Register wins three top prizes for California news
Nine awards overall
Balloons Above the Valley pilot Jacob Molnar checks the balloon before a flight in Napa.
A child swings on a tree swing at Connolly Ranch Education Center in Napa on July 7.
Three first prizes highlighted the honors awarded to the Napa Valley Register as part of the annual California Journalism Awards, announced earlier this month.
Judges working with the California News Publishers Association awarded first-place honors to the Register for photography and front-page design by smaller daily newspapers in the state during 2022. Overall, the paper earned first, second or third place in nine categories covering news coverage, design and visuals.
Two of the CNPA's top prizes for papers under 15,000 daily circulation went to Nick Otto, the photographer who joined the Register staff last June.
Otto was recognized for the year's best artistic photo for an image of Balloons Above the Valley's preparation of a hot-air balloon for flight, and also received first place in the photo essay category for his images of Connolly Ranch's summer camps in Browns Valley. He also earned second place for another photo essay at the Napa Junior Livestock Auction, along with third prizes in the sports photo and feature photo segments.
The CNPA gave the Register its remaining first prize for frontpage design.
The Register placed third in the General Excellence category for small dailies, an honor based on judges' evaluation of two consecutive issues in September 2022.
Other third prizes were awarded for election coverage for city editor Howard Yune's article about Napa County's payment to former Undersheriff Jon Crawford after his 2021 dismissal following his entry into the sheriff's election race, as well as for education coverage for Yune and reporter Edward Booth's coverage of the arrest of a former Pope Valley school employee amid sexual abuse allegations.
The Register's sister publication, the St. Helena Star, received second place for General Excellence in the CNPA's category for weekly papers with circulation below 4,300.
The CNPA announced its awards for print, digital, online and collegiate outlets on its Twitter page over the course of May, and published the complete list of winners on its website Monday.
