FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Abbi Martzall, SPJ Events Coordinator, 317-920-4791, amartzall@spj.org
Rachel Semple, SPJ Communications Coordinator, 317-920-4785, rsemple@spj.org

Editor's note: This release has been updated to include the final three honorees.

INDIANAPOLIS — The Society of Professional Journalists gladly recognizes the recipients of the Sigma Delta Chi Awards, which recognize exceptional professional journalism produced in 2016.

Judges selected 85 honorees from more than 1,300 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.

Links to the winning works are provided on the Sigma Delta Chi Awards winners website.

Sigma Delta Chi award winners will be honored at an awards banquet June 23 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Tickets may be purchased through June 9.

Contact Events Coordinator Abbi Martzall with any questions: amartzall@spj.org and 317-920-4791.

Art/Graphics
Breaking News Photography (Newspaper Circulation 1-100,000/Regional Magazine/ Non-Daily Publication)
Homeless - by Aleppo Media Center via ZUMA Wire Service, Picture Editor: Scott Mc Kiernan, Publication: ThePicturesOftheDay.com, ZUMA Press, Inc.

Breaking News Photography (Newspaper Circulation-100,001+) or Affiliated Website/National Magazine
An assassination - by Burhan Ozbilici, The Associated Press

Editorial Cartooning (Newspaper Circulation 1-100,000/Regional Magazine/ Non-Daily Publication)
Editorial cartoons - by Angelo Lopez, Philippines Today

Editorial Cartooning (Newspaper Circulation of 100,001+) or Affiliated Website/National Magazine
Editorial cartoons - by Nate Beeler, The Columbus Dispatch

Feature Photography (Newspaper Circulation 1-100,000/Regional Magazine/ Non-Daily Publication)
Flint water crisis - by Jake May, The Flint Journal, MLive.com

Feature Photography (Newspaper Circulation of 100,001+) or Affiliated Website/National Magazine
Brazil: Living with Zika - by Felipe Dana, The Associated Press

Informational Graphics (Newspaper Circulation 1-100,000/Regional Magazine/ Non-Daily Publication)
Rivers of Tennessee - by Kent Travis, The Tennessean

Informational Graphics (Newspaper Circulation of 100,001+) or Affiliated Website/National Magazine
WSJ: Blue feed/Red feed - by Jonathan Keegan, The Wall Street Journal

Sports Photography (Newspaper Circulation 1-100,000/Regional Magazine/ Non-Daily Publication)
The War is NOT Over! - by Scott Mc Kiernan, ZUMA Wire Service Chief Staff Photo-Journalist, Picture Editor: Mark Avery, Publication: ThePicturesOftheDay.com, ZUMA Press, Inc.

Sports Photography (Newspaper Circulation of 100,001+) or Affiliated Website/National Magazine
The save - by Lindsey Wasson, The Seattle Times

Magazines
Magazine Investigative Reporting (National Circulation)
How to hack an election - by Jordan Robertson, Michael Riley, and Andrew Willis, Bloomberg Businessweek

Magazine Investigative Reporting (Regional/Local Circulation)
Who guards the guardians? - by Patrick Michels, Texas Observer

Magazine Writing (National Circulation)
Trump days - by George Saunders, The New Yorker

Magazine Writing (Regional/Local Circulation)
The reckoning - by Neil Swidey, The Boston Globe

Public Service in Magazine Journalism (National Circulation)
Fractured lands - by Scott Anderson, Paolo Pellegrin, Ben Solomon, The New York Times Magazine

Public Service in Magazine Journalism (Regional/Local Circulation)
Hopes, dreams, debt - by Neil Swidey, The Boston Globe

Newsletters
Public Service in Newsletter Journalism
Challenges facing Pacific Gas & Electric - by Mavis Scanlon, California Energy Markets

Newspapers/Wire Services
Deadline Reporting (Daily Circulation of 1-50,000)
Heinrich confesses to Wetterling's death - by David Unze, Kirsti Marohn, Stephanie Dickrell, Jenny Berg, St. Cloud Times

Deadline Reporting (Daily Circulation of 50,001-100,000)
Death of a jurist - by San Antonio Express-News staff

Deadline Reporting (Daily Circulation of 100,001+)
Ghost Ship warehouse fire - by San Francisco Chronicle staff

Deadline Reporting (Non-Daily Publication)
Philly, nation respond to Orlando massacre - by Jen Colletta, Paige Cooperstein, Scott Drake, Philadelphia Gay News

Editorial Writing (Daily Circulation of 1-100,000/Non-Daily Publication)
The jailhouse death of Jamycheal Mitchell - by Brian Colligan, The Virginian-Pilot

Editorial Writing (Daily Circulation of 100,001+)
Ambush in Dallas - by Editorial team of The Dallas Morning News

Feature Reporting (Daily Circulation of 1-50,000)
Edward Snowden’s guardian angels - by Sönke Iwersen, Handelsblatt

Feature Reporting (Daily Circulation of 50,001-100,000)
The hardest test - by Stephanie Innes, Arizona Daily Star

Feature Reporting (Daily Circulation of 100,001+)
Framed - by Christopher Goffard, Los Angeles Times

Feature Reporting (Non-Daily Publication)
Kush city - by Leif Reigstad, Houston Press

Foreign Correspondence
The desperate trek - by Los Angeles Times staff

General Column Writing (Daily circ. 1-100,000/Non-Daily Publication)
From Tennessee to the world - by Mark D. Harmon, Knoxville News Sentinel

General Column Writing (Daily Circulation of 100,001+)
Columns by Erika D. Smith, The Sacramento Bee

Investigative Reporting (Daily Circulation of 1-50,000)
Mississippi child care crisis - by Sarah Butrymowicz and Jackie Mader, The Hechinger Report

Investigative Reporting (Daily Circulation of 50,001-100,000)
Lead, arsenic contamination in East Chicago, Indiana's West Calumet Housing Complex - by Sarah Reese, Lauren Leone-Cross, The Times of Northwest Indiana

Investigative Reporting (Daily Circulation of 100,001+)
The DEA dilemma - by Lenny Bernstein, David S. Fallis and Scott Higham, The Washington Post

Investigative Reporting (Non-Daily Publication)
Neglecting Wisconsin's vets - by Katelyn Ferral, The Capital Times

Non-Deadline Reporting (Daily Circulation of 1-50,000)
Redefining justice - by Staff, The Villages Daily Sun

Non-Deadline Reporting (Daily Circulation of 50,001-100,000)
Bias on the bench - by Josh Salman, Emily Le Coz and Elizabeth Johnson, Sarasota Herald Tribune

Non-Deadline Reporting (Daily Circulation of 100,001+)
From Burma to Buffalo - by Jerry Zremski, The Buffalo News

Non-Deadline Reporting (Non-Daily Publication)
Where are the children of Jerusalem now? - by Naomi Zeveloff, Forward

Public Service Journalism (Daily Circulation of 1-50,000)
Obfuscation and ignorance - by Jonathan D. Austin, The Virgin Islands Daily News

Public Service Journalism (Daily Circulation of 50,001-100,000)
Flawed responses to campus sexual assault - by The Salt Lake Tribune staff

Public Service Journalism (Daily Circulation of 100,001+)
Denied: How Texas keeps tens of thousands of children out of special education - by Houston Chronicle staff

Public Service Journalism (Non-Daily Publication)
Flint water crisis - by MLive staff

Sports Column Writing (Daily Circulation of 1-100,000/Non-Daily Publication)
Columns by Tom Archdeacon, Cox Media Group Ohio

Sports Column Writing (Daily Circulation of 100,001+)
Columns by Jason Gay, The Wall Street Journal

Washington Correspondence
A portrait of Donald Trump - by David A. Fahrenthold, The Washington Post

Online Reporting
Audio Slide Show
After the boom - by Marie Cusick, Ian Sterling, Tom Downing, and Tim Lambert, StateImpact Pennsylvania

Deadline Reporting (Affiliated)
Brussels attacks - by Cassandra Vinograd, David Wyllie, Alastair Jamieson, Jason Cumming and Alex Smith, NBC News

Deadline Reporting (Independent)
An ISIS surprise attack - by Iraq Oil Report

Digital Audio
In the dark - by Madeleine Baran, Samara Freemark, Natalie Jablonski and Catherine Winter, APM Reports

Digital Video
Toxic Lake: The untold story of Lake Okeechobee - by Kait Parker, Marcus Stern, Spencer Wilking, Greg Gilderman and Craig Wilson, weather.com

Ebooks
Madaya mom - Dan Silver, Xana O'Neill Producer, Rym Momtaz, Dalibor Talajic and Miroslav Mrva, ABC News

Investigative Reporting (Affiliated)
Great land rush - by Tom Burgis, Pilita Clark and Michael Peel, The Financial Times

Investigative Reporting (Independent)
Failure at the Faucet - by Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism staff and UW-Madison J475 students

Non-Deadline Reporting (Affiliated)
The Long Walk Home From War - by John Luciew and Joe Hermitt, PennLive/Patriot-News

Non-Deadline Reporting (Independent)
ProPublica and the Electionland Coalition - by ProPublica staff

Online Column Writing (Affiliated)
Columns - by Molly Ball, The Atlantic

Online Column Writing (Independent)
Eric Black Ink - by Eric Black, MinnPost

Public Service in Online Journalism (Affiliated)
PolitiFact - by Staff