The National Newspaper Association has awarded 19 prizes to the Palo Alto Daily Post for excellence in news and advertising.
The Post won more prizes than any other publication on the Peninsula in this national contest.
The Post took home first place awards for front page design, best editorial, breaking news and reporting on public corruption.
In advertising, the Post won first place awards in the following categories: Best advertising idea (Physiofit bladder control); Best holiday ad (New England Lobster); Best real estate ad (Intero Realty); Best single ad idea in color (Willows Market), and Best small-page ad (Five Ten’s Elvis).
The award-winning work was done by General Manager Brandon Heinrichs, Graphics Artist Marvin Ancheta, Managing Editor Emily Mibach, Staff Writers Brandon Cartwright and Adriana Hernandez and Editor Dave Price.
About the contest
The National Newspaper Association, established in 1885, honors papers from across the country each year.
The judging was performed primarily by active community newspaper editors and publishers, as well as retired university journalism professors and retired or former newspaper professionals.
Many of the newsroom awards were for the Post’s in-depth coverage of the corruption scandal surrounding now-former San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus. The Post began digging into this scandal back in February 2023 when she hired a close friend, Realtor Victor Aenlle, as her chief of staff even though he had no experience leading a law-enforcement organization. The Post, despite lawsuit threats and a lack of cooperation from county officials, documented instance after instance of misconduct, retaliation and abuse of power largely stemming from her alleged intimate relationship with Aenlle. Other media outlets ignored the story for more than a year. She was fired in October 2025.
The Post won first-place awards for the design of the front page the day Corpus was fired, an editorial calling for Corpus’ firing, coverage of corruption in the sheriff’s office and breaking news for coverage of a 10-day-long disciplinary hearing.
The Post received second-place awards for a story about how much it cost taxpayers to remove Corpus and another story about how the scandal affected trainees in the sheriff’s office.
Other stories honored
The Post also won a second-place award for its story on the death of Perry, a beloved donkey who lived in Bol Park in Palo Alto and was the basis of the donkey character in “Shrek.”
The Post received honorable mentions for a story about a math course controversy in the Palo Alto schools and the hacking of the speakers at crosswalks in Palo Alto and neighboring cities. The hackers replaced the voice normally heard at the crosswalks with imitations of Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk.
Be the first to comment