The Poynter Prizes, a prestigious contest that honors journalists and news organizations for exceptional work nationwide, has recognized Stocktonia as a finalist for its First Amendment award.
Government accountability reporter Aaron Leathley and assistant editor Cassie Dickman were named as finalists for their combined coverage — including an investigation of a school district corruption case, the revelation of a secret city manager contract and an investigation of city construction contracting that ballooned by nearly $20 million without public oversight.
The Cronkite School First Amendment Prize recognizes journalists for protecting freedom of information and for “overcoming significant resistance” to the principles of the First Amendment.
Each Stocktonia finalist report involved obtaining or interpreting government documents rarely seen by the public. The first examined a search warrant affidavit that public officials had sought to keep out of the public eye; the others uncovered spending of tax dollars that happened without transparency, including revealing how city construction contracts get progressively less public scrutiny as their cost overruns increase.
The honor puts Stocktonia — a startup nonprofit with six full-time staffers — in the same league as major metro and national newsrooms.
Reporters from the Wall Street Journal won the category for coverage of the Epstein files. Judges named three finalists: The Washington Post, for coverage of the federal government; the Chicago Tribune, for coverage of the Chicago immigration enforcement blitz; and Stocktonia.
“I’m proud to see our team honored this way,” said Scott Linesburgh, Stocktonia’s executive editor, after he announced the win to the staff Monday morning.
The finalist honor “represents the way our newsroom pursues the truth,” he said. “That’s what Stocktonia was created for, and it’s what we’re all here to do every day.”
The Poynter Prizes include awards for reporting, writing and other specialized categories, with a nearly 50-year legacy of honoring journalism excellence nationwide. Most of the awards were founded by two previous major journalism associations, the American Society of Newspaper Editors and the Associated Press Media Editors. In 2023, the Poynter Institute — a longstanding nonprofit organization devoted to teaching journalism and improving the reliability and sustainability of the industry — took over operating the prizes.
Winners across multiple categories this year included legacy powerhouses, such as the Journal and the New York Times, as well as digital nonprofits, including The Baltimore Banner and CalMatters, highlighting the crucial role of news organizations of all kinds in protecting the public and holding power to account.
“News organizations large and small are serving their audiences and communities with great accountability work and compelling storytelling every day,” Poynter President Neil Brown, who chaired the board that selected the prizes, said in a statement. “We were energized to see such strong and courageous journalism having an impact all across the country.”
Read the finalist reporting
- Search warrant affidavit for AngelAnn Flores speculated on far-reaching misconduct. Her charges turned out to be much narrower
- Stockton hired an interim city manager. He hired another city manager for $11K a month with public money
- New City Hall contracts cost more than $40 million. Then they kept growing
Stocktonia was founded in 2022 as a newsroom dedicated to delivering objective journalism for its hometown of Stockton, California. In 2024, it became a part of NEWSWELL, a nonprofit collective affiliated with Arizona State University. NEWSWELL’s team supports a growing network of local newsrooms in two states, helping them transform their operations and better serve their communities.
Since then, Stocktonia has grown to six full-time staffers covering Stockton and San Joaquin County via its website, a growing set of social media and other online channels and public events. This month, it published the second edition of the printed Stocktonia Magazine.
The First Amendment Prize is sponsored by the Walter Cronkite School for Journalism and Mass Communication at ASU. Sponsors cover the administrative costs of the prize and have no involvement in the judging process, said Jennifer Orsi, a Poynter vice president and the contest’s director; Stocktonia was selected as a finalist by judges with no connection to ASU.