2019 Sigma Delta Chi Award Honorees
The Society of Professional Journalists is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2019 Sigma Delta Chi Awards for excellence in journalism.
Newspaper/Wire Services
Magazines
Art/Graphics
Radio
Television
Newsletters
Research
Online Reporting
Podcasts
All Platforms
Judges chose the winners from entries in categories covering print, radio, television and online. The awards recognize outstanding work published or broadcast in 2019.
Dating back to 1932, the awards originally honored six individuals for contributions to journalism. The current program began in 1939, when the Society granted the first Distinguished Service Awards. The honors later became the Sigma Delta Chi Awards.
Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to a well-informed citizenry; works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists; and protects First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press.
Newspaper/Wire Services
Deadline Reporting (Daily Circulation of 100,001+)
El Paso-Dayton shooting
Staff, The Washington Post
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Deadline Reporting (Daily Circulation of 1-100,000)
Alpine Motel fire
Staff, Las Vegas Review-Journal
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Deadline Reporting (Non-Daily Publication)
No winner chosen
Non-Deadline Reporting (Daily Circulation of 100,001+)
Cycles of violence
Ashley Luthern and Angela Peterson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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Non-Deadline Reporting (Daily Circulation of 1-100,000)
Walking the path of the storm
Josh Sweigart and Chris Stewart, Dayton Daily News
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Non-Deadline Reporting (Non-Daily Publication)
Despite common belief, Floridians can’t always get a free public defender
Jerry Iannelli, Miami New Times
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Investigative Reporting (Daily Circulation 100,001+)
Long Island divided
Staff, Newsday
View online
Investigative Reporting (Daily Circulation of 1-100,000)
Dismissed
Ames Alexander, Gavin Off, David Raynor and John Simmons, The Charlotte Observer
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Investigative Reporting (Non-Daily Publication)
Death sentence: A Miami-based jail health-care company profits while patients die
Brittany Shammas, Miami New Times
View online
Feature Reporting (Daily Circulation 100,001+)
At the edge of a warming world
Nestor Ramos, The Boston Globe
View online
Feature Reporting (Daily Circulation of 1-100,000)
Our Secret Delta
Tony Bartelme and Glenn Smith, The Post and Courier
View online
Feature Reporting (Non-Daily Publication)
Life after death: Parents of homicide victims reflect on open wounds
Candace Y.A. Montague, Washington City Paper
View online
Editorial Writing (Daily Circulation 100,001+)
Tom McNamee, Chicago Sun-Times
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Editorial Writing (Daily Circulation of 1-100,000/Non-Daily Publication)
Ignoring child victims is easy, absorbing truth is hard
Melissa Hale-Spencer, The Altamont Enterprise
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Washington Correspondence
Todd Gillman, The Dallas Morning News
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Foreign Correspondence
Mexico’s homicide crisis
Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times
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General Column Writing (Daily Circulation 100,001+)
The homelessness crisis in L.A.
Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times
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General Column Writing (Daily Circulation 1-100,000/Non-Daily Publication)
The attempted sale of JEA
Nate Monroe, The Florida Times-Union
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Sports Column Writing (Daily Circulation 100,001+)
Jason Gay, The Wall Street Journal
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Sports Column Writing (Daily Circulation 1-100,000/Non-Daily Publication)
Ed Graney, Las Vegas Review-Journal
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Public Service Journalism (Daily Circulation 100,001+)
Arizona’s next water crisis
Ian James, Rob O’Dell and Mark Henle, The Arizona Republic
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Public Service Journalism (Daily Circulation of 1-100,000)
Lawless
Kyle Hopkins, Anchorage Daily News in partnership with ProPublica
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Public Service Journalism (Non-Daily Publication)
Unchecked power
Connor Sheets, Alabama Media Group in partnership with ProPublica
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Magazines
