Journalism Awards
Joel Engardio worked in print and broadcast journalism for more than 20 years. He has won multiple journalism awards for his reports, essays and documentaries in outlets like the San Francisco Examiner, USA Today and PBS. Joel produced and directed an award-winning PBS documentary focused on First Amendment rights.
First Place News-Political Columns — San Francisco Press Club 2024
Paris in the Sunset: July 7, 2023 (Sunset Beacon)
Leading with Joy: December 6, 2023 (Sunset Beacon)
Jimmy Carter: June 1, 2024 (Sunset Beacon)
Honorable Mention News-Political Columns — San Francisco Press Club 2023
Putting Crime in Context: May 7, 2023 (Sunset Beacon)
Why Tents Can’t Be Removed: June 8, 2023 (Sunset Beacon)
Paris in the Sunset?: July 7, 2023 (Sunset Beacon)
2nd Place News-Political Columns — San Francisco Press Club, 2022
If San Francisco Politics Were a Netflix Show (San Francisco Examiner May 3, 2021)
How Much Police Does San Francisco Need? (San Francisco Examiner Dec. 13, 2021)
Why Won’t Chesa Boudin Make All His Crime Data Public? (San Francisco Examiner Dec. 21, 2021)
2nd Place Blog/Commentary — San Francisco Press Club, 2022
A Week That Feels Like the Past Century (Joel Engardio Blog March 20, 2021)
1st Place Blog/Commentary — San Francisco Press Club, 2021
School Board Should Treat Parents Like Customers (Joel Engardio Blog October 23, 2020)
3rd Place Blog/Commentary — San Francisco Press Club, 2021
The Little Park That Could Do More (Joel Engardio Blog June 24, 2020)
2nd Place Feature Columns — San Francisco Press Club, 2021
Let’s Reimagine Police (Joel Engardio Blog June 8, 2020)
What Good Fathers Do (Joel Engardio Blog June 21, 2020)
The Little Park That Could Do More (Joel Engardio Blog June 24, 2020)
3rd Place News-Political Columns — San Francisco Press Club, 2021
Saving Small Business (Joel Engardio Blog May 13, 2020)
Want Clean Streets? Clean Up City Hall’s Corruption (Joel Engardio Blog August 19, 2020)
School Board Should Treat Parents Like Customers (Joel Engardio Blog October 23, 2020)
1st Place Feature Columns — San Francisco Press Club, 2020
Discovering Pete Buttigieg (San Francisco Examiner April 7, 2019)
The Politics of a Beautiful Neighborhood (San Francisco Examiner May 5, 2019)
Running for Restorative Justice (San Francisco Examiner June 23, 2019)
2nd Place Political-News Columns — San Francisco Press Club, 2020
SF Can’t Fight Crime With Spaghetti Bowl of Data (San Francisco Examiner January 20, 2019)
Shield Law Should Protect All Journalists (San Francisco Examiner May 26, 2019)
The Jury Has Spoken. Will Anyone Listen? (San Francisco Examiner July 26, 2019)
2nd Place Feature Writing — San Francisco Press Club, 2019
SF Police Union Gets Openly Gay Leader and a New Style, At Last (SF Examiner July 8, 2018)
3rd Place Feature Columns — San Francisco Press Club, 2019
Calling Out a Silent Killer (San Francisco Examiner February 11, 2018)
Will the Great War Ever End? (San Francisco Examiner May 13, 2018)
A Green Rainbow for Our Time (San Francisco Examiner June 10, 2018)
1st Place Feature Columns — San Francisco Press Club, 2018
Finding God, Country and the Goo Goo Dolls (San Francisco Examiner March 5, 2017)
Self-Survival in San Francisco (San Francisco Examiner July 16, 2017)
These Kids Believe In Hard Work, Not Unicorns (San Francisco Examiner October 15, 2017)
2nd Place Feature Writing — San Francisco Press Club, 2018
Saving Mohammad (San Francisco Examiner November 26, 2017)
1st Place Feature Columns — San Francisco Peninsula Press Club, 2017
Better Death (San Francisco Examiner February 14, 2016)
Go West, New Housing — Within Reason (San Francisco Examiner March 12, 2016)
The Red Lobster Test (San Francisco Examiner September 18, 2016)
3rd Place Political-News Columns — San Francisco Peninsula Press Club, 2017
The Airbnb Solution (San Francisco Examiner January 10, 2016)
M-Line to Mars (San Francisco Examiner June 12, 2016)
All They Want for School Is a Teacher (San Francisco Examiner October 16, 2016)
