Journalists with the San Diego Community Newspaper Group were honored with four awards on Tuesday, July 17 from the San Diego chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. The journalism contest winners were announced during a ceremony at Kona Kai Resort & Spa on Shelter Island. Peninsula Beacon editor Thomas Melville earned three awards in the open photography categories. He received second place in the Feature Photo category for “Go with the flow” (Beacon, Sept. 17), and third place for News Photo for “Home for the Holidays (Beacon, Dec. 14). He also earned second place in the Photo Essay category for his photos of Mexico City, which accompanied his story “Dia de los Muertos brings Mexico City back to life” (sdnews.com, Nov. 6). Staff writer Victoria Davis received a third place award in the Nondaily Reporting and Writing, News Feature Story category for her story “Congregations Hope To Save Historic North Chapel At Liberty Station,” (Beacon, March 9).
Last year, Melville also earned three photo awards, plus a first place for front page design in the San Diego SPJ contest. The 2018 contest’s judges were members of the Society of Professional Journalists in Colorado. For a complete list of the SPJ contest winners, go to spjsandiego.org.