Argus-Courier wins 14 California newspaper awards

The newspaper won the prestigious General Excellence award in the California News Publishers Association contest.|

The Petaluma Argus-Courier won nine awards Saturday at the annual California News Publishers Association Better Newspapers Contest, including the prestigious General Excellence award for best overall weekly newspaper in its circulation class among state newspapers.

Three staff members took home first place awards. Former Argus-Courier news editor Eric Gneckow won first place in environmental reporting for his behind-the-scenes look at Petaluma’s wastewater treatment plant upgrades, including a project to capture natural gas to power vehicles.

Editor Matt Brown won first place in breaking news for a story about a car accident along Petaluma Boulevard North that claimed the lives of two young girls. Photographer Crissy Pascual took first in the online photo essay category for her moving photos from last year’s fire that burned 14 east Petaluma homes along Highway 101.

In awarding the Argus-Courier the General Excellence award for the second year in a row and seventh in the past nine years, the judges said the newspaper is accessible to readers.

“It seems well-connected to its community,” they wrote. “Its editors make their pages easy for the reader by packaging it in several interesting sections.”

In addition, five staff members won second place awards. Gneckow won second place for a series on the city’s attempt to regulate short term vacation rentals, and for an investigation of the Petaluma Marina’s finances. Features editor Hannah Beausang won second place for a profile of a Petaluma photographer and also for a feature story on a blind beekeeper. Pascual won a second place award for an artistic photo of a field of sunflowers.

“I could not be more proud of the quality work our staff did to earn this recognition from our peers in the industry,” said Argus-Courier Publisher John Burns. “Our goal is to provide Petaluma readers with consistently exemplary local journalism, and the awards we’ve received help to reaffirm that we’re achieving that goal.”

The Argus-Courier also won honorable mention in five categories. Sports editor John Jackson won for a game story about a Casa Grande football overtime win, and for two sports columns. Beausang and Brown won honorable mention for coverage of the east Petaluma fire. Pascual won for a feature photo of a girl making bubbles. The staff was honored for an editorial calling for a sales tax increase for street repairs.

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.