the 2024 Gruner Journalism Awards, held Tuesday on the campus of Fresno State.

In their 36th year, the George F. Gruner Awards honor outstanding newspaper journalism in the San Joaquin Valley. George Gruner, the namesake for the awards, is a former editor for “The Fresno Bee” who refused to name a vulnerable source in a story against a judge’s orders. Gruner, who retired in 1988, was on hand for the festivities. He is 99.

Reporter Frank Lopez won an honorable mention in the category of Best Writing for his story about eight workers at a Dinuba supply warehouse who have been at the same job together for 27 years.

Former Business Journal reporter Edward Smith won an honorable mention in the Public Service category for his deep dive into the slippery practices of a mobile home park owner.

The Department of Media, Communications and Journalism at Fresno State independently administers the awards. Entries are judged by professional journalists from outside the contest area.

Sharing the award for public service, the top prize in the large newspapers/digital only category was Fresnoland’s Omar Shaikh Rashad for his coverage of the secrecy surrounding the Fresno City Council’s budget committee.

The other top honoree, Lois Henry, used her website, SJV Water, to detail how the giant J.G. Boswell Farming Co. of Corcoran imperiled area towns and other farmers by its handling of the extensive flooding in the spring of 2023.

Earning honorable mention in the same category was veteran reporter Doug Hoagland of the Munro Review, for his exhaustive work on behind-the-scenes machinations related to Measure P, the Fresno city arts and park tax that is raising millions of dollars annually.

The public service award in the small and weekly newspaper competition went to Darren Fraser of the Mid-Valley Times for breaking and continuing coverage on what became a national story: operation of an illegal and dangerous biolab in the small community of Reedley.

Here’s a rundown of the other awards.

Best News Story

1st place, large dailies/digital only

Gregory Weaver, Fresnoland, for uncovering severe flaws in the state’s environmental review of a major industrial park project proposed in Fresno.

Honorable mention

Tim Sheehan, Fresno Bee for his strong work on the stunning collapse of Bitwise Industries, the Fresno-based organization now mired in bankruptcy and federal prosecution.

1st place, small dailies/weeklies

Parker Bowman, Hanford Sentinel, for his sweeping piece on the devastating flooding in the South Valley last year.

Honorable mention

Danielle Gutierrez, Mid Valley Times/Sun Gazette in Tulare County, for a piece about the overwhelming number of stray and abandoned pets after the pandemic and the impacts, including on the mental health of shelter workers.

Best Column

Large dailies/digital: Garth Stapley, Modesto Bee, for his useful views on the horrific death of a homeless woman who was run over and dragged by mowing equipment in a public park.

Honorable mention: David Taub, GVWire in Fresno. A judge praised Taub’s ”deep reporting” and “compact and flawless” writing about the near-abandonment of a sculpture by a nationally known Fresno artist, and the resulting efforts to save it.

Small papers/weeklies: Parker Bowman, Hanford Sentinel, who tested the authenticity of artificial intelligence by interviewing Chat GPT about the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” TV show.

Honorable mention, Jon Hammond, Tehachapi News for a colorful retelling of the first-ever flight over the Tehachapis, accomplished by a 24-year-old pilot in 1914.

Editorial Writing

Large papers/digital: Tad Weber, Fresno Bee.

Honorable mention: Christine Peterson, Bakersfield Californian.

Small papers/weeklies: Greg Little and Nicole Little of the Mariposa Gazette, for “The Hospital Madness Must Stop.”

Feature Story

Large dailies/digital: John Donegan, Bakersfield Californian, for a sensitive piece about the barriers to asylum faced by African immigrants.

Honorable mention: Juliana Morano, Fresnoland, for humanizing a story about public funding for the arts, focusing on the experiences and work of three artists.

Small papers/weeklies: Greg Little, Mariposa Gazette, for his tale of a woman who gave birth on a mountain road in the back of a Subaru. Her first child arrived on a hospital floor and her second in a hospital elevator.

Honorable mention: Juan Esparza Loera, Vida en el Valle, for his look into the changing world of Mexican folkloric dancing, highlighting a San Jose-based group shaking things up with its LGBTQ+-friendly performances.

Best News Photo

Large dailies/digital: Craig Kohlruss, Fresno Bee, for his drone photo of a lonely structure marooned in Tulare Lake amid 2023’s historic flooding.

Honorable mention: Andy Alfaro, Modesto Bee, for his memorial to the homeless woman tragically killed by a landscaping crew.

Small dailies/weeklies: Ron Holman, Visalia Times-Delta, for a striking shot of Lemoore Naval Air Station sailors returning from a nearly seven-month deployment.

Honorable mention: María G. Ortiz-Briones, Vida en el Valle, for a vibrant image illustrating her story on a Fresno family that raises marigolds for Day of the Dead celebrations.

Sports Photo

Large dailies/digital only Craig Kohlruss, Fresno Bee, for a high school football action shot.

Honorable mention: John Donegan, Bakersfield California, for his image of a motorcyclist in midair during an action sports show.

Small dailies/weeklies

Ron Holman, Visalia Times-Delta, who captured the delighted surprise of a pole vaulter clearing a bar.

Honorable mention: Juan Esparza Loera, Vida en el Valle, for his image from a cross country meet.

Sports Story

Large papers/digital only: Ron Stapp, Bakersfield Californian, for his look at the critical shortage of sports officials for high school football.

Honorable mention: Quinton Hamilton, Modesto Bee, for a piece about the introduction of flag football for girls in Stanislaus County high schools.

Small papers/weeklies: A tie between Shawn Jansen of the Merced Sun-Star and Vongni Yang of the Visalia Times-Delta.

Jansen wrote about a high school football player who changed his jersey number to honor his father, who died in a traffic accident just before the season.

Yang also wrote about an athlete dealing with loss, a young woman who found support in softball after her stepfather, a police officer, killed himself.

Best Writing

Large dailies/digital only: Gregory Weaver, Fresnoland, for chronicling a bitter power struggle among some of the region’s wealthiest, most influential farmers.

Honorable mention: John Donegan, Bakersfield Californian, for “Medicine in the field,” detailing efforts to bring medical care to Kern County’s rural homeless.

Small papers/weeklies: Lauren Jennings, Visalia Times-Delta, for her piece on the historic flooding.