The Fresno Bee won top honors in several categories in the 2023 California News Publishers Association competition, including a first prize in Investigative Reporting for stories that revealed abuses at homeless shelters and a first prize in Coverage of Local Government for stories about an illicit medical lab that threatened public safety and inflamed COVID-19 fears.
The Bee was earlier announced as a finalist in 10 story categories in Division II, which includes daily publications with print circulation of 15,001-50,000; and/or 600,000-699,000 monthly unique digital visitors to its website. The winners in the categories were revealed at an event on Saturday in Los Angeles, the first in-person press awards ceremony for the CNPA since before the coronavirus pandemic.
In the Investigative Reporting category, reporter Melissa Montalvo ’s entry, “‘ Disturbing’ force used at Fresno homeless shelters ,” also won as the top investigation in the state, meaning it bested all others across size categories.
The powerful stories — based on nearly two-dozen interviews with homeless shelter residents, former security guards and advocates — revealed disturbing use of force by a private security firm and lack of oversight by the city, shelter operators and the housing authority. Among the findings, four former guards said they were told to “(pepper) spray first, ask questions later” through the course of their work with the homeless.
The CNPA judges called the work, “investigative reporting at its very best.”
In the Local Government category, reporters Tim Sheehan and Thaddeus Miller wrote multiple stories for the entry, “ How a secret Chinese-run lab in California illegally stored vials of COVID-19, other diseases .”
The stories focused on an illegal medical lab that was shut down in Reedley and that had once operated in Fresno. The unlicensed, China-owned facility had various dangerous pathogens, including HIV, herpes and COVID-19, sitting in unsecured refrigerators, plus multiple other building code violations. The reporting exposed a loophole in state and federal laws that allows certain medical labs that make testing kits to operate without regulatory oversight.
The CNPA judges wrote: “Excellent reporting and coverage of breaking news on an important and complex subject involving local, state and federal agencies.”
The Bee was honored for work in other categories:
2nd Place , Food Writing: Bethany Clough, “ Gorditas made with love and history .”
2nd Place , Health Reporting: Erik Galicia, Melissa Montalvo, “ Madera hospital goes bankrupt, poor Latinos pay the price .”
3rd Place , In-Depth Reporting: Tim Sheehan, “ Bitwise Industries implodes in $511 million Ponzi scheme. ”
3rd Place , Breaking News: Tim Sheehan, “ Bitwise Industries implodes in $511 million Ponzi scheme .”
3rd Place , Music Writing/Reporting: Joshua Tehee, “ The biggest Latin, Mexican music acts keep coming to Fresno. What’s behind the trend? ”
4th Place , Coverage of Youth and Education: Laura Diaz, “ Clovis schools ignore LGBTQ+ students and groups .”
Christopher Kirkpatrick is the Fresno Bee’s senior editor. Before moving to Fresno, he worked as deputy director, Content Development, at Consumer Reports, and senior news director with the Detroit Free Press.
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