L.A. Times Earns 13 Honors from the Society for Features Journalism

The Los Angeles Times has received 13 honors in the Society for Features Journalism’s Excellence-in-Features contest, including first place in the Division 3 sweepstakes category that recognizes the organizations with the most awards in the other 18 categories.

In all, The Times won six second-place awards, five third-place awards and one honorable mention in the Division 3 category (newspapers with 201 or more full-time editorial employees).

Among the honors, The Times took second and third place in the special product (digital or print) category. Times staff won second place for a series of stories reflecting on the Palisades and Eaton wildfires, L.A.’s Double Disaster Left Thousands of Scars, and the Healing Will Take Years. “This package wraps up a year of devastation in the wake of the historic fires in California,” commented the judges. “The sobering design is perfect, with white space that feels like emptiness. The rest of the space is filled with unforgettable photos and service journalism about lessons to be learned — essential reporting on infrastructural failures. Stories also highlight people losing more than a home but finding the will to go on and neighbors coming back to nothing but nonetheless coming back. Tragedy teaches many lessons, this staff knows, including perhaps the most important one about the unflagging human spirit.”

The third-place honor went to Times staff for Imagining a Future L.A., a series of stories which examined the issues facing Los Angeles and looked into what can be done in the next 25 or 30 or 40 years to make L.A. a sustainable and equitable home for everyone. The judges praised the package, writing, “Maybe it’s no coincidence that, in a year of tragedy, this staff delivered several strong special products. Here is a gorgeously designed project that seeks answers to big questions about the future, which inevitably will involve more fires. Along with environmental issues, there are economic and social ones to solve. And there is much to celebrate as well. Hence, the stories cater to an array of interests, including arts, history – and even fiction! As for the future? Whatever happens, it seems clear that the L.A. Times will be there to deliver.”

Here’s the complete list of winners from The Times:

Finest in Features Sweepstakes
First place: Los Angeles Times

General Feature
Second place: Samantha Masunaga, Don’t Call Them ‘Extras.’ For One Night, Hollywood’s Background Actors Are the Real Stars

First-Person Narrative Essay
Second place: James Rainey, In the Ruins of Palisades Fire, Confronting My Elusive Malibu Life

Arts and Culture Criticism Portfolio
Second place: Mary McNamara

Feature Writing Portfolio
Second place: Christopher Reynolds
Third place: Corinne Purtill

Feature Beat Specialty Writing Portfolio
Second place: Brittny Mejia
Third place: Jack Dolan

Special Project - Digital or Print
Second place: Los Angeles Times staff, L.A.’s Double Disaster Left Thousands of Scars, and the Healing Will Take Years
Third place: Los Angeles Times staff, Imagining a Future L.A.

Food Feature
Third place: Daniel Hernandez, Raw Milk Spiked With Alcohol Flows in Secret in This Immigrant L.A. Subculture

Food Writing Portfolio
Third place: Stephanie Breijo

Sports Feature
Honorable mention: Daniel Miller, Pali High Football: A Team of Wildfire Nomads Searches for Normalcy

To learn more about the awards and see the full list of winners, visit featuresjournalism.org.