Mission Local did all right at the Society of Professional Journalists’ awards last week. Reporter Annika Hom was named the year’s outstanding emerging journalist — of course she was — and Lydia Chávez was recognized for her career achievements.
Our fabulous former intern, Christina MacIntosh, was also decorated for taking a breaking story about a fire in a housing project, and for weaving it into a series of hard-hitting articles about broken promises, inhumane conditions, and government negligence — all driven by her relentless, on-the-ground reporting.
Hey, awards are nice. To pull the line from “Bull Durham,” “I like winning. It’s better than losing.” But what really matters for us here at Mission Local is doing the work. When you read a story in our publication, you’re getting it from a reporter who knocked on a door.
So, again, awards are nice. We win our fair share. But our raison d’être is to cover this neighborhood and this city honestly and authentically, and to explain to you, the readers, how things work.
Look, it’s December. I get it. Everyone is making their asks. But here’s ours: Please consider donating to Mission Local. I’ve been doing this a long time, friends. And at Mission Local we have the narrowest gap between “the stuff we learn during our reporting” and “the stuff we can put in print for you the readers to know” of any place I’ve ever been.
That’s what makes it work.
So, again, awards are nice. But we can’t pay our staff with awards, nor can I hand an award to the counterman at Mike’s Liquors to buy beer for my colleagues (though I have not yet tried to do this).
Thank you for your support. Onward to 2024.
Congrats my warriors,
Y’all juggle rattlesnakes better than anyone in Town.
h.