Journalists hailing from Stanford Journalism Program recognized at the 2024 California Journalism Awards
Reporters hailing from the Stanford Journalism Program were among local journalists across the state who were recognized in the 2024 California Journalism Awards. Sponsored by the California News Publishers Association, the CJA recognizes outstanding work in “informing and enlightening readers through reporting, design, photography and multimedia in print and online."
San Luis Obispo Tribune Reporter Hannah Poukish’s (MA 2024) deep dive into one of the most dangerous stretches of roadway in the county was awarded second place in the Transportation Category for District 3. Poukish looked at data to determine the roads in San Luis Obispo County where the most people have died in the last decade and investigated the causes behind the deaths.
“[The story] not only highlighted the causes of these deadly crashes, but I was also able to report on solutions that are underway and talk to people who had been personally affected by these collisions,” said Poukish.
Poukish said the project, which was her first investigative piece at the Tribune, was only possible after leaning on data reporting skills she learned from the Stanford Journalism Program.
“I was able to compile, analyze data and find the story in the numbers,” she said. “Beyond that, Stanford also taught me how to find the human story within the data. I knew I needed to find people who had been personally affected, so I could share their experiences and show readers that the data was not just numbers on a page but real lives and community members.”
Stories by Poukish’s San Luis Obispo Tribune colleague and fellow Stanford alumna Chloe Shrager (BA 2024) also placed in several categories. Shrager took several classes by Stanford Journalism Program professors and was a previous recipient of the Steve Steinberg Reporting Award.
Shrager was among Tribune reporters who received first place in the Community Focus Award for District 5 for the publication’s LGBTQ coverage. She also got second and fourth place for Local Coverage of Election 2024 for District 3. The second place story was an investigation into political questionnaires sent by a church and a fact-check on how secure local election machines were.
Shrager said she was only a few weeks into her reporting job at the Tribune when she started covering the 2024 Elections.
“I very quickly learned just how local our national elections are, and the power that our voice as journalists holds in small communities,” said Shrager. “I remember thinking at the time that the fact-check story was redundant or even boring, actually, but after it was published, the public response was overwhelming. I got many emails thanking me for debunking myths about the security of our elections.”
Coming in at third place in the Homeless Reporting category in District 5, was Abigail Van Neely’s (MA 2024) in-depth look at why some unhoused people in San Francisco choose to live on the streets instead of shelters. Van Neely, who covers criminal justice, accountability and behavioral health for Mission Local, visited several shelters and interviewed unhoused individuals about their experiences.
Van Neely said she was inspired to write the piece, which included text, photos and data, after spending the day at a homeless encampment that was scheduled for a sweep.
“The discourse around homelessness, drug use, and mental illness in San Francisco can be vitriolic on social media,” Van Neely said. It’s critical for journalists to produce stories that cut through the noise, she said.
“To find these stories, you have to spend time with people directly impacted before you even know what you're going to write,” she said.
Van Neely said her classes at Stanford taught her to think of each story as a whole package.
“When I was out reporting, I was thinking about asking questions, taking photographs, and what public records I would want later,” she said.
