The Society of Professional Journalists Foundation named Stocktonia the winner of the Eugene S. Pulliam First Amendment Award on Tuesday, honoring the nonprofit newsroom’s “fearless reporting” in service to its community.
The annual award is given by the board that supports SPJ, a century-old institution that establishes ethical ideals in journalism nationwide. It honors a person or people whose work highlights the importance of the First Amendment, especially a free press.
Judges cheered Stocktonia for “unwavering commitment to press freedom, transparent government and the courageous pursuit of truth, even in the face of official intimidation.”
The newsroom’s efforts last year included reporter Aaron Leathley’s coverage of a school district corruption case; Stocktonia’s investigation of a search warrant affidavit in the case found it was based on a host of unproven claims. At the time, a court clerk faced prosecution over the release of the document, and the county sheriff announced that journalists covering it would be investigated as part of a conspiracy, triggering outcry from free speech advocates. After Stocktonia’s reporting, a judge ordered the file unsealed, and the case against the court clerk ultimately was turned away by the court.
Judges also honored reporter and editor Cassie Dickman’s revelation of a secret contract for an interim city manager, and Leathley’s special report on the unseen spending behind a city construction contract.
The SPJ award is named in honor of Pulliam, longtime publisher of the Indianapolis Star, who was known as a champion of free speech rights and values. Recent winners have included regional news outlets such as the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Boston Globe.
This year, the SPJ Foundation’s board named two winners. The other honoree is another nonprofit newsroom, Block Club Chicago, recognized for work covering the divisive enforcement actions in Chicago by immigration and border enforcement agents.
The national win adds to Stocktonia’s honors for its recent reporting. The newsroom garnered five awards, including a first place prize for public service journalism, in the annual California Journalism Awards. And the Poynter Prizes, a prestigious contest that honors journalists and news organizations for exceptional work nationwide, named Stocktonia a finalist for its First Amendment award earlier this year.
Scott Linesburgh, executive editor of Stocktonia, noted that the awards simply reinforce the principles that led local journalists to found the newsroom four years ago. “We started Stocktonia because our hometown deserved objective, honest journalism that holds government and power accountable,” he said. “This honor is a welcome recognition of the hard work our journalists have put into making that a reality.”
Stocktonia, founded in 2022, has grown to be one of the largest news sources in Stockton, now publishing a daily news website and social media channels as well as a printed magazine. In 2024, the newsroom became a part of NEWSWELL, a nonprofit collective built to help local news organizations find sustainability and greater innovation.