Times Of San Diego Claims Best News Site For Sixth Time At SD Press Club Awards

By Editor, Times of San Diego

October 26, 2022

Times of San Diego won 23 awards — including best local news site for the sixth time — in the San Diego Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards on Tuesday in Balboa Park. Ten entries took first place.

Contributing photographer Chris Stone and Contributing editor Ken Stone, a married pair from La Mesa, collected 10 and nine of those awards, respectively, for reporting, photography and video. They collaborated on two projects.

Chris Stone swept all three places in still news photography.

Chris Jennewein of Del Mar, editor and publisher of the 8-year-old site, won individual first-place plaques for his election coverage and commentary. JW August took first for a multicultural story.

“It’s an honor for an independent news site to be recognized as the best in San Diego for the sixth time,” said Jennewein. “Thanks to Ken, Chris, JW and everyone on our team, Times of San Diego continues to attract new readers and receive professional recognition.”

Hundreds gathered in the courtyard of the international houses for the club’s 49th annual event, the first in-person awards gathering since 2019, sampling food and drink from 20 local restaurants and a slew of cottage homes representing nations from Israel to Germany.

Nicole Vargas, a journalism professor at San Diego City College, became the latest president of the 51-year-old club that includes print, online and broadcast journalists as well as public relations professionals and college students.

Special awards went to three men, honoring their careers in news, public relations and media management.

They were CBS8 reporter Steve Fiorina (Harold Keen Award for Outstanding Contribution to Journalism), binational PR executive Jorge D’Garay (Andy Mace Award for Outstanding Contribution to Public Relations) and retired KGTV Chief Assignment Editor Brad McLellan (Jim Reiman Award for Outstanding Media Management).

The San Diego Union-Tribune staff and contributors won 55 awards, including 18 for first place in categories ranging from humor and real estate to podcast and service program.

Times of San Diego began its ninth year of publication last spring with an average monthly readership of over 500,000. The independent local news website launched on March 14, 2014.

Complete list of award winners, including collegiate honorees, is here.

Times of San Diego is an independent online news site covering the San Diego metropolitan area. Our journalists report on politics, crime, business, sports, education, arts, the military and everyday life in San Diego. No subscription is required, and you can sign up for a free daily newsletter with a summary of the latest news.