Judges selected 84 honorees from nearly 1,700 submissions. Entries included selections from television and radio broadcasts, newspapers, online news outlets and magazines.
The Sigma Delta Chi Awards date back to 1932, when the Society honored six individuals for their contributions to journalism. The current program began in 1939 as the Distinguished Service Awards.
Prominent veteran journalists serve as SDX Awards judges. Judges may withhold an award if they determine no entry merits recognition, and any categories not listed below have no winner.
Contact Director of Awards Lauren Rochester with any questions: awards@spj.org and 317.927.8000 ext. 210.
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. For more information about SPJ, please visit www.spj.org.
2012 Sigma Delta Chi Award Honorees
NEWSPAPER Deadline Reporting (Daily Circulation of 100,001+) Superstorm Sandy Staff The Wall Street Journal
Deadline Reporting (Daily Circulation of 50,001-100,000) Superstorm Sandy at the Jersey Shore Staff Asbury Park Press
Deadline Reporting (Daily Circulation of 1-50,000) Former soldier held in deaths Mark Collette Corpus Christi Caller-Times
Deadline Reporting (Non-Daily Publication) Death Trap Michael E. Miller Miami New Times
Non-Deadline Reporting (Daily Circulation of 100,001+) Zero Day Robert O'Harrow, Jr The Washington Post
Non-Deadline Reporting (Daily Circulation of 50,001-100,000) Storm of Money Tony Bartelme The Post and Courier
Non-Deadline Reporting (Daily Circulation of 1-50,000) The atrocity of forced, live organ harvesting in China Matthew Robertson The Epoch Times
Non-Deadline Reporting (Non-Daily Publication) Exclusive Interview With Hamas Larry Cohler-Esses Forward
Investigative Reporting (Daily Circulation of 100,001+) Prognosis: Profits Ames Alexander, Karen Garloch, Joseph Neff and David Raynor The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer
Investigative Reporting (Daily Circulation of 50,001-100,000) Cash Crop Marc Perrusquia and Grant Smith The Commercial Appeal
Investigative Reporting (Daily Circulation of 1-50,000) No Small Thing Mary Beth Pfeiffer Poughkeepsie Journal
Investigative Reporting (Non-Daily Publication) Exposing sex abuse in the Orthodox community Paul Berger Forward
Feature Reporting (Daily Circulation of 100,001+) Never Let Go Kelley Benham Tampa Bay Times
Feature Reporting (Daily Circulation of 50,001-100,000) Tempest in My Soul Joan Garrett Chattanooga Times Free Press
Feature Reporting (Daily Circulation of 1-50,000) 12-14-12 Staff The News-Times
Feature Reporting (Non-Daily Publication) The Battle of Remington Lane Terrence McCoy Houston Press
Washington Correspondence Capitol Assets David S. Fallis, Scott Higham, Kimberly Kindy and Dan Keating The Washington Post
Foreign Correspondence Honduras Alberto Arce The Associated Press
Public Service Journalism (Daily Circulation of 100,001+) Forensic Science Spencer S. Hsu The Washington Post
Public Service Journalism (Daily Circulation of 50,001-100,000) Children in peril Marisa Kwiatkowski The Times of Northwest Indiana
Public Service Journalism Writing (Daily Circulation of 1-50,000) Making a difference in the life of Every Child Staff Springfield News-Leader
Public Service Journalism (Non-Daily Publication) Fire and failure: the Waldo Canyon tragedy Pam Zubeck Colorado Springs Independent
General Column Writing (Daily Circulation of 100,001+) Jim Dwyer The New York Times
General Column Writing (Daily circ. 1-100,000/Non-Daily Publication) Steve Matrazzo The Dundalk Eagle
Sports Column Writing (Daily Circulation of 100,001+) Tom Archdeacon Dayton Daily News
