L.A. Times, other newspapers honored at journalism awards

The Los Angeles Times won newspaper of the year for 2011 at the California Newspaper Assn.'s annual Better Newspaper Contest.

The Times won first-place awards among newspapers with circulations of 150,000 or more in the following categories: local government coverage, investigative reporting, sports, and arts and entertainment. The paper also received second prize for design and general excellence in the contest sponsored by the California Newspaper Publishers Assn., a nonprofit trade group.

"It's an honor for The Times to be recognized and also to see all the incredible journalism being done by news organizations across the state," Times Editor Davan Maharaj said.

Maharaj singled out Times legal counsel Karlene Goller, who has been recognized by the CNPA for her work in press rights and public access. "So much of our best journalism we do is possible because Karlene fights for access and openness of public institutions," he said.

The San Jose Mercury News won first place for general excellence and local breaking news. The Contra Costa Times took the top prize for its coverage of the environment, while the Sacramento Bee won first place in the category of business, financial or economic news.

Other winners included the Press-Enterprise of Riverside, which took home 13 prizes in the 25,00 to 150,000 circulation category, and the Mercury News, which won 11 awards in all.

The Times was awarded the inaugural newspaper of the year award, which was based on a point system.

The annual contest is designed to judge papers of similar size against one another in various categories, such as local breaking news and photography. More than 3,000 entries are received each year.

Winners of the 2011 awards were announced during a luncheon at the association's annual summit in San Jose.

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— A Times staff writer

 Photo: Front-page coverage of the problems in L.A. County Jail, written by reporters Robert Faturechi and Jack Leonard, was among the winners of the CNPA Awards.