Truthdig Wins 13 Southern California Journalism Awards

Truthdig received 13 Southern California Journalism Awards from the Los Angeles Press Club, which were announced on June 28. These awards include three first-place, three second-place and seven third-place prizes across a wide variety of categories.

“We’re honored to be recognized by the Los Angeles Press Club,” said Zuade Kaufman, publisher of Truthdig. “Receiving awards across reporting, commentary, criticism, photography, illustration and social media reflects both the extraordinary talent of Truthdig’s contributors and staff and our shared commitment to fearless journalism that digs deeper.”

Corey Atad won awards for Columnist on Entertainment/Media and for Entertainment Commentary, Film/TV. As the judges said of Atad’s work, “Each piece was thoroughly researched, well-written and covered starkly diverse subcultures within the film industry. These were written by someone who obviously loves movies, but can analyze the germane genre with assurance and unbiasedness.” In recognizing his second first-place award, the judges added simply: “Much to say. Said it well.”

Eli Valley won in the Editorial Cartoon category for his piece “The Clarifier,” which, the judges said, “offers a striking and evocative punch complete with museum quality graphic detail and a rim-shot message.”

Michael Kwet won second place in Activism Journalism for his piece “Students Under Surveillance,” Nicolle Okoren won second place in Race and Society Reporting for “A True American Tale: Indigenous Rights vs. Corporate Greed,” and Stefano Schirato won second place in Photo Essay (single topic), News/News Feature for “Caravans of Faith and Memory.”

Truthdig contributors also won third-place honors in seven categories: Bill Blum in Columnist on Politics; Siddhant Adlakha in Criticism of Film; Atad in Commentary/Analysis of Film; Justin Nobel in Investigative, Government Related for “West Virginia’s Radioactive Party Zone”; Hannah Reynolds Martinez in Gender and Society Reporting for “Being Trans in Trump’s America”; Alexander Zaitchik in National Politics/Government Reporting for “A Safety Net Coming Apart at the Seams”; and Pablo Ortega and Sharon Romeo in Best Use of Social Media to Enhance and/or Cover a Story by a Group for “Pricey IVF Test May Be Selling False Hope.” 

Kaufman added, “We’re grateful to our readers, supporters and everyone who believes independent journalism is essential to a healthy democracy.”