Sports Column Writing (Daily Circulation of 1-100,000/Non-Daily Publication) Matt Calkins The Columbian
Editorial Writing (Daily Circulation of 100,001+) Tom Condon, Maura Casey, Henry McNulty and Robert K. Schrepf The Hartford Courant
Editorial Writing (Daily Circulation of 1-100,000/Non-Daily Publication) War on coal Jamie Lucke Lexington Herald-Leader
MAGAZINE Magazine Writing (National Circulation) The Yankee Comandante David Grann The New Yorker
Magazine Writing (Regional/Local Circulation) New York vs. Boston: The End Game Neil Swidey The Boston Globe Magazine
Magazine Investigative Reporting (National Circulation) Duping the Donors David Evans Bloomberg Markets
Public Service in Magazine Journalism (National Circulation) Danger on Your Dinner Plate Stephanie Armour, John Lippert and Michael Smith Bloomberg Markets
Public Service in Magazine Journalism (Regional/Local Circulation) Life On the List Emily DePrang The Texas Observer
ARTS/GRAPHIC Breaking News Photography (Newspaper Circulation 100,001+) or Affiliated Website/National Magazine Death at a Birthday Party Michael DeMocker NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune
Breaking News Photography (Newspaper Cir. 1-100,000/Regional Magazine/ Non-Daily Publication) Tropical Storm Debby Brad McClenny The Gainesville Sun
Feature Photography (Newspaper Circulation of 100,001+) or Affiliated Website/National Magazine Beyond 7 Billion Rick Loomis Los Angeles Times
Feature Photography (Newspaper Cir. 1-100,000/Regional Magazine/ Non-Daily Publication) Tom Douglas Marcus Donner Puget Sound Business Journal
Sports Photography (Newspaper Circulation of 100,001+) or Affiliated Website/National Magazine Gift of Gabby Peter Read Miller Sports Illustrated
Sports Photography (Newspaper Cir. 1-100,000/Regional Magazine/ Non-Daily Publication) Saturday Bloody Saturday Doug Finger The Gainesville Sun
Informational Graphics (Newspaper Circulation of 100,001+) or Affiliated Website/National Magazine Conventional Wisdom Don Morris, Lee Glynn, Steve Madden and Darla Cameron Tampa Bay Times
Informational Graphics (Newspaper Cir. 1-100,000/Regional Magazine/ Non-Daily Publication) Tragedy on I-75 Staff The Gainesville Sun
Editorial Cartooning (Newspaper Circulation of 100,001+) or Affiliated Website/National Magazine Scott Stantis Chicago Tribune
Editorial Cartooning (Newspaper Cir. 1-100,000/Regional Magazine/ Non-Daily Publication) Phil Hands Wisconsin State Journal
RADIO Breaking News Reporting (Market 1-100 or Network Syndication) Los Angeles VA Has Made Millions on Rental Deals Ina Jaffe, Quinn OToole and Steven Drummond NPR
Feature Reporting (Market 1-100 or Network Syndication) The weight of the city's violence, on one school principal Linda Lutton, Cate Cahan and Sally Eisele WBEZ Chicago Public Media
Feature Reporting (Market 101+) My Cancer Lance Orozco KCLU AM/FM
Investigative Reporting (Market 101+) Naming the Fralin Sandy Hausman WVTF and Radio IQ
Investigative Reporting (Market 1-100 or Network Syndication) Shell's Arctic Oil-Spill Gear Crushed Like A Beer Can John Ryan and Jim Gates KUOW-FM
Documentaries (Market 1-100 or Network Syndication) As Black as We Wish to Be Lu Olkowski, Laura Spero, Taki Telonidis and Al Letson NPR's State of the Re:Union distributed by PRX
Documentaries (Market 101+) Winds of Change Pat Duggins, Ryan Vasquez, Maggie Martin and Stan Ingold Alabama Public Radio
Public Service in Radio Journalism (Market 1-100 or Network Syndication) If it's legal: Five ways legal pot could affect your life KPLU News Staff KPLU Public Radio
