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The Journal's Linda Stansberry has won the Humboldt Journalism Project's 40th Award for her Nov. 17 cover story "Profit and Pain," which detailed how the owner of local nursing homes raked in profits while understaffing facilities and providing substandard care.

“This was an ambitious project that cast light on a problem that had gone largely unnoticed in the community. It was a detailed and heartbreaking portrait of suffering and of regulatory failures,” said Ricardo Sandoval-Palos, competition juror and public editor for PBS. "This reporting shows us the value of local journalism and why it deserves our support."

In its second year, the 40th Award aims to honor work that affects people in the lower 40 percent of the income scale and is one of several efforts from the Humboldt Journalism Project to support local reporting. The nonprofit also offers reporting grants to fund projects related to those at or below median income. (See the press release below for more info on how to apply for those grants, and the Journal's news editor at [email protected] if you'd like a letter of support to see your future work published in the NCJ.)

Stansberry, a former Journal staffer, current freelancer and forever member of the NCJ family, has received numerous awards for her ongoing coverage of skilled nursing facilities on the North Coast. Her 2015 and 2016 cover stories, "The Shut Out" and "The Case of the Missing $5 Million," both finished first place in the California Newspaper Publisher's Association's Better Newspaper Awards for investigative journalism.


Honorable mentions in this year's 40th Award went to Ryan Hutson for her piece at kymkemp.com, "Which Bad Decision Do you Make? Greenbelt Sweep in Eureka Displaces Dozens, Removes Tons of Trash," and the Lost Coast Outpost's Isabella Vanderheiden for her piece, "Meet Article 34: How Eureka's Old Fight Against Subsidized Apartments Led to One of the Nation's Strongest Anti-Affordable Housing Laws, and What Legislators are Doing to Repeal It."

View the Humboldt Journalism Project's full press release copied below and join us in congratulating the honorees ... and more important, read their work!

Stansberry Wins Journalism Project Award

Honorable mentions to Huston, Vanderheiden

For Immediate Release

Linda Stansberry has won the Humboldt Journalism Project’s “40th Award” for “Profit and Pain,” a North Coast Journal article about a nursing home chain that paid millions to its affiliated companies, all while failing to provide required care.

Honorable mentions went to Ryan Hutson of the Redheaded Blackbelt and Isabella Vanderheiden of the Lost Coast Outpost.

The contest, now in its second year, is run by the Humboldt Journalism Project, a nonprofit that supports local journalism relevant to those who are sometimes left behind economically. It is a DreamMaker Project of The Ink People.

Its “40th Award” was created to honor work that affects people in the lower 40 percent of the income scale.

Judges were impressed by the scope of Stansberry’s piece, which reviewed financial documents and state inspection records to paint a picture of neglect within nursing homes owned by Schlomo Rechnitz’s Brius Healthcare.

“This was an ambitious project that cast light on a problem that had gone largely unnoticed in the community. It was a detailed and heartbreaking portrait of suffering and of regulatory failures,” said Ricardo Sandoval-Palos, competition juror and public editor for PBS. "This reporting shows us the value of local journalism and why it deserves our support."

Hutson was recognized for her article on the Redheaded Blackbelt titled: “Which Bad Decision Do You Make? Greenbelt Sweep in Eureka Displaces Dozens, Removes Tons of Trash.” Her work stood out for capturing the wide range of views about the greenbelt removal and the challenging problems of homeless encampments.

Vanderheiden won the other honorable mention for her Lost Coast Outpost piece, “Meet Article 34: How Eureka’s Old Fight Against Subsidized Apartments Led to One of the Nation’s Strongest Anti-Affordable Housing Laws and What Legislators Are Doing to Repeal It.” Judges praised the article’s deep dive into history, and its look at attempts to remove or circumvent the policy, which is now described as both racist and classist.

Along with the annual “40th Award,” the Humboldt Journalism Project also gives reporting grants, and it has grant money available now for freelance journalists in radio, broadcast, print and online.

Since 2021, the project has fully or partially funded work on Section 8 housing waiting lists during Covid, rural water districts in Southern Humboldt, and murdered or missing indigenous people in and around Hoopa. Reporting it supported has appeared in the Eureka Times-Standard, Redheaded Blackbelt, KMUD and the Two Rivers Tribune.

Journalists interested in applying for a reporting grant must first find a local editor who wants to broadcast or publish their piece. This preliminary acceptance only needs to say the work will be published as long as it meets the outlet’s standards. Applicants can then email a brief description of the work and explain how it relates to those at or below the median income. Put “reporting grant request” in the message line and email it to [email protected] with a copy of the preliminary acceptance.

To learn more about the Humboldt Journalism Project, or to donate to support its work, see its Ink People DreamMaker page at: https://www.inkpeople.org/dreammaker-data/r13elwey9g5smiq6ostw3qt30d0azc .

This year’s contest was judged by Sandoval-Palos, public editor at PBS and a graduate of Cal Poly Humboldt, and Carrie Peyton-Dahlberg, an award-winning retired journalist and co-founder of the Humboldt Journalism Project.

The 40th Award will continue in 2023 to honor the best local journalism aired or published this year. The deadline to enter work done in 2023 will be Jan. 31, 2024. As with this year’s contest, first place carries a prize of $1,500, and up to two honorable mentions come with $500 each. All prizes are awarded to the individual journalist or journalists, not the outlets they report for.