A big thank you

As journalists, it can seem strange when we talk about ourselves. It’s not that we never use “I” or write personal stories at SN&R—of course we do. But we also know our primary job is to serve our readers through solid writing, reporting, editing and design.

This past Saturday, SN&R was recognized for its efforts when the California Newspaper Publishers Association’s annual Better Newspapers Contest awarded us in five categories.

The big one is, well, big: General Excellence, first place, weekly division (circulation 25,001 and above).

We also won second place for Arts & Culture coverage—no small feat considering the ever-growing scene we cover.

In addition, the paper received two first-place reporting awards. Alastair Bland’s look at how Sheriff Scott Jones has issued thousands of concealed-carry gun permits (See “The new Wild West”; SN&R Feature Story; July 30, 2015) won the Coverage of Local Government category.

Meanwhile, Joe Rubin’s story about the city of Sacramento’s costly water-meter install won first place for Best Investigative Reporting (See “Flushing money”; SN&R Feature Story; November 14, 2014).

Finally, SN&R took home top honors for Best Front Page (tabloid), thanks to art director Brian Breneman and former art director Hayley Doshay.

All our wins are due to the collective efforts of everyone. We wouldn’t succeed without the hard work of every single person in this company—not to mention our dedicated team of freelancers.

None of it would be possible without the support of the paper’s publishers, Jeff vonKaenel and Deborah Redmond.

Or, of course, our readers. Thank you. It takes a village, for sure.