Public Service in Radio Journalism (Market 101+) State struggled at fire prevention ahead of Manorville blaze Charles Lane and Naomi Starobin WSHU Public Radio
TELEVISION Breaking News Coverage (Network/Syndication Service/Program Service) Hurricane Sandy Staff NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams
Breaking News Coverage (Small-Market Station: 50+ market) Hubig's Pie Factory Fire Travers Mackel, Bryan McCann, Keith Bliven and Jonathan Shelley WDSU
Feature Reporting (Network/Syndication Service/Program Service) The CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley, On The Road Steve Hartman and Miles Doran CBS Evening News
Feature Reporting (Large-Market Station: 1-50 market) Ali's Guiding Lights Joe Fryer, Matt Mrozinski, Pete Cassam and Eric Wold KING-TV
Feature Reporting (Small-Market Station: 50+ market) Who Are Those Guys? Eric Hanson and Glen Biermann KCCI-TV
Investigative Reporting (Network/Syndication Service/Program Service) Crossing the Line at the Border John Larson, John Carlos Frey, Brian Epstein and Marc Rosenwasser Need to Know/WNET in partnership with The Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute
Investigative Reporting (Large-Market Station: 1-50 market) Critical Delays: Dallas Countys Response to the West Nile Epidemic Scott Friedman, Eva Parks, Peter Hull and Shane Allen NBC 5/KXAS-TV
Investigative Reporting (Small-Market Station: 50+ market) Got Guardrails Jordan Williams, Israel Alfaro and Jenny Martinez KRGV-TV
Documentaries (Large-Market Station: 1-50 market) Heat and Harvest Mark Schapiro, Serene Fang, Gabriela Quiros and Craig Miller KQED and the Center for Investigative Reporting
Documentaries (Small-Market Station: 50+ market) Disappearing Defenses John Snell and Paul Rodgers WVUE-TV
Public Service in Television Journalism (Network/Syndication Service/Program Service) ENDGAME: AIDS in Black America Renata Simone WGBH/FRONTLINE
Public Service in Television Journalism (Large-Market Station: 1-50 market) Guessing Pensions: San Jose's Fuzzy Math Jenna Susko, Julie Putnam and Mark Villarreal NBC Bay Area/KNTV
Public Service in Television Journalism (Small-Market Station: 50+ market) Newtok: Village on the Edge Rhonda McBride and Eric Sowl KTUU-TV, Channel 2-Anchorage
NEWSLETTER Public Service in Newsletter Journalism The Ugly Side of the U.S. Oil and Gas Boom Brian Hansen The McGraw-Hill Companies/Platts
RESEARCH Research About Journalism Out of the News: Former Journalists Discuss a Profession in Crisis Celia Viggo Wexler
ONLINE Deadline Reporting (Affiliated) All Clear: CSU Fullerton Lockdown Lifted Olsen Ebright, Melissa Pamer, Samantha Tata and Vikki Vargas NBC4 Southern California
Deadline Reporting (Independent) SCOTUSblogs coverage of the Supreme Courts decision on the Affordable Care Act Staff SCOTUSblog
Non-Deadline Reporting (Affiliated) Mass Shootings Coverage Mark Follman, Gavin Aronsen and Deanna Pan Mother Jones
Non-Deadline Reporting (Independent) Hard Labor Jim Morris, Chris Hamby and Ronnie Greene Center for Public Integrity
Investigative Reporting (Affiliated) Big Sky, Big Money Staff WGBH/FRONTLINE, ProPublica and Marketplace
Investigative Reporting (Independent) Skin & Bone: The Shadowy Trade in Human Body Parts International Consortium of Investigative Journalists Center for Public Integrity
Public Service in Online Journalism (Affiliated) Beef's Raw Edges Mike McGraw and Alan Bavley Kansas City Star
Public Service in Online Journalism (Independent) Mystery in the Fields Sasha Chavkin, Anna Barry-Jester and Ronnie Greene Center for Public Integrity
