Water News Network Best Public Service Website 5th Time at SD Press Club Awards
The Water News Network was awarded first place as the Best Public Service or Consumer Advocacy Website in the 49th annual San Diego Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards. It’s the fifth consecutive year the WNN website has won first place in that category. The award for best public service website is one of seven awards the WNN received during a ceremony October 25 at Balboa Park.
San Diego County Water Authority Public Affairs Department staffers Ed Joyce and Kimberlyn Velasquez, and Water Resources Specialist Joni German, also were recognized with awards for their work on the Water News Network.
Joyce received two second place awards in two categories for original reporting: Online and Daily newspapers: Environment, for “California Drought Now in Third Year” and Online and Daily newspapers: General News, for “Pure Water Oceanside Provides New Local Supply of Drinking Water.”
Pure Water Oceanside
Elected officials and water leaders throughout Southern California, including San Diego County Water Authority General Manager Sandra Kerl, celebrated the dedication of Pure Water Oceanside on March 22 in Oceanside. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority
German took second place in the Online and Daily newspapers: Series – Light Subject, for “WaterSmart Living Series,” which was created to showcase the steps needed to create water-efficient landscapes.
Velasquez was awarded honorable mention for Photography/Video in the Feature-Light Subject category for her video, “Hauck Mesa Storage Reservoir Moving to Completion,” which included in a WNN story on the project.
The WNN took home a second-place award in the Online and Daily newspapers category: Public Service/Consumer Advocacy, for “Spring Valley HOA and Watershed Benefit from Landscape Optimization Service.”
Former Public Affairs Dept. intern Noah Harrell won third place in the Online and Daily Newspapers: Military category for “Skillbridge Interns Explore Career Opportunities After Military Service.”
Imagine A Day Without Water
The Vallecitos Water District also won a first place for Television/Online Video editing for “Imagine a Day Without Water,” a video featuring San Marcos Mayor Rebecca Jones, which was featured in a WNN story.
In only its fifth year of operation, the Water News Network is viewed as a reliable source of factual information upholding the standards of journalism to benefit the Water Authority, its 24 member agencies, its stakeholders, and the residents of San Diego County.
The San Diego Press Club honors the region’s best communicators in media each year at the Excellence in Journalism Awards.
Update: On November 16, the San Diego County Water Authority outreach program, “Drought Safe San Diego,” won a Silver Award of Excellence at the annual Public Relations Society of America, San Diego-Imperial Counties chapter 2022 Edward L. Bernays Awards.
(Editor’s note: The Vallecitos Water District and the City of Oceanside are two of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)
