WASHINGTON, D.C. – Scripps News, the national streaming channel owned by The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP), has received a coveted 2025 IRE Award for its reporting on the limits of Maine gun laws.
The winners were announced today. The IRE Awards is the annual contest of Investigative Reporters and Editors recognizing the best in investigative reporting by print, broadcast and online media.
Scripps News received the award in the longform journalism in video category for its investigation, “Maine Shooting: Missed Warnings.”
The reporting by Scripps News investigative correspondent Lori Jane Gliha and producer Brittany Freeman revealed how more than two dozen law enforcement officials had information about the shooter’s threats and access to firearms, but no one was able to remove his weapons before he took the lives of 18 people. The team spent months uncovering information about the shooter, a member of the Army Reserves.
Judges’ comments: “In the wake of Maine’s deadliest mass shooting, Scripps News revealed that local law enforcement knew about the shooter’s mental decline and access to guns before the October 2023 incident in Lewiston, but they failed to use state yellow and red flag laws designed specifically to prevent this type of violence. This intrepid reporting team sought to find out why. Relying on court records, public documents and hard-hitting interviews, they exhibited the best in investigative journalism and engaging video storytelling.”
“This recognition is a reminder of our duty as investigative journalists to uncover the facts and give voice to the voiceless,” said Steve Turnham, Scripps News’ Washington Bureau chief and managing editor. “The rigorous reporting by our team exemplifies this mission, unearthing crucial information that not only informs the public but also holds those in authority accountable for their actions and, as was the case in this tragedy, their inactions.”
Additional members of the team that produced the investigation include: Alex Brauer, photojournalist-editor; Colin McIntyre, photojournalist-editor; Max McClellan, senior executive producer, investigative; and Linda Pattillo, managing editor for investigations and world affairs.
The investigation was also honored with a 2025 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award and received an honorable mention for a Gracie Award from the Alliance for Women in Media.
WTVF, Scripps’ CBS-affiliated local television station in Nashville, was named a finalist for a 2025 IRE Award in the video category for its investigation “Confronting Hate.” The entry is part of the station’s continuing “Hate Comes to Main Street” investigation of neo-Nazi agitators, white Christian nationalists and QAnon conspiracy theorists in Tennessee. The nearly two-year project has been led by NewsChannel 5 chief investigative reporter Phil Williams and photojournalist/editor Bryan Staples.
Judges’ comments: “This is brave and important investigative reporting. Williams had a lot of moral clarity and did not mince words in exposing white supremacist groups showing up — and in some cases growing in numbers — in Nashville and elsewhere in Tennessee. He showed great courage in staying on the hate beat while facing threats and significant pushback from certain officials and popular personalities from fringe groups.”
“Confronting Hate” was also nominated for a coveted George Foster Peabody Award. Winners for that will be announced on May 1.
Media contact: Molly Miossi, The E.W. Scripps Company, 513-977-3713, [email protected]
About Scripps News
Scripps News serves viewers opinion-free national and international news. Scripps News partners with the Scripps local station group to cover news from over 50 bureaus across the U.S. Scripps News is available on all major streaming and connected TV platforms. It is also available on mobile with the Scripps News app and online at ScrippsNews.com. Scripps News is part of The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP).