The Sacramento Bee wins top prizes in statewide journalism contest

The California Newspaper Publishers Association on Saturday awarded first- and second-place honors to several Sacramento Bee stories and photos in its 2015 Better Newspapers Contest.

The CNPA named a series of stories by Bee reporters Marjie Lundstrom and Phillip Reese on problems within California’s nursing homes as the best investigative reporting of 2015. Bee reporter Jon Ortiz’s coverage of a cheating and sex scandal at the Cal Fire Academy earned first place for coverage of local government.

A José Luis Villegas photograph of Angel Pagan of the San Francisco Giants diving past a tag at home plate earned first place for sports action photo. A photograph by Renée C. Byer of Kenyan marathon runner Jacob Chemtai after he won the California International Marathon earned first place for sports feature photo.

The Bee’s team coverage of the California drought by reporters Dale Kasler, Ryan Sabalow, Peter Hecht and Phillip Reese earned second-place awards in two categories: environmental reporting and agricultural reporting. Former Bee reporter Charles Piller’s series on the controversial circumstances surrounding the death of onetime state leader Jerome Lackner earned second-place honors in enterprise reporting.

This story was originally published April 30, 2016 at 5:52 PM with the headline "The Sacramento Bee wins top prizes in statewide journalism contest."