Fresno Bee stories of worker safety, homelessness win top California press awards
The Fresno Bee won top honors in several categories in the 2024 California News Publishers Association competition, including first place in the Investigative Reporting and Public Service categories for a deep look into worker deaths at a family-owned poultry plant and first place in the Best Podcast category for a three-part series about the $100 million Bitwise Industries collapse in Fresno.
The Bee also won first place in the Community Focus category for its coverage of LGBTQ issues in the Latino community and in the Homelessness Reporting category for stories about Fresno’s crackdown on homeless encampments.
The Bee was earlier announced as a finalist in 12 story categories in the Division II size category, which includes daily publications with print circulation of 15,001-50,000; and/or 600,000-699,000 monthly unique digital visitors to its website.
The winners in the categories were revealed at an event on Saturday in Los Angeles.
First place:
Investigative Reporting and Public Service: Melissa Montalvo won in two categories for “‘Pitman Farms: Deadly Work for High-end Poultry,” which revealed disturbing working conditions and an industry-high injury rate at the family-owned company, known for its “humanely raised” poultry.
Best Podcast: Bee staff for “Bitwise & Betrayal: Inside the fraud scandal that shook Fresno.” Bitwise began in 2013 as a promising effort to train and develop a technology community in Fresno. A decade later, its financial collapse stunned the city, with employees left without paychecks, investors and lenders owed tens of millions of dollars, and the company’s founders sentenced to prison for fraud.
Community Focus Award: Bee staff for its reporting on LGBTQ issues in the Latino community, including stories about facing intolerance and gaining acceptance.
Homelessness Reporting: Bee staff for “Homeless crackdown in Fresno praised. Here’s what we found.” Fresno’s plan to break up homeless encampments and move people living on the streets was hailed as a model for the state because it emphasized treatment options. In its reporting, The Bee discovered too few shelter beds for the homeless and that few of those ticketed actually sought treatment.
Other honors:
Columns: Marek Warszawski won second place for columns about Valley Children’s hospital’s executive perks and privileges and about the unintended congestion implications of a dam raising project.
Coverage of Local Government: Bee staff won second place for coverage of the city’s investigation into Fresno police chief Paco Balderrama for an inappropriate relationship.
Profile: Robert Rodriguez won second place for his profile of perhaps the only black female cattle rancher in California.
Breaking News: Bee staff won third place for coverage of the city’s investigation into Fresno police chief Paco Balderrama for an inappropriate relationship.
Food Writing: Bethany Clough won third place for “Restaurant Royalty,” her series of profiles about the eight founding families of Fresno’s independent restaurant scene.
Christopher Kirkpatrick is The Fresno Bee’s senior editor.
This story was originally published May 19, 2025 at 12:46 PM.