Magazine Investigative Reporting (National Circulation)
Inside the US Marshals’ secretive, deadly detention empire
Seth Freed Wessler, Type Investigations in partnership with Mother Jones
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Magazine Investigative Reporting (Regional/Local Circulation)
The madness of college sports
Neil Swidey, The Boston Globe
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Magazine Writing (National Circulation)
The untold story of the 2018 Olympics cyberattack, the most deceptive hack in history
Andy Greenberg, Wired
View online
Magazine Writing (Regional/Local Circulation)
Life after death in Parkland
Abigail Pesta, Notre Dame Magazine
Download [PDF]
Public Service in Magazine Journalism (National Circulation)
How to go to rehab
Jessica Pels and Andrea Stanley, Cosmopolitan Magazine
View online
Public Service in Magazine Journalism (Regional/Local Circulation)
Critical condition
Christopher Collins and Sophie Novack, Texas Observer
Download [PDF]
Art/Graphics
Breaking News Photography (Newspaper Circulation 100,001+, Affiliated Website, National Magazine)
Police thwart attack
Tom Fox, The Dallas Morning News
Breaking News Photography (Newspaper Circulation 1-100,000, Regional Magazine, Non-Daily Publication or Online Independent)
No winner chosen
Editorial Cartooning (Newspaper Circulation 100,001+, Affiliated Website, National Magazine)
Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press
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Editorial Cartooning (Newspaper Circulation 1-100,000, Regional Magazine, Non-Daily Publication or Online Independent)
Alexander Hunter, The Washington Times
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Feature Photography (Newspaper Circulation 100,001+, Affiliated Website, National Magazine)
Venezuela on the edge
Rodrigo Abd, The Associated Press
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Feature Photography (Newspaper Circulation 1-100,000, Regional Magazine, Non-Daily Publication or Online Independent)
Lake County Fair ends run Sunday after five days of pigs, pups and performances
Karie Angell Luc, Lake County News-Sun
View online
Data Visualization
California wildfires map
Casey Miller, Los Angeles Times
View online
Informational Graphics (Newspaper Circulation 100,001+, Affiliated Website, National Magazine)
Hong Kong protests: The full story in infographics
South China Morning Post infographics team, South China Morning Post
View online
Informational Graphics (Newspaper Circulation 1-100,000, Regional Magazine, Non-Daily Publication or Online Independent)
Tracking mass shootings — and more — in Texas
Mandi Cai and Stacy Fernandez, The Texas Tribune
Sports Photography (Newspaper Circulation 100,001+, Affiliated Website, National Magazine)
After the fire, back on the field in paradise
Wally Skalij, Los Angeles Times
Sports Photography (Newspaper Circulation 1-100,000, Regional Magazine, Non-Daily Publication or Online Independent)
No winner chosen
Radio
Breaking News Reporting (1-100 Market or Network Syndication)
Mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton
Westwood One News
Breaking News Reporting (101+ Market)
Ventura County firestorms
Lance Orozco, KCLU AM/FM
Listen online
Investigative Reporting (1-100 Market or Network Syndication)
Harpooned by Facebook
Nate Halverson, Ike Sriskandarajah, Anayansi Diaz-Cortes and Taki Telonidis, The Center for Investigative Reporting
Listen online
Investigative Reporting (101+ Market)
Thousands call Missouri’s adult abuse hotline, but only some get through
Aviva Okeson-Haberman and Kyra Haas, KBIA-FM
Listen online
Feature Reporting (1-100 Market or Network Syndication)
The long journey north: The forgotten story of the Reverse Freedom Rides of 1962
Gabrielle Emanuel and Sean Corcoran, WGBH Radio
Listen online
Feature Reporting (101+ Market)
Victoria Gray’s journey
Rob Stein, Joe Neel and Jane Greenhalgh, NPR
Listen online
Documentaries (1-100 Market or Network Syndication)
The unpaid cost of elder care
Jennifer Gollan, Anayansi Diaz-Cortes, Melissa Lewis, Reveal and PRX staff, The Center for Investigative Reporting
Listen online
Documentaries (101+ Market)
Show me the state: The gay purge
Kristofor Husted, Madison Conte, Janet Said and Ryan Famuliner, KBIA-FM
Listen online
Public Service in Radio Journalism (1-100 Market or Network Syndication)
Living with wildfire: California reimagined
Danielle Venton, Molly Peterson, Lauren Sommer and Kat Snow, KQED Science
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Public Service in Radio Journalism (101+ Market)
Parole, pardons and the fight for reform
Sandy Hausman and David Seidel, WVTF
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Television
