Grape Escape: In Journalism, Both Peril and Reward

December 6, 2024 – Without professional journalism, there is no tethering the truth in this information-overloaded society that is increasingly beset by faux news. So said many of the speakers at the 47^th Annual Greater Bay Area Journalism Awards ceremony held at the Julia Morgan Ballroom at the San Francisco Press Club December 4.

Organized and hosted warmly and colorfully by SF Press Club president Curtis Sparrer—whose gold threaded camel blazer and woven Italian shoes were the envy of the evening—San Francisco knows how to throw a party, from the glorious lighted trees in the nearby plaza, to the sleigh at the foot of an enormous Christmas tree in the lobby, festooned with Tiffany blue ornaments. 

Hundreds of journalists gathered to honor contributors across the many fields that journalism encompasses, from newspapers to magazines to radio and TV.  Among the magazines so honored was Edible Monterey Bay, headed by editor and publisher Deborah Luhrman. My colleagues and I were grateful and proud to receive our FIVE awards! EMB winners included founding publisher Sarah Wood, for her story on the adoption of induction stoves featuring chef Reylon Agustin at Post Ranch Inn, Ashley Drew Owen for her story on Santa Cruz startup Cruz Foam and the use of shrimp shells to make biodegradable packaging, contributors Jessica Tunis and Jackie Fogarty for their photography feature “From Ash to Offering” about Beeline Blooms, and myself for the weekly “Grape Escape” columns.

It was a bountiful night, with excellently prepared locally sourced food, accompanied by wines from our own Central Coast, including Morgan, Ancient Peaks, Talbott’s Kali Hart and J. Lohr Vineyards and Wines. Cynthia Lohr spoke eloquently of her appreciation for the work that everyone in the communications industry does, as she herself spends her days sharing the stories of her family’s eponymous brand that has become synonymous with successful vertical integration. 

“My father’s sole purpose was to make wines that would be affordable and delicious,” she said, of her father Jerry Lohr, who founded the highly successful family owned and operated winery 50 years ago. There is something refreshing and uplifting about an accessible brand that seems to get better every time you open a bottle. 

Guests sparkled as they glammed up to toast one another in the elegant ballroom designed by the famous Julia Morgan. Best known for designing Hearst Castle, Morgan graduated with a degree in civil engineering from UC Berkeley in 1894, and was the first woman registered as an architect in California. She designed over 700 structures, including the historic social hall at Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove and Mills College campanille, which survived the 1906 earthquake. 

Dozens of outstanding journalists were recognized at the awards ceremony for their coverage of breaking news stories, the homeless crisis, the ecological peril of our ecosystem, the constant fight for human rights, the celebration of diversity and the unique contribution each of our respective and continually blending tribes makes to the richness of a society where open discourse is encouraged and creative talents are encouraged and rewarded. In short, everything that defines the ongoing experiment we call democracy.

Mariel Garza, formerly LA Times editorial director, was honored with the Integrity in Journalism award. She explained why she had resigned in protest when the newspaper’s owner, Patrick Soon-Shiong, refused to honor the editorial board’s decision to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris. Garza, who got her start in journalism at SF State, warned that the headwinds facing journalists, felt chilling. She urged the rest of us to remain steadfast and report the facts. 

Keynote Speakers included former mayor Willie Brown and SF Chronicle columnist Phil Matier, who dished about the SF mayoral election, trading barbs about the pros and cons of rank-choice voting, and whether incumbent Daniel Lurie could handle the enormity of the governance task for which he has little practical experience. 

Longtime KTVU weather anchor, and indomitable personality Roberta Gonzalez announced the names of the award winners in the broadcast journalist categories, and told me the slides went by so fast (they did) and there were often multiple names associated with an award. “I looked at some of them and wanted to ask, ‘Can I buy a vowel?!’” she joked. 

One of the highlights of the evening was the Q&A session with beloved SF Chronicle columnist John King, who just retired as urban design critic, a job he has relished since 1992. He is also the author of “Portal: San Francisco’s Ferry Building and the Reinvention of American Cities.” His former colleagues Heather Knight, SF Bureau Chief for the New York Times and Peter Hartlaub, culture critic for the SF Chronicle, joined him in a rollicking discussion of what’s to love and not to love about the SF skyline. Plenty, actually. King, reminiscing about how the skyscape has changed since his youth, observed, “San Francisco has the ability to absorb a lot of bad buildings. North of Market is still the same, but South of Market did an exit.”

He remarked that he has a problem with glass skyscrapers, but admits that along with the rest of the cities of the world, San Francisco has embraced glass towers. “The world has changed.” He praised all the parks that have sprung up in the last 28 years. “When I started at the Chronicle, Chrissy Field did not exist. Now we have Tunnel Tops and all the parks along the Bay.” Overall, he sees beauty, progress, optimism. 

Asked if he misses the daily commute to San Francisco, he said journalism is the perfect job, because it gave him the chance to constantly explore what people care about most. And yet, he admits, “The most important part of the job is the chance to bring people things they are not looking for.” It’s a win-win for all, and the secret to keeping journalists at their curious best.  

That unexpected discovery, that shred of enlightenment, that realization of kinship and common ground, that mutual journey of exploration that writer and reader go on together: these are the things that keep journalism vibrant and relevant and so vital.

These are the reasons those of us at Edible Monterey Bay do what we do daily, as we revel in the pleasures, great and small, that bind us together in our mutual love, respect and appreciation, for what makes our little piece of paradise as irreplaceable as the truth.