News Leaders Association Awards Finalists

From a story on newsleaders.org headlined “News Leaders Association Announces 2022 NLA Awards Finalists:

The News Leaders Association (NLA) announces the finalists for the 2022 News Leaders Awards. The awards honor outstanding reporting produced in 2021 with categories that take into account the massive stories that unfolded last year.

NLA received over 387 entries this year with an excellent mix of news organizations of all types and sizes, from a public radio station to tiny startups to big and mid-sized legacy newspapers

NLA will announce the winners the week of April 5, 2022.

AL NEUHARTH BREAKING NEWS REPORTING AWARD

Recognizes coverage of breaking news events. Judges weighed reporting in the immediate aftermath of a breaking event and also follow-up reporting that broke new ground and held people and institutions to account.

Finalists:

• Capitol Hill Riot, January 6, 2021 — Washington Post

• Tragedy in the night: Breaking coverage of the collapse in Surfside — Miami Herald

• Sixteen years after Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana is assaulted by a storm that was even stronger. — The Times-Picayune and The Advocate

DEBORAH HOWELL AWARD FOR WRITING EXCELLENCE

Recognizes the best story on any topic, with preference given to strong and stylish writing. Sponsored by Advance Publications, Inc., this award is dedicated to former editor Deborah Howell who loved compelling writing.

Finalists:

• Under the wheel — The Boston Globe

• The Jessica Simulation — San Francisco Chronicle

• ‘I Am Omar.’ A quest for the true identity of Omar ibn Said, a Muslim man enslaved in the Carolinas — The Post and Courier

MIKE ROYKO AWARD FOR COMMENTARY AND COLUMN WRITING

Recognizes excellence in writing by an individual that expresses a personal point of view. The award is sponsored by the Chicago Tribune in memory of legendary columnist Mike Royko, who died in 1997.

Finalists

• Heather Knight: San Francisco Under Siege — The San Francisco Chronicle

• Robin Givhan — The Washington Post

• Columns by Melinda Henneberger — The Kansas City Star

PUNCH SULZBERGER INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR AWARD

Recognizes innovation by a news organization in reaching underserved or disenfranchised audiences such as minority, immigrant or rural communities. Sponsored by The New York Times, this award is dedicated to the memory of former publisher Arthur Ochs “Punch” Sulzberger.

Finalists: 

• Printing Hate — Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland

• Meet Your Mayor — THE CITY

• Sacrifice Zones: Mapping Cancer-Causing Industrial Air Pollution — ProPublica in collaboration with The Texas Tribune and Mountain State Spotlight

BATTEN MEDAL

The Batten Medal each year recognizes coverage of an issue that presents an urgent challenge to the United States. This year, the award focused on coverage of climate. The Batten Medal is sponsored by editors from the former Knight Ridder company.

Finalists:

• Methane Menace — Bloomberg

• Extreme heat’s deadly toll — Los Ángeles Times

• The Greenland Connection — The Post and Courier

FRANK A. BLETHEN AWARD FOR LOCAL ACCOUNTABILITY REPORTING

Recognizes outstanding work done by a news organization that holds local authorities accountable for actions (or inaction). This award is named in honor of Frank A. Blethen, who has been The Seattle Times publisher and CEO since 1985, and is sponsored by The Seattle Times.

Finalists:

• Wires and Fires — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

• Birth and Betrayal — Miami Herald and ProPublica

• Poisoned — Tampa Bay Times

THE BURL OSBORNE EDITORIAL AND OPINION AWARD

Recognizes editorial writing that is excellent journalism and makes a difference in a community. The award is sponsored by The Dallas Morning News in memory of Burl Osborne, who died in 2012.

Finalists:

• Reimagine Safety — The Washington Post

• Louisiana’s attorney general sued our reporter — The Advocate and The Times-Picayune

• A stand against lies and disinformation — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

FIRST AMENDMENT AWARD

Recognizes the best example of protecting or advancing freedom of information principles, and/or overcoming significant resistance to the application of the First Amendment. The award is sponsored by Middle Tennessee State University’s Free Speech Center.

Finalists:

• Democracy in Doubt — The Arizona Republic

• Iowa Capital Dispatch pursues public records — Iowa Capital Dispatch

• Secrecy and Sacred Cows: Turmoil at New Mexico’s Children, Youth and Families Department — Searchlight New Mexico

DORI J. MAYNARD JUSTICE AWARD

Recognizes reporting on social justice issues. Sponsored by the O’Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism at Marquette University in Milwaukee, this award is named in memory of Dori J. Maynard, who was an ASNE board member and a strong advocate for news and newsroom diversity and journalism that addressed injustices. Judges give weight to journalism that shines a light on ignorance, stereotypes, intolerance, racism, hate, negligence, inequality and systemic obstacles.

Finalists:

• Black Children Were Jailed for a Crime That Doesn’t Exist. Almost Nothing Happened to the Adults in Charge. — Nashville Public Radio ’s WPLN News and ProPublica

• Arrest and evictions — Tampa Bay Times

• Criminalizing Kids — Center for Public Integrity, published in partnership with USA TODAY and Univision