Fresno Bee, Vida en el Valle journalists win top honors in 37th Gruner Awards

The Fresno Bee and Vida en el Valle won top honors in six categories in the 37th annual George F. Gruner Awards for news outlets in the central San Joaquin Valley.

The Bee won top prize in the Public Service category for its investigation into dangerous working conditions at Pitman Family Farms in Sanger, which has seen a spate of worker deaths and injuries at its facilities over recent years.

Accountability reporter Melissa Montalvo spent nine months investigating the deaths and injuries at the company that markets its poultry under the Mary’s Chicken brand as ‘humanely raised.’ In her investigation, Montalvo pored over hundreds of government and law enforcement records and interviewed experts, workers and family members of those hurt and killed at the company.

One of the judges, former Los Angeles Times Assistant Editor Jim Newton, called the investigation “a devastating look at worker safety in the poultry industry,” according to a news release announcing the winners. Contest judge Jim Risen, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner for the New York Times, called the work “probing, tough, committed,” the news release said.

The Bee also won top prizes for best news photo, best column and best editorial writing and honorable mentions for best sports story and best sports photo.

For smaller publications, Vida en el Valle, The Bee’s online-only, Spanish- and English-language publication, won for best column and best news photo.

See details about the winning entries and honorable mentions below:

Best column, large digital/print: Marek Warszawski, Fresno Bee columnist, won first place for his column, If Valley Children’s can pay $5M to CEO, it can probably do without my spare change, that expressed his incredulity about excessive executive pay and perks at Valley Children’s Hospital, the Central Valley’s go-to charity.

Best editorial, large digital/print: Tad Weber, Fresno Bee opinion writer, won first place for his editorial, Sacramento liberals shouldn’t block harsher punishments for buyers of child sex. Urging state lawmakers to take action, Weber highlighted the absurd reality that having sex with a minor in California is only a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail.

Best news photo, large dailies/digital: Craig Kohlruss, Fresno Bee photographer, videographer, won first place for his photo of the precarious removal by crane of the massive metal “G” from atop the Guarantee Savings Building in downtown Fresno, a mainstay visual in the skyline for decades.

Best sports story, large dailies/digital: Robert Kuwada, Fresno Bee higher education reporter, honorable mention, for his story, Did conflict of interest cost Fresno State in football stadium deal with Valley Children’s?

Best sports photo, large dailies: Eric Zamora, Fresno Bee photographer, videographer, honorable mention, for his photo that beautifully illustrated a story about an 84-year-old judo instructor.

Best column, small dailies/weeklies: Juan Esparza Loera, Vida en el Valle, won first place for, Tulare County supervisors think they run a world where Latinos don’t fit in, about a Tulare County supervisor “turning to racist fear-mongering during an election,” the news release announcing the winner said.

Best news photo, small dailies/weeklies: Juan Esparza Loera, Vida en el Valle, won first place for a shot that artfully captured the excitement of a basketball game.

The Gruner Awards honor George F. Gruner, who retired as executive editor in 1988 after 33 years at The Fresno Bee. The McClatchy Co., publisher of The Bee, established the awards in 1989. The Department of Media, Communications and Journalism at Fresno State independently administers the awards. Entries are judged by professional journalists from outside the contest area.

This story was originally published April 29, 2025 at 7:58 AM.