J. The Jewish News of Northern California won 10 national journalism awards — most of them first place — at the American Jewish Press Association on June 23. The AJPA’s Rockower Awards recognize the best of Jewish journalism each year.
(Aaron Levy-Wolins)
“As we won award after award at the Rockowers, colleagues in the Jewish press congratulated us over and over with the same phrase: well-deserved,” said J. CEO Jo Ellen Green Kaiser, who attended the awards ceremony in Pittsburgh.
“Once again, J. dominated the awards for best Jewish news,” she added. “We are so proud of our award-winning journalists. And proud, too, of our stellar reputation.”
The J. staff members who won Rockowers are editor-in-chief Chanan Tigay, news editor Gabe Stutman, culture editor Maya Mirsky, staff writer Emma Goss and staff photographer Aaron Levy-Wolins. Contributor Alix Wall also won two awards. Subject matter ranged from the impact of pro-Palestinian campus encampments on Jewish students to intense cease-fire debates at city council meetings to the story of two people from opposite sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict who found a way to bridge differences.
(Aaron Levy-Wolins)
Tigay won first place for his on-the-ground, long-form article about the aftermath of Oct. 7, 2023, and the Israeli archaeologists tasked with searching for the remains of the missing. The judge commented that it “would be almost unbearable to read if not for the elegance of Chanan Tigay’s writing and his essay’s superlative narrative structure.”
Goss took a first-place award for her story about tensions in the Marin County town of Bolinas, where the Israel-Hamas war created sharp and painful divisions. The judge wrote: “Strong, emotionally compelling story, clearly crafted with care … portraying the intense emotional experience of Jewish residents after Oct. 7.”
“I’m thrilled not only by the number of awards we won, but by the kinds of stories that were recognized,” Tigay said. “It’s clear our focus on more in-depth stories and analyses is paying off.”
This year’s contest judged work published in 2024 in 40 categories. They included four new “wild card” categories, all for writing about different aspects of the war.
J. also won in the newest category: the Marc Klein Award for use of interactive media.
Klein, who died last year, was J.’s editor-in-chief from 1984 to 2011 and led the publication’s digital conversion. He was also a former board president of the AJPA.
First-Place Awards
Louis Rapoport Award for Excellence in Commentary: Gabe Stutman
“The morning after: What did campus Gaza protests accomplish?”
“Why political activism in local schools keeps crashing into Gaza”
“Escalating protests for Gaza complicate ‘threat nexus’ for American Jews”
Single commentary: Chanan Tigay
“Why Israel turned to archaeologists in its search for the Oct. 7 missing”
Politics and government: Gabe Stutman
“Jewish orgs push SF Mayor London Breed to veto cease-fire resolution”
The war in Israel (schools and universities): Emma Goss
“Some Jewish students at Stanford are learning to hide their identities”
Feature writing: Emma Goss
“Paradise lost: Israel-Hamas war tears at social fabric of tiny Bolinas”
Photography: Aaron Levy-Wolins
“Sherith Israel’s historic pipes will offer majestic welcome to organist convention”
Food and wine: Alix Wall
“Owners of Loquat and Bi-Rite find recipe for talking freely about Israel and Gaza”
(Editor emerita Sue Fishkoff won a first-place award for “Ramping up—and rethinking—Israel education,” which she wrote for Hadassah magazine.)
Second-Place Awards
The war in Israel (personality profiles): Alix Wall
“Bay Area Gazan turns loss into compelling case for a ‘different future’”
Honorable Mentions
News reporting: Gabe Stutman, Maya Mirsky, Emma Goss
“‘I’m screaming for help’: Jewish students face violence at UC Berkeley Israel talk”
Marc Klein Award for best use of interactive media: Maya Mirsky
“Has your city passed a cease-fire measure? Our map shows you”