CINCINNATI – The Washington Post leads news organizations receiving recognition from the judges of the 65th Annual Scripps Howard Awards, with five of its entries selected as finalists.
The Awards, which honor the best journalism from the past year, has named finalists in 15 categories among 900 entries received from U.S. news organizations large and small. A panel of veteran journalists convened Feb. 22-23 to judge the entries at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The Scripps Howard Foundation presents more than $170,000 in prize money to the winning organizations and journalists of the Scripps Howard Awards. The Foundation’s corporate parent, The E.W. Scripps Company, is the presenting sponsor of the Awards.
Winners will be announced at 2 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, March 6, during a live stream on Facebook and YouTube. The Awards will be presented on Thursday, April 19, in Cincinnati and also streamed live on Facebook and YouTube.
The quality of the entries illustrates the ability of journalism to improve lives and the importance of the craft to our democracy, said Liz Carter, president and CEO of the Scripps Howard Foundation.
“Every year, we are overwhelmed by the depth of excellence among the work submitted and the diversity of topics and storytelling,” Carter said. “This year, our judges repeatedly made note of the high-quality reporting, writing, presentation and editing.”
The Post has two finalists in the Human Interest Storytelling category, two in the Investigative Reporting category and one in the Multimedia Journalism category.
CBS News/“60 Minutes,” FRONTLINE PBS, The New York Times, The Kansas City Star and the San Francisco Chronicle each had two entries named as finalists in the competition. A full list of finalists follows:
Breaking News:
Houston Chronicle – “Hurricane Harvey: Houston’s Reckoning”
San Francisco Chronicle – “Wine Country Fires”
The Press Democrat – “Northern California Wildfires”
Broadcast – Local Coverage:
WCPO – “Policing Their Own”
WFAA TV – “Criminal Caretakers”
WXIA 11Alive Atlanta – “The Drug Whisperer”
Broadcast – National, International Coverage:
CBS News – “Ambush in Niger”
CNN – “Passports in the Shadows”
FRONTLINE PBS – “Last Days of Solitary”
Business/Financial Reporting:
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – “Mexico Blackouts”
Reuters – “The Body Trade”
The Post and Courier – “Stickin’ With the Pig: A Tale of Loyalty and Loss”
Community Journalism:
Bristol Herald Courier – “Addicted at Birth”
Capital News Service – “Home Sick”
The Frontier – “Shadow Land: How Rape Stays Hidden in Oklahoma”
Environmental Reporting:
FRONTLINE PBS – “War on the EPA”
The Oregonian/OregonLive – “The Loneliest Polar Bear”
Univision News Digital – “Life in the Eye of the Hurricane”
First Amendment:
Malheur Enterprise – “Deadly Decisions – The Fight for Records”
Orlando Sentinel – “Schools Without Rules”
The Kansas City Star – “Why So Secret, Kansas?”
Human Interest Storytelling:
CBS News – “60 Minutes”: “The Wounds of War”
The Washington Post – “Disabled America”
The Washington Post – “Children and Gun Violence”
Innovation:
Arizona Republic with the USA Today Network – “The Wall”
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists – “Paradise Papers: Secrets of the Global Elite”
The New York Times – “Blockbuster Videos”
Investigative Reporting:
The New York Times – “Harassed”
The Washington Post – “Roy Moore”
The Washington Post and “60 Minutes” – “DEA/The Whistleblower”
Multimedia Journalism:
GateHouse Media – “In the Shadow of Wind Farms”
Tampa Bay Times – “Why Cops Shoot”
The Washington Post – “Sin Luz: Life Without Power”
Opinion:
Alabama Media Group – “Stand for Decency, Reject Roy Moore”
Los Angeles Times – “Our Dishonest President”
The Kansas City Star – Melinda Henneberger Commentary from The Kansas City Star
Radio/Podcast:
NPR – Rough Translation’s “The Congo We Listen To”
WBEZ – “The View From Room 205”
WNIN-FM – “A Scar on the System – The Case of Albert Fink”
Topic of the Year – Divided America:
InsideClimate News – “Finding Middle Ground: Conversations Across America”
ProPublica – “Documenting Hate”
VICE News – “Charlottesville: Race & Terror”
Visual Journalism:
British Broadcasting Corporation – Darren Conway
Los Angeles Daily News – Hans Gutknecht, “I Am Homeless”
San Francisco Chronicle – Leah Millis
About The Scripps Howard Foundation
Dedicated to excellence in journalism, the Scripps Howard Foundation educates, empowers and honors extraordinary journalists who illuminate community issues, and partners with impactful organizations to drive change and improve lives. As the philanthropic arm of The E.W. Scripps Company, the Foundation is a leader in industry efforts in journalism education, scholarships, internships, minority recruitment and development, literacy and First Amendment causes. With a special commitment to the regions where Scripps does business, the Foundation helps build thriving communities.
About Scripps
The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE: SSP) serves audiences and businesses through a growing portfolio of local and national media brands. With 33 television stations, Scripps is one of the nation’s largest independent TV station owners. Scripps runs an expanding collection of national journalism and content businesses, including Newsy, the next-generation national news network; podcast industry leader Midroll Media; and fast-growing national broadcast networks Bounce, Grit, Escape and Laff. Scripps produces original programming including “Pickler & Ben,” runs an award-winning investigative reporting newsroom in Washington, D.C., and is the longtime steward of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Founded in 1878, Scripps has held for decades to the motto, “Give light and the people will find their own way.”
Media Contact:
Kari Wethington, The E.W. Scripps Company, 513-977-3763, [email protected]