Pilot staff honored with L.A. Times awards

Three members of the Daily Pilot staff received Los Angeles Times Editorial Awards on Thursday evening.

Features Editor Michael Miller, news reporter Bradley Zint and photographer Kevin Chang were honored for work produced in 2013 during a ceremony in an auditorium at the Los Angeles Times.

Miller received the editor’s award, the highest honor for Times Community News, for outstanding writing and editing in the Life & Arts section, which appears Fridays in the Daily Pilot and the Laguna Beach Coastline Pilot, and Thursdays in the Huntington Beach Independent. The newspapers are inserted in the Los Angeles Times, which owns them.

Zint earned an award in the news reporting category for his ongoing coverage of Costa Mesa City Hall.

Chang was honored in the news photography category for his 2013 body of work, a collection of outstanding images in news, sports and features.

“Bradley, Michael and Kevin are deeply devoted to newspapering,” said Daily Pilot Editor John Canalis. “They produce exemplary words and images that inform, entertain and enlighten our readers week in and out. This recognition from their peers means a great deal.”

In addition, two members of the Daily Pilot photography staff were recently honored by the California Newspaper Publishers Assn. in its 2013 Better Newspaper Contest.

Staff photographer Scott Smeltzer took first place in feature photography for a photo of several Little Leaguers going for the same ball.

Photo Editor Don Leach took second place in news photography for a photograph of an organ donor’s son who dressed up as a super hero — suggestive of his dad — complete with anatomically correct organs.

Web Editor Kelly Parker was a Blue Ribbon finalist in the contest’s best website category.