SDPC said more than 500 awards will be presented in more than 130 categories and 10 divisions, along with special career achievement awards and scholarships for college students. This year\u2019s awards program drew more than 1,000 entries, making it one of the largest journalism competitions in the nation.<\/p>\n
Award winners will include reporters, writers, artists, photographers, videographers and public relations professionals, along with college journalists.<\/p>\n Receiving the\u00a0Jim Reiman Enlightened Media Management Award will be Troy and Claire Johnson, owners of San Diego Magazine.<\/a> The award is given to the boss or supervisor who shows exceptional leadership or managerial skills to promote a positive, creative, and healthy work environment.<\/p>\n After spending a dozen years in national media roles, the Johnsons acquired San Diego Magazine in 2021. Over the last five years, they have transformed the 78-year-old magazine into a full media platform. Among their initiatives: launching the Here We Are Studios, an in-house creative shop, and co-founding the Del Mar Wine and Food Festival. The Johnsons remain convinced that a city\u2019s story should be told by the people who actually live there, SDPC said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis October will be five years since Troy and I acquired San Diego Magazine, and it\u2019s been a wild and exciting and chaotic adventure, but one that\u2019s made us more sure than ever, that we want to continue building here at home,\u201d Claire told Times of San Diego.\u00a0<\/p>\n The magazine was founded in 1948. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Troy and I acquired San Diego Magazine, it was never just to save an iconic magazine,\u201d said Claire, who serves as the magazine\u2019s CEO. \u201cIt was to build something bigger that connects people, entrepreneurs and communities through shared experiences. We build connection.\u201d<\/p>\n A statement said the work of Here We Are Studios spans two lanes, including original programming and creative services.\u00a0<\/p>\n Here We Are Studios produces San Diego Magazine\u2019s owned series, including the long-running Happy Half Hour podcast and the SDM Guides video series, along with flagship experiential events, including Best of San Diego and The Omakase Open, a first-of-its-kind experiential event created for Sapporo.<\/p>\n Here We Are also partners with brands, institutions and organizations across the region on creative strategy, brand identity and positioning, campaign creative, documentary film, branded content and full-service production, a statement said.<\/p>\n Additional recent work has included a campaign celebrating San Diego\u2019s creative community for Sony, a 30th anniversary storytelling campaign for Stone Brewing, an integrated outreach campaign for the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego and an ongoing creative partnership with SDFC.<\/p>\n The studio is led by Megan Grable, managing director and executive creative director, who works alongside a full in-house team of creatives, strategists, producers and editors.<\/p>\n \u201cHere We Are Studios exists to make the shows, films and campaigns that make San Diegans feel more at home in their own city, and to do that same work for the brands and institutions that are serious about being part of this place,\u201d said Claire.<\/p>\n Receiving the Harold Keen Award\u00a0for Outstanding Contribution in Journalism will be Elsa Sevilla,<\/a> an award-winning journalist and historical filmmaker with a career spanning four decades. The Keen award is given to the journalist who has throughout their career shown a high degree of professionalism and gone above and beyond standard practices for the sake of fairness and truth telling.<\/p>\n Arriving in San Diego at age five speaking only Spanish, Sevilla found connection through storytelling, driving a lifelong commitment to sharing stories that inform, inspire and empower. After internships at KNSD-TV NBC 7 San Diego and C-SPAN, Sevilla spent 20 years at KGTV 10 News, including 13 years on the air covering breaking news, investigative reports and major events.<\/p>\n In 1998, Sevilla founded Sevilla Productions. As creator and host of\u00a0\u201cHistoric Places with Elsa Sevilla\u201d\u00a0airing on KPBS, she has produced more than 80 documentaries since launching the series in 2008.<\/p>\n Receiving the Terry Williams Directors Award will be Dr. Max Branscomb, retired professor at Southwestern College.<\/p>\n During his 30-year career at Southwestern, Branscomb taught journalism, mass communication, creative writing and political science and served as faculty advisor of the\u00a0Southwestern College Sun\u00a0since 1996. He founded\u00a0El Sol Magazine\u00a0in 2010.<\/p>\n Branscomb is a five-time National College Journalism Professor of the Year and Society of Professional Journalists Sunshine Award winner. He is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) Journalism Professors Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n Under Branscomb\u2019s leadership, the two publications have won 26 ACP Pacemaker Awards, regarded as the collegiate Pulitzer Prize. Also, the Sun and El Sol have been were named National Collegiate Publication of the Year more than 40 times since 2003.<\/p>\n Receiving the Andy Mace Award for Outstanding Contribution in Public Relations will be Denise Scatena, CEO of Scatena Media Group.<\/a> The Mace award is presented to a public relations or marketing professional who has exemplified a high ethical standard of fairness and integrity, and over the course of their career has effectively disseminated the truth on behalf of their clients to the general public.<\/p>\n With nearly 30 years of experience, Scatena has led award-winning campaigns and initiatives across many sectors, including nonprofits, healthcare, telecommunications, hospitality and professional services.<\/p>\n Scatena has been instrumental in the growth and long-term success of Mama\u2019s Kitchen, both professionally and as a former board member whose leadership helped shape and strengthen the organization during its formative years.<\/p>\n Scatena\u2019s community involvement and pro bono work for numerous nonprofit organizations includes services as a San Diego Press Club board member from 2019-2025. For her efforts, Scatena was honored with the Eva Irving Community Service Award in 2024 and as the Deborah L. Baker Public Relations Professional of the Year in 2020 by the San Diego-Imperial Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.<\/p>\n *\u00a0 *\u00a0 *<\/p>\n San Diego State University Athletics has announced a multi-year sponsorship with Palomar Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLMR) that includes a Palomar Insurance patch appearing on the front right shoulder of Aztecs football black-and-red jerseys this current season.<\/p>\n Financial terms of the sponsorship were not announced. It\u2019s the first time for an apparel partner to appear on Aztecs uniforms, SDSU Athletics said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is an exciting time at San Diego State as we head into our first year in the Pac-12, and we are thankful for the continued support of a San Diego-based company that focuses on serving the local community,\u201d said John David Wicker, director of athletics at SDSU.<\/p>\n The expanded partnership builds on an original agreement announced in February 2026, when Palomar was named SDSU Athletics\u2019 Official Specialty Insurance Partner and Official Volunteerism Partner. The partnership centers on community engagement, highlighted by Days of Service that will bring SDSU\u2019s more than 500 student-athletes to support local organizations addressing needs across the San Diego community, a statement said.<\/p>\n \u201cPalomar is both thrilled and honored to be the Aztecs\u2019 inaugural jersey patch partner,\u201d said Mac Armstrong, chairman and CEO of Palomar. \u201cIt is a natural extension of our identity as a San Diego-born company that has scaled into a national specialty insurance leader. We are excited to lock arms with the football program as it enters the Pac-12 and to bring the Palomar name to a wider stage right alongside the Aztecs.\u201d<\/p>\n JMI Sports, the exclusive multimedia rights partner for SDSU Athletics, operating locally as SDSU Athletic Partnerships, connected Palomar and SDSU Athletics on the original agreement and continued to work alongside both organizations to grow the partnership that includes the jersey patch, a statement said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are proud to have brought SDSU football together with a local brand like Palomar that believes in the future of the program,\u201d said Erik Judson, co-founder and CEO at JMI Sports. \u201cPalomar has chosen to put that support front and center with a jersey patch that will stand with the Aztecs every game day, while also continuing to build on its commitment to the community.\u201d<\/p>\n So far this season, the football team\u2019s record is 2-4 and 1-1 in Pac-12 conference games. On Saturday, Oct. 10, Oregon State beat the Aztecs 66-14. It was the fourth loss in five games for SDSU, which allowed the third-most points in a game in the program\u2019s 104-year history.<\/p>\n The Beavers outgained the Aztecs 651-to-147 yards in total offense, including 409 passing yards. Oregon State had a 2-to-1 advantage in the number of offensive plays and time of possession. The Beavers had five touchdowns before SDSU had five first downs and scored on 10 of their first 11 possessions.<\/p>\n SDSU\u2019s next game is against Fresno State on Saturday, Oct. 17 at Snapdragon Stadium.\u00a0<\/p>\n *\u00a0 *\u00a0 *<\/p>\n San Diego AMA hosts Longball presentation, Oct. 27<\/p>\n The American Marketing Association\u2019s (AMA) San Diego chapter will host \u201cInside the Making of a Lifestyle Brand,\u201d a presentation how Longball Cocktail Club is intersecting golf, craft cocktails and culture, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 27 at Longball Cocktail Club and Golf Simulator, 4026 Hawk St. Suite #A, San Diego.<\/p>\n The presentation will feature a behind-the-scenes conversation on brand building, experiential marketing and the partnerships that help emerging brands grow. Speakers will include Daniel O\u2019Connor, co-founder\/CEO, Longball Craft Cocktails, and Donovan Dresti, VP of marketing, Betr Brands Solutions of San Diego.<\/p>\n From creating experiences that bring the brand to life to building community and expanding reach without losing authenticity, this conversation will explore both sides of the brand-partner relationship and the strategy behind Longball\u2019s growth, AMA said.<\/p>\n Admission is $44 for AMA members, $55 for nonmembers. For more information, send an email to info@sdama.org<\/a> or visit https:\/\/sdama.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Black-and-white](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/special-winner-fotoSDPC-Troy-Claire-Johnson.jpg\")
<\/a>Troy and Claire Johnson, owners of San Diego Magazine. (Photo courtesy of San Diego Press Club)<\/p>\n![\"Professional](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/special-winner-fotoSDPC-Elsa-Sevilla.jpg\")
<\/a>Journalist and KPBS host Elsa Sevilla. (Photo courtesy of San Diego Press Club)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/special-winner-fotoSDPC-Max-Branscomb.jpg\")
<\/a>Dr. Max Branscomb, former journalism professor and advisor at Southwestern College. (Photo courtesy of San Diego Press Club)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/special-winner-fotoSDPC-Denise-Scatena.jpg\")
<\/a>Denise Scatena, CEO of Scatena Media Group. (Photo courtesy of San Diego Press Club)<\/p>\n![\"Close-up](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SDSU-Aztecs-uniforms-Palomar-foto.webp\")
<\/a>A Palomar Insurance patch on a San Diego State Aztecs football jersey. (Photo courtesy of San Diego State athletic department)<\/p>\n