The San Francisco Press Club awarded Momo Chang first place for a collaborative story focused on how Oakland Chinatown residents were rethinking public safety in the wake of the Stop AAPI Hate movement. Winners were announced Dec. 9 at a gala held at the Julia Morgan Ballroom in the City.
“It means a lot to be recognized for a community-focused, local news story focused on Oakland Chinatown,” Chang said, “a neighborhood I’ve been reporting on since my days at the Oakland Tribune in 2005.”
The first place award was for general news stories for small, digital newsrooms. Chang shared the award with her co-writer, Oaklandside Public Safety Reporter Roselyn Romero, and freelance editor Tommy Craggs, who she credits for pushing them to tell a clearer story. Chang was co-director of Oakland Voices when she started co-writing the story.
The reporting emerged from a partnership between Oakland Voices and The Oaklandside. In February 2021, Chang reported on public safety concerns in Oakland Chinatown as part of a two-part series. In 2024, long after national attention faded from Covid-19 era anti-Asian American violence, Chang and Romero’s story explored how residents and community leaders continued to work together and learn from one another. The duo also participated in a 2024 forum focused on media stereotypes and crime reporting.
“The story shows the power of local reporting, but also how much energy and resources are needed to do in-depth reporting.” Momo Chang
Chang said the story took several months of reporting and editing.
“The story shows the power of local reporting,” she said, “but also how much energy and resources are needed to do in-depth reporting.”
Chang joined Oakland Voices as alumni program coordinator in 2019, and served as co-director from August 2021 to August 2024.
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