Winners of the Orange County Press Club’s 2025 Excellence in Journalism Awards were announced on June 18, 2025.
At the event, regular Newport Beach Independent contributor Richrd Simon won second place for his travel article “Five Decades Later: My Return to the Amazon.”
Newport Beach editor Christopher Trela won three awards.
Trela won third place for Best Arts/Culture Review for his review of “Stealing Pulp Fiction Screens at Lido Theater.”
Trela also won third place in the Music/Entertainment Story category for his article “Newport Beach Composer Joseph Mulroy’s Musical about OC Surfers Gets Full Staging at Irvine Valley College.”
And finally, Trela won honorable mention in the Best Business Story category for “Visit Newport Beach Finds Success with Creative Tourism Campaigns.”
The Orange County Press Club exists to support, promote, and defend quality journalism in Southern California. They seek to encourage journalists by providing networking opportunities and hosting regular events with topics of interest to a broad spectrum of journalists.
Members include Orange County based publishers, editors, journalists, reporters, broadcasters, public information officers, public relations professionals and journalism students.
The primary mission of the club is to provide a networking opportunity for those employed by news organizations, magazines and new media in Orange County. The club’s goal is to foster relationships among the members of the OC Press, to support those interested in entering the profession, and to recognize excellence in writing and reporting in Orange County.
Read the winning NB Indy articles:
Honorable Mention, Best Business Story: Christopher Trela
“Visit Newport Beach Finds Success with Creative Tourism Campaigns.”
Third Place, Best Arts/Culture Review: Christopher Trela
“Stealing Pulp Fiction Screens at Lido Theater.”
Third Place, Music/Entertainment Story: Christopher Trela
Second Place, Best Travel Story: Richard Simon
“Five Decades Later: My Return to the Amazon.”
