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Gayle Falkenthal (L) and Lisa Urabe display the San Diego County Water Authority and Vallecitos Water District's multiple San DIego Press Club Journalism Awards. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority Press Club Awards

Water News Network Best Public Service Website for Sixth Year at San Diego Press Club Awards

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For the sixth consecutive year, the San Diego County Water Authority’s Water News Network website was recognized as the Best Public Service/Consumer Advocacy Website. The Water News Network was awarded for its public outreach and education at the San Diego Press Club’s 50th annual Excellence in Journalism Awards.

Among the largest annual competitions in the United States, San Diego’s finest reporters, photographers, writers, artists, and communicators were honored with the region’s top awards.

The Water News Network was awarded first place as the Best Public Service or Consumer Advocacy Website. The WNN has won the award every year since the website launched in mid-2018.

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria congratulated winners at the San Diego Press Club Journalism Awards. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority Press Club Awards

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria congratulated winners at the San Diego Press Club Journalism Awards. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority

The award for best public service website is one of five awards the WNN received during a ceremony October 3 at Balboa Park. At the event, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria recognized the contributions of the San Diego journalism community and the San Diego Press Club over its 50-year history.

Awards for reporting and video production

Water Authority Senior Public Affairs Representative Ed Joyce and former public affairs department intern Noah Harrel received second place for original reporting in the Online and Daily Newspapers: Military category for  “Marine Corps Veteran Shawntrel McCoy Finds Perfect Fit in the SkillBridge Program.”

Writer Gayle Falkenthal received third place in the Online and Daily Newspapers: Public Service/Consumer Advocacy category for “Special Water Rates Program Reduces Costs for San Diego County Growers.”

The WNN team took home a third-place award in the PR, PIO, and Trade Publications Video category, for its Landscape Optimization Program video series.

Water Authority and Vallecitos Water District team honored

A joint entry from the Water Authority and the Vallecitos Water District public affairs team of Chris Robbins, Lisa Urabe, and Alicia Yerman won First Place in the Television/Online Video, Community Service/Public Affairs Reporting category for its Landscape Optimization Program video series, published in the Water News Network and on the Vallecitos Water District YouTube channel.

WNN water news

In its sixth 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.

Water News Network 2023 San Diego Press Club awards:

Websites, Public Service or Consumer Advocacy Site: First Place, Water News Network

Online/Daily Newspapers, Military: Second Place, Marine Corps Veteran Shawntrel McCoy Finds Perfect Fit in the SkillBridge Program, Ed Joyce and Noah Harrel

Online/Daily Newspapers, Public Service/Consumer Advocacy: Third Place, Special Water Rates Program Reduces Costs for San Diego County Growers, Gayle Falkenthal

PR, PIO, and Trade Publications, Video: Third Place, Landscape Optimization Program Video Series, Water News Network Team

(Editor’s note: The Vallecitos Water District is one of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)

Members of the Water Authority at the San Diego Press Club Journalism Awards (L to R): Denise Vedder, Litsa Tzotzolis, Gayle Falkenthal, Ed Joyce, Kristiene Gong. Photo: Water Authority

Water Authority’s Public Outreach Efforts Honored

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For the second consecutive year, the San Diego County Water Authority received two first place awards from the San Diego Press Club for its public outreach and education work. The awards were presented at the 2019 San Diego Press Club 46th Annual Excellence in Journalism Awards October 29 at the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation’s Joe and Vi Jacobs Community Center.

San Diego’s finest reporters, photographers, writers, artists, and communicators were honored with the region’s top awards in one of the largest annual competitions in the United States.

The Water Authority received the following Press Club awards:

Websites, Public Service or Consumer Advocacy Site: First place, Water News Network

Public Relations, Public Information and Trade Publications, Special interest on one-time publications: “San Diego County Water Authority: 75 Years and Counting”

The Water News Network has proven to be a valuable source of water news and information for the San Diego region since it started in May 2018. This is the second consecutive year the Water News Network website has won first place in this category.

“Traditional news organizations face increasingly limited resources, but our constituents still have the need for accurate information about water issues and efforts by the Water Authority and its member agencies to secure a safe and reliable water supply for the San Diego region,” said Denise Vedder, public outreach and conservation director for the San Diego County Water Authority. “The Water News Network is an effort to provide this information. It has also become a tip sheet for regional news media to follow water issues and generate their own independent reporting, which has been a welcome additional benefit.”

San Diego County Water Authority: 75 Years and Counting

“San Diego County Water Authority: 75 Years and Counting,” explored San Diego’s water history, needs and the 24 member agencies that serve the region. The one-time publication was a special section supplement within the Sunday, June 9, 2019 San Diego Union-Tribune, honoring the founding of the organization on June 9, 1944.

“The San Diego Press Club Excellence in Journalism awards shows that solid research, writing, reporting and photography matter more than ever,” said Karyl Carmignani, 2019 Press Club president. “I’m proud our organization honors student and professional journalists and public relations professionals in San Diego.”

This year’s Journalism Awards program drew more than 950 entries across multiple media categories. Judges included members of press clubs in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Rochester (New York), Florida, Cleveland, Orange County, Milwaukee, Tulsa, and Alaska.