Williams, Fainaru-Wada Speak at Sunshine State Awards

The San Francisco Chronicle's Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada spoke at the 14th annual Sunshine State Awards banquet for the South Florida chapter of SPJ that were held recently. 

The duo had exposed the BALCO steroid scandal for the Chronicle and then wrote about it in-depth in their book "Game of Shadows:  Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the Steroids Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports."  Their work led to an investigation into steroid use in Major League Baseball.  When the reporters were called before a grand jury in May 2006 to reveal their sources or face 18 months in prison, they opted for prison.  The tandem successfully appealed and the government dropped the subpoena in February.

The Sunshine State Awards honors the best online, print and broadcast journalism in Florida and is the largest journalism contest in the state.