San Diego’s Society of Professional Journalists Grant Mayor Gloria the ‘Wall Award’ for Stonewalling the Press

Every year, the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists hosts an event called “Walls and Windows” in order “to honor those in our community who have worked hard to expand the public’s right to know by fighting for transparency — and hold accountable those who have stifled these efforts.”

This year, they awarded the “Sunshine Award” to Will Carless — a former San Diego journalist — who works for USA Today. The award “goes to a journalist or community member who went above and beyond to make the government more transparent and hold elected officials accountable.”

And the Society awarded the “Wall Award” to San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, and here’s why:

The Wall Award goes to the person or public agency that made it difficult for journalists to do their jobs by ignoring information requests or otherwise compromising the public’s right to know. The award this year goes to the office of San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria.

The Mayor’s office has been busy over the past year coordinating responses to weather-related emergencies, grappling with an ongoing influx of migrants at the Southern border and creating new policies to address the burgeoning unhoused population in the city. Given all of the pressing issues affecting San Diego, we would expect the Mayor’s office to act with transparency by cooperating with journalists who are reporting on these urgent topics. However, we think officials have fallen short.

The Mayor’s office has developed a reputation for contacting journalists in the wake of unfavorable coverage to downplay, dispute or undermine their reporting, claiming that their important work is promoting distrust in the community. In one of many instances experienced by San Diego journalists, the Mayor’s chief spokesperson described a news story about the city’s neglect of Black and Latino neighborhoods prior to an unprecedented flood as inaccurate, “dangerous” and “harmful.” We disagree.

Multiple journalists working in print, TV and radio said they have been unfairly denied access to interviews, press conferences and site tours involving the Mayor’s office. Some described situations where the Mayor canceled or delayed interviews after critical news coverage about his administration. As one example, La Prensa, a news outlet with a history of critical coverage of Mayor Gloria, was denied access last year to tour a city-sanctioned campsite for unhoused residents, while 12 other newsrooms were invited to attend. The Mayor has declined accountability interviews about his approach to homelessness, and his office has ignored questions from reporters about the recent migrant crisis. We believe the Mayor’s office should focus more on cooperation and less on reputation management.

In addition, freelancers continue to have difficulties receiving press credentials from the San Diego Police Department, which is overseen by the Mayor’s office. Newsrooms also continue to experience issues accessing public records, a problem dating back years in the Gloria administration.

Mayor Gloria’s refusal to attend debates during the primary election is another example of a lack of openness that is harmful to both journalists and the public as a whole. We hope that this award will remind Mayor Gloria and his office that hindering journalists only hurts the people he was elected to serve.

Back to Will Carless — he’s a national correspondent for USA Today and has been dogged in his efforts to pull back the curtain on extremism. (Will is a former staff writer for Voice of San Diego.)

The Society will be presenting these and other awards at their annual event, and the public is invited on Thursday, April 18 to hear from the awardees and mingle with other local journalists! Some food will be provided and drinks will be available for purchase. It’s at 6:30 p.m. and Mujeres Brew House, 1983 Julian Ave, San Diego, CA 92113.