Telegraph, Gold Country Media earn multiple statewide journalism awards

The California News Publishers Association announced the winners of its annual California Journalism Awards last week. Gold Country Media received 10 honors overall and its Folsom Telegraph publication took home eight of those awards."This is truly a testament to the dedication we have in our staff throughout Gold Country Media," said Gold Country Media Associate Publisher Bill Sullivan. "This is a family-owned community newspaper company that has an extremely talented team committed to local community journalism. As these essential journalists continue to produce our products to the community in our current unprecedented time, receiving this news and sharing it with them and the community couldn't come at a better time."This year, Folsom's community newspaper earned first-place in the special sports section division for its 2019 Friday Night Lights publication. This annual guide was constructed by Sports Editor Matt Long and Associate Publisher Bill Sullivan with the advertising support of Debbrah Campbell and previews the local prep football season.This was the second consecutive year this publication earned first-place honors. It marked the first time it clinched the placement not only in the Telegraph's division but in all of California.The Telegraph earned three different honors in photojournalism. Sullivan earned a first- place award in the feature photo category. The image was titled "thanking her hero" and was an image of Folsom youth Stella Gaylord thanking a local war veteran on the sidelines of the Folsom Veteran's Day parade. Sullivan also earned a fourth-place award in this category with an image of a young girl trick or treating on Historic Sutter Street who was dressed as a commode and enjoying the attention of the local crowd.Sullivan earned second-place in the photo essay division for his 2019 coverage of the memorial of fallen deputy Brian Ishmael that shook the entire community. He also earned third-place in the news photo division for an emotional photo that captured Ishmael's family bidding farewell as his casket was carried to his processional. These images were also published in Gold Country Media's Placer County newspapers.The Telegraph was awarded third-place this year for the quality of its front page layout and design each week. Recipients of this award included Sullivan and graphic designer Raeleigh Hall, who work together weekly on the publication among others.The Folsom Lake Entertainer magazine, produced by the Telegraph staff, was awarded fourth-place statewide in the special publication category. This marked the second consecutive year that the publication was among California's top five. Those named in this honor include Sullivan, Campbell and designer Shaden Solanji.The Telegraph and Gold Country Media were also recognized as a top five finalist in the enterprise story or series category for their efforts in October when they honored breast cancer awareness month with a series of stories profiling local cancer survivors that were printed on pink newsprint throughout the month.Additional awards throughout Gold Country for the breast cancer campaign included a fifth-place honor in the in-depth reporting category in its South Placer and Lincoln newspapers that include Editor Carol Feineman, reporters Matthew Nobert and Josh Guiterrez, and Solanji.The South Placer foursome also earned a fourth-place honor in public service journalism for their in-depth series on vaping among young adults. The series was received well by the community and appeared in all four of the area's publications. Gold Country Media's Auburn Journal was also among the top honors, being awarded third-place in overall excellence in journalism and design."Currently, the staff at all of our publications are continuing to produce some of the most in-depth, dynamic coverage I have seen in our current COVID-19 crisis," added Sullivan. "They certainly will be in the running for additional awards in the future for their hard work."