This here publication last week took home two more awards from the Northern California branch of the Society of Professional Journalists for in-depth coverage and analysis of the sort you expect — and demand — of us.
Senior editor Joe Rivano Barros and former data reporter Will Jarrett were honored in the “Explanatory Journalism” category for the mammoth effort of tracing and documenting the Russian dolls-like series of interconnected organizations funneling billionaires’ dollars into San Francisco politics.
The series, titled “BigMoneySF,” included Rivano Barros’ profile of Neighbors for a Better San Francisco, the largest donor over the last several election cycles, and Jarrett’s interactive chart, a stunning accomplishment requiring months of work unearthing reams of financial data, structured in a manner so as to render it challenging to unearth. Jarrett’s signature achievement preceded a lucrative and successful March election for the BigMoneySF groups — and this month’s much more lucrative and much less successful election.
“Money in politics is an ancient story, but the amounts here in San Francisco are truly eye-watering,” said Rivano Barros. “Will’s graphics, in particular, made it effortless for readers to see the connections between big donors, and I do think other outlets have paid more attention to campaign finance since.”
Mission Local was also awarded top honors in the “Technology Reporting” category.
Individual articles included Yujie Zhou’s reporting on the days and nights of our city’s aspirational AI pioneers; Jarrett and Joe Eskenazi’s discovery and graphic presentation of the then-55 fire department reports of autonomous vehicles interfering in emergency scenes; and Eskenazi’s reporting on the aftermath of a Cruise autonomous vehicle pinning and dragging a pedestrian.
“I can’t say enough about how rare it is to find a news site as good as Mission Local, and I love that we’re always trying to figure out how to make it even better,” said Lydia Chávez, the site’s executive editor. “It is definitely a site worthy of our readers’ support.”
Much deserved! Exceptionally well done!
Congratulations Joe and full team at Mission Local. Hard hitting real reporting always stands out.
Bravo
Congratulations, Mission Local. Well-deserved.
The Real Deal,
I’ve been following Eskenazi’s work for I’m thinking around 20 years like Deadheads follow the Grateful Dead and he’s the best Leader by Example Lydia could have for this Sterling and Youthful Dance Line.
Congratulations !
h. brown
Well deserved for both of them.congrats.
The BigMoneySF story was so huge. Money in politics may be ancient, but a report detailing how right-wing billionaires pumped money into San Francisco to help “moderates” win on right-wing ideas is exactly the kind of story we need told in 2024. Excellent work folks.
This is so awesome. Congratulations!
Not surprised. The 2024 election coverage was above average. I only had one complaint (will not discuss here) but now that the election is over, will Mission Local keep up with SF current and relevant events?
Congrats Mission Local! The best journalists in SF!
We are donating and soliciting to support this necessary SF institution.
All of SF is Mission Local.