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Palo Alto Weekly chosen as best in Bay Area
Newspaper wins 'General Excellence' for non-daily publications, plus eight other Press Club awards

by Palo Alto Weekly staff

The Palo Alto Weekly garnered the top award for non-daily newspapers in the 33rd annual Greater Bay Area Journalism competition, the San Francisco Peninsula Press Club announced June 19.

In addition to winning "General Excellence," the Weekly's reporters and editors received eight honors in specific categories for their work in 2009 — two first-place awards, four second-place and two third-place.

The judging was conducted by press clubs in Bakersfield, Milwaukee, New Orleans and Southeast Texas. Daily and non-daily newspapers, along with radio, television and broadband/web organizations, competed.

About the Weekly, the judges wrote: "The Palo Alto Weekly did an excellent job covering local news and bringing the stories to its readers. The articles were well-written, concise and interesting. Lots of content."

The Weekly's specific awards included:

** First-place technology story: "Charging Forward," which covered the growth of the electric-vehicle industry, by Gennady Sheyner

** First-place entertainment review: "When Wives Collide," about the play entitled "Run for Your Wife," by Karla Kane

** Second-place feature story of a serious nature: "No way out?" about the challenges that victims of domestic violence face when trying to escape, by Jocelyn Dong and Carol Blitzer

** Second-place analysis: "Bridging troubled waters," which examined new but costly construction projects designed to ensure a steady local water supply, by Gennady Sheyner

** Second-place feature story of a light nature: "From there to hair," profiling foreign-born hairdressers at a local salon, by Chris Kenrick

** Second-place entertainment review: "Capitalism: A love story," a review of the Michael Moore film, by Karla Kane

** Third-place feature story of a serious nature: "Preventing teen suicide," which reported on Palo Alto's efforts to address the mental-health needs of its youth, by Chris Kenrick

** Third-place entertainment review: "The Class," a review of the Laurent Cantet drama, by Susan Tavernetti

In April, the Palo Alto Weekly picked up seven first-place awards in the statewide California Newspaper Publishers' Association annual competition, including the "General Excellence" award for best large weekly, best website (PaloAltoOnline.com), local-news coverage, sports coverage, editorial comment, layout/design and feature photo.

Founded in 1979, the Palo Alto Weekly is published by Embarcadero Media, an independently owned multimedia company that operates community websites and newspapers on the Peninsula, in Marin and in the East Bay. The Palo Alto Weekly staff also produces Express (a daily e-mail edition of local news) and Palo Alto Online, which features breaking news; sports; movie, dining, event and community information; Fogster, a classified ad bulletin board; and Town Square, a community discussion forum.

Posted by Ron Wolf, a resident of Menlo Park, on Jun 20, 2010 at 8:16 am

Well deserved! The local community is fortunate to have The Weekly and we benefit from your balanced, supportive, and informative paper. Thank you!

Posted by Carroll Harrington, a resident of the Community Center neighborhood, on Jun 20, 2010 at 9:32 pm

I totally agree with Ron Wolf and just want to add that the Weekly's support of the nonprofit world is unequalled!

Green gigabytes of gratitude!

Posted by PAPD-Critic, a resident of the Barron Park neighborhood, on Jun 20, 2010 at 11:08 pm

I question the nearly 1/2 million in lucrative contracts awarded to the Weekly by the City of Palo Alto as noted in The Daily Post last week I believe.

To Green gigabyte of gratitude....The Weekly's published hard copy I find at times on the street which no one is going to take the time to re-cycle. Tell me if I'm wrong.....But going totally green is the way of the future.....

Posted by so thats it, a resident of the Charleston Meadows neighborhood, on Jun 21, 2010 at 3:38 pm

was wondering why ''weekly'' was so protective of ''police''. contracts!

Posted by Bruce, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on Jun 25, 2010 at 9:35 am

Kudos to one of the best papers in the Bay Area! Me and my wife always enjoy reading the Weekly and have since we moved to Palo Alto in 1984. Keep up the great work.