The Monterey Herald was recently honored in several categories of the 2023 California Journalism Awards, including a second-place finish in General Excellence.

The annual awards are sponsored by the California Newspaper Publisher’s Association, a nonprofit trade association representing more than 400 newspapers, including daily, weekly, monthly and campus publications.

Herald reporters garnered honors in several individual categories among daily newspapers with a circulation of 15,000 and under.

Molly Gibbs’ story, “Carmel High’s challenge: Overcoming a troubled past” won the Investigative Reporting category. The judges noted, “The scope of this work and the coordination of so many leads is jaw-dropping. Incredibly comprehensive and well-done reporting.”

Gibbs also won second for Best Writing for her story “Along for the ride at the Concours d’Elegance.” The judges noted Gibbs’ light-hearted approach, saying “The descriptive language fit perfectly with the storytelling and I could feel the joy felt by the author and the car owners as I read about the day at the Tour d’Elegance.”

Tess Kenny and Dennis Taylor were honored for their joint effort in the Agricultural Reporting category, taking second place with their story “Monterey County agriculture: Flooding is watering down the bottom line” about the economic impact of the 2023 floods. “There were several entries that dealt with flooding,” judges noted. “This one did the best job of illustrating the broad impact on people, even beyond the farmers.”

Kenny also took third in the In-Depth Reporting category with her story “Faces of the flood: Out of work, afraid and overlooked.” The story profiled several farmworkers and ag laborers impacted by storms in January and March. “Stories that needed to be told,” the judges commented. “Good job.”

“They spent their lives teaching California’s children. Now, they say they’re spending their retirement paying for it,” a collaboration between Gibbs and Elissa Miolene of the Bay Area News Group won fifth place in the Coverage of Youth and Education category in the top-tier division for newspapers of any size. The judges called it, “An eye-opening account of mistakes that caused some teachers to be forced to pay back their pensions in retirement that includes voices of several teachers and highlights changes underway to prevent similar problems in the future.”

The Herald qualified for the General Excellence honors thanks to its performance in individual categories and was judged on back-to-back issues that were submitted. Judges pointed out that the May 26-27, 2023 editions, which included the Herald’s Health Matters magazine, contained photos by Herald Correspondent David Royal of a burning Victorian home that were “hands-down the best in this competition.” Judges added that “not only are the stories must-reading, so are the well-designed ads.”

Gibbs now works for the San Jose Mercury News and Kenny for the Chicago Tribune, which along with the Herald are part of the MediaNews Group. Taylor and Royal are both former Herald staffers who now contribute on a freelance basis.