1st Place Commentary — Society of Professional Journalists Northern California, 2016
A Court for the 10th Circle of Hell (San Francisco Examiner December 13, 2015)
Better Death (San Francisco Examiner February 14, 2016)
Go West, New Housing — Within Reason (San Francisco Examiner March 13, 2016)
1st Place Feature Columns — San Francisco Peninsula Press Club, 2016
A Court for the 10th Circle of Hell (San Francisco Examiner December 13, 2015)
Not Your Grandma's Snapchat (San Francisco Examiner June 7, 2015)
Reconciling Bayview and Gayview Pride (San Francisco Examiner August 2, 2015)
2nd Place Political-News Columns — San Francisco Peninsula Press Club, 2016
The Woman Who Would Be Sheriff (San Francisco Examiner July 19, 2015)
Victim Wars: Evictors vs. the Evicted (San Francisco Examiner August 30, 2015)
Why SF Housing Slips Like Sand Through Our Fingers (San Francisco Examiner October 11, 2015)
1st Place Feature Columns — San Francisco Peninsula Press Club, 2015
Local Politics and Beloved Muppets Reimagined (San Francisco Examiner September 28, 2014)
Is Detroit the New San Francisco? (San Francisco Examiner August 31, 2014)
A Yelp for the Poor (San Francisco Examiner March 30, 2014)
3rd Place Political-News Columns — San Francisco Peninsula Press Club, 2015
Voters Are the Light in Troubled BART Tunnels (San Francisco Examiner September 14, 2014)
$4 Toast That Signals Salvation, Not Apocalypse (San Francisco Examiner March 7, 2014)
Can Carmen Chu Conquer City Hall's Paper Chase? (San Francisco Examiner July 20, 2014)
1st Place Column/Criticism — Guild Freelance Journalism Awards, 2014
Why I Signed a Contract With Russian Television (San Francisco Examiner December 8, 2013)
Dollars to Cronuts, City Hall Still Bets on Fiscal Trouble (San Francisco Examiner October 27, 2013)
A Hunger Games for Parents in San Francisco (San Francisco Examiner December 15, 2013)
No Rest for an Old Politician: Quentin Kopp Won't Go Quietly (San Francisco Examiner December 25, 2013)
A "Nixon in China" for More Westside Density (San Francisco Examiner November 24, 2013)
Shorenstein Center Scholarship — Harvard University, 2010 and 2011
Global Justice Award - Media That Matters Film Festival, 2010
Voices From Guantanamo
3rd Place Opinion Writing — American Academy of Religion Journalism Awards, 2010
Beyond Gay Marriage (USA Today June 4, 2009)
Russia's Bans on Religion (Washington Post December 10, 2009)
Our Gay Christian Neighbors (Washington Post May 15, 2009)
Best Documentary — Jury Award, USA Film Festival, 2006
Knocking
Best Documentary Audience Award — Indianapolis International Film Festival, 2006
Knocking
Best Documentary Audience Award — Trenton Film Festival, 2006
Knocking
Best First Film, Jury Award — Long Island International Film Expo, 2006
Knocking
1st Place Opinion Writing — Society of Professional Journalists Northern California, 2003
Hepatitis B — Asians' Silent Epidemic (San Francisco Chronicle January 3, 2003)
2nd Place Specialty Story — San Francisco Peninsula Press Club, 2001
Smoking Gun (San Francisco Weekly May 2, 2001)
1st Place Science Writing — National Press Foundation Science Writing Award, 2000
Genes Without Frontiers (San Francisco Weekly February 9, 2000)
Finalist Feature Writing — Eugene S. Pulliam National Journalism Writing Award, 2000
The Vintage People (San Francisco Weekly August 4, 1999)
Finalist Feature Writing — Magazine Awards of Western Publishing (Maggies), 2000
East Side Story (San Francisco Weekly March 3, 1999)
Finalist Feature Writing — University of Missouri Lifestyle Journalism Award, 2000
Trophy Boys (San Francisco Weekly November 18, 1998)
1st Place News Feature Writing — San Francisco Peninsula Press Club, 1999
Rage Against the Machine (San Francisco Weekly December 1, 1999)
Other Accomplishments
Finished seven marathons: New York (2011), Seattle (2009 and 2013), Chicago (2007 and 2008), San Francisco (2006) and San Jose (2005).
Completed 545-mile charity bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles (2007).