ARCHDIOCESE PUBLICATION WON 16 AWARDS AT 2023 CATHOLIC MEDIA CONFERENCE, INCLUDING FOUR FIRST PLACE
June 12, 2023  |  By:   |  Press Releases  |  

—The annual conference had a larger in-person attendance, although technically it continues to be hybrid since the pandemic—

Angelus, the official magazine of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, won 16 awards, including four first place for best in-depth writing, best review, best reporting on Catholic education and best coverage of the pandemic, at the Catholic Media Association’s 2023 Catholic Media Conference, held in Baltimore, Maryland, on June 6-9, 2023.

“This year’s awards are a welcome recognition of the fine work of our contributors, and to Archbishop José H. Gomez’s vision for Catholic journalism,” said Angelus News’ Editor-in-Chief Pablo Kay. “And although their names don’t appear in the submissions or the awards, none of these are won without the creativity and often unnoticed, dedicated work of our Angelus editorial staff.”

The competition included Catholic publications from across the U.S. and Canada, and recognized work done in 2022.

Angelus won four First Place in the category of Best Writing In-Depth, with the article “How to save men,” by Elise Italiano Ureneck. The story was described by the judges, as “Fantastic. Unbelievable. And a blessing in so many ways.” In the category of Best Review, with his article, “More than feelings,” Msgr. Richard Antall was categorized as an “expert reflecting on another expert can be like someone pulling fruit off two different trees with two hands at the same time.” Best Reporting on Catholic Education was awarded to Steve Lowery for his cover story, “St. Eugene is our village.” The story received first place for “Strong writing using a conversational tone” that “makes it easy for readers to dive into the story and learn more about one family’s relationship with a local school.” And in the category Best Coverage – Pandemic, Angelus received first place for reporting on the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic from writers Elise Italiano Ureneck, Ann Rodgers, Alison Nastasi and Tom Hoffarth.

Angelus replaced the former Archdiocese’s centenarian newspaper The Tidings in July 2016, taking to heart the motto of Saint Junípero Serra, the founder of the first nine of the 21 missions of California, “Always forward, never back.” Since the pandemic, the magazine has gone from a weekly to biweekly publication schedule while continuing to feature analysis of events and trends shaping the Church and our society, reflections and advice by renown Catholic writers and quality journalism covering the local Catholic community, and the award-winning daily email newsletter Always Forward.

Second place included Best Illustration with Graphic Design or Art for the Vin Scully cover by Jim Thompson; Best Website – Magazine or Newsletter, AngelusNews.com; Hot Topic – The Dobbs decision for the story, “A new beginning: What the end of Roe v. Wade means,” by Natalie Romano, Pablo Kay, Charles Camosy, and Angelus staff; Best Coverage – Disaster or Crises for “Stay or go? The road ahead for families under siege in Ukraine,” by Ann Rodgers, Pablo Kay, and John L. Allen, Jr. A second place was also awarded to Angelus photo editor Victor Alemán in the Best Photograph – Catholic Education category for his photo of young students from All Souls World Language School in Alhambra praying for peace in Ukraine during a March 25, 2022 Marian consecration service; and Best Reporting of Social Justice Issues, Rights and Responsibilities for the article, “Action required,” by Steve Lowery.

Angelus received four third place award in Best Review, for “A Viking’s only way out?” by Joe Joyce; Best Regular Column – Family Life, for the column “With Grace,” by Dr. Grazie Pozo Christie; Best Essay – Diocesan Magazines, for “Peace comes to the Golden Age,” by Mike Aquilina; and Best Sports Reporting, for the article, “Vin’s greatest inheritance,” by Tom Hoffarth.

Honorable Mentions were awarded to the magazine’s editor Pablo Kay for Editor of the Year (English), and to Elise Italiano Ureneck for Best Writing – In-Depth, for “Next stop: The metaverse.”

In total, Angelus was awarded four first place, six second place, four third place, and two honorable mentions.

For more information about the awards, please visit https://angelusnews.com/local/la-catholics/angelus-wins-16-cma-awards/.

About Angelus

The Archdiocese began publishing Angelus in July 2016, replacing The Tidings, which had been the Archdiocesan publication since 1895. It includes voices like renowned Vatican reporter, John Allen,   Kathryn Lopez (National Review, Wall Street Journal), Grazie Pozo Christie (CNN, Miami Herald, New York Times, USA Today), and Mike Aquilina (national speaker and author of more than 50 books on Catholic themes). Best-selling Catholic author, Dr. Scott Hahn, writes a weekly Scripture column. These voices complement key contributors like Archbishop José H. Gomez, Father Ronald Rolheiser and Heather King. For more information, visit AngelusNews.com, facebook.com/AngelusNews, twitter.com/AngelusNews and instagram.com/AngelusNews. 

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