Congratulations to our Berkeley Journalism community on awards from the Society of Professional Journalists Northern California (SPJ NorCal) announced this week.
Among the winners are former UC Berkeley Journalism lecturer and now the California Local News Fellowship Director Monica Campbell who was honored with the Career Achievement Award in broadcast journalism — both for her long career in public radio as an immigration reporter in the Bay Area and Latin America and for stepping up to lead the UC Berkeley based, state-funded fellowship program.
Dozens of volunteer judges chose award recipients for 70 categories, including Public Service, with top awards in the category going to alums Cynthia Dizikes (’08) and Joaquin Palomino (’15) for “Failed to Death”, a three-part investigation into violence and neglect in California’s growing for-profit psychiatric hospitals system, in the San Francisco Chronicle. The team also won the Investigative Reporting print/online — large division category for the same series.
Professor Emeritus Lydia Chavez of Mission Local won for documenting conditions on the streets in San Francisco’s Mission District to hold City Hall accountable, in the print/online — small division category.
Two current students were also honored. Ava Hu (’26) won for top Breaking News reporting in the Student Division in a print/online publication for “12 UC Berkeley students’ legal status restored by ICE in nationwide reversal” for The Daily Cal.
Lylah Schmedel-Permanna (’27) was part of the staff of The Citizen at Laney College that won for best Student Journalism in a print/online student publication for “The Citizen’s Watchful Eye on PCCD.”
From top left: Audy Mae McAfee (’25), Zhe Wu (’23), Lylah Schmedel-Permanna (’27 ), Hussain Khan (‘25), Cynthia Dizikes (’08), Rosa Tuirán (’20), Professor Emeritus Lydia Chavez, Gabriela Quirós (’98) and Yesica Prado (’19).
Numerous alums also won awards, including four recent graduates.
Audy Mae McAfee’s (’25) audio thesis — “A Basketball Trailblazer: My Mother, the WNBA Star You’ve Never Heard Of” — won for best Student Journalism in the radio/audio/podcast — large division. Production was supported by Audio Program Director Shereen Marisol Meraji and Adjunct Professor and alum Queena Kim (‘00). Sasha Khokha (’04) and Victoria Mauleón (’01), with support from alum Hussain Khan (’25), won for best Arts & Culture radio/audio/podcast — large division for KQED’s California Composers series, a tribute to three underappreciated musical talents from across the state.
From top left: Monica Campbell, Ava Hu (‘26), Sasha Khokha (’04), Ayla Burnett (’23), Cecilia Lei (’19), Victoria Mauleon (’01), Susie Neilson (’19), Laura Klivans (’16) and Joaquin Palomino (’15).
Zhe Wu (’23) of the San Francisco Public Press, won Outstanding Emerging Journalist and for best Health Reporting (print/online) for the series “Hepatitis B — a Silent Killer.” Ayla Burnett (’23) of The Frisc won the Features Journalism (print/online — small division) category for “How a Single Mom in S.F. Fought to Get From Homelessness to Paradise.”
Susie Neilson (’19) of the San Francisco Chronicle won the Explanatory Journalism print/online — large division category for “Burned: An investigation of the underinsurance crisis devastating California fire survivors.” KQED’S Victoria Mauleón (’01) and Sasha Khokha (’04) won for Longform Storytelling for “A 129-Year-Old San Francisco Lawsuit Could Stop Trump From Ending Birthright Citizenship.” For Science Reporting: KQED’s Laura Klivans (’16) won the radio/audio/podcast category for the “Science Meets Daily Life” series and KQED’S Gabriela Quirós (’98) and Rosa Tuirán (’20) the tv/video category for their “Deep Look” series narrated by Laura Klivans (’16). Cecilia Lei (’19) of KQED won for Community Journalism for reporting on the struggles of older Japanese Americans in the Bay Area. Yesica Prado (’19) of El Tecolote won for Investigative Journalism for the story “San Francisco is weaponizing parking rules to displace RV communities. Here’s how it started.” And KQED’s Vanessa Rancano (’14) for Ongoing Reporting on California’s crackdown on homeless encampments.
The Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California chapter’s 40th Annual Excellence in Journalism Awards will be held at the Bayview Opera House in San Francisco Thursday, November 13.