Breaking News Coverage (Large-Market Station, 1-50 market)
No winner chosen
Breaking News Coverage (Small-Market Station, 51+ market)
Brushfire sparks, putting Anchorage on high alert
Staff, KTUU
Breaking News Coverage (Network/Syndication Service/Program Service)
Notre Dame fire
NBC News Specials
Watch online
Documentaries (Large-Market Station, 1-50 market)
The last harvest
Tom Lyden, Brad Swagger, John Michael and Tyler Ryan, KMSP-TV
Documentaries (Small-Market Station, 51+ market)
Climate changed
KTUU Staff
Documentaries (Network/Syndication Service/Program Service)
American betrayal
Staff, NBC News
Feature Reporting (Large-Market Station, 1-50 market)
Peter Rosen, KSL TV
Feature Reporting (Small-Market Station, 51+ market)
Newtok’s sprint against climate change
Blake Essig, KTUU
Feature Reporting (Network/Syndication Service/Program Service)
Mexico: The disappeared
Staff, ABC News
Investigative Reporting (Large-Market Station, 1-50 market)
A fertility doctor’s secret exposed
Chris Vanderveen, Corky Scholl and Chris Hansen, KUSA-TV
Investigative Reporting (Small-Market Station, 51+)
The Malone recordings: The tapes that brought down a bishop
Charlie Specht, Jeff Wick and Pat Merritt, WKBW-TV
Investigative Reporting (Network/Syndication Service/Program Service)
Billion-dollar Medicare fraud exposed
Staff, CBS News
Public Service in Television Journalism (Large-Market Station, 1-50 market)
Abuse of force
Staff, ABC15 Arizona
Public Service in Television Journalism (Small-Market Station, 51+ market)
Dads in yellow
Rhonda McBride, Will Mader and Nick Swann, KTVA Channel 11
Public Service in Television Journalism (Network/Syndication Service/Program Service)
Medical price roulette
Anna Werner, Wendy Krantz, Nicole Busch and Jeanne Pinder, CBS News
Newsletters
Public Service in Newsletter Journalism
Staff, ProPublica
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Research
Research about Journalism
Newspaper adherence to media reporting guidelines for the suicide deaths of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain
Arielle Sheftall, Jonathan Singer, Nerissa Young and John Ackerman
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Online Reporting
Deadline Reporting (Affiliated)
Death off the Santa Barbara coast
Staff, Los Angeles Times
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Deadline Reporting (Independent)
In historic shift, Botswana declares homosexuality is not a crime
Ryan Lenora Brown, The Christian Science Monitor
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Investigative Reporting (Affiliated)
The quiet rooms
Jennifer Smith Richards, Jodi S. Cohen and Lakeidra Chavis, Chicago Tribune and ProPublica Illinois
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Investigative Reporting (Independent)
Caregivers and takers
Jennifer Gollan and Melissa Lewis, The Center for Investigative Reporting
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Immersion Journalism
12 seconds of gunfire
John Woodrow Cox and Wesley Allsbrook, The Washington Post
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Non-Deadline Reporting (Affiliated)
American fallout: The Marshall Islands
Susanne Rust, Carolyn Cole and Ali Raj, Los Angeles Times
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Non-Deadline Reporting (Independent)
No sex for fish
Marc Silver, Julia Gunther and Rebecca Davis, NPR
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Online Column Writing (Affiliated)
Race, religion and politics
John Blake, CNN
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Online Column Writing (Independent)
Fumes in South Portland
Sabrina Shankman, InsideClimate News
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Digital Video
Tree of Life: One year later
Staff, Trib Total Media
Public Service in Online Journalism (Affiliated)
Polluted by money
Rob Davis, The Oregonian/OregonLive
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Public Service in Online Journalism (Independent)
UVA lawsuits
Jay Hancock and Elizabeth Lucas, Kaiser Health News
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Specialized Journalism Site
Detained
Emily Kassie, The Marshall Project in partnership with The Guardian
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Podcasts
John C. Ensslin Award for Podcast Excellence
Man in the window
Paige St. John in partnership with Wondery, Los Angeles Times
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Collaborative Journalism
Code Red: Baltimore’s climate divide
The University of Maryland’s Howard Center for Investigative Journalism, Capital News Service and NPR
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Fact Checking
Trump’s steel industry claims
Lori Robertson and Eugene Kiely, FactCheck.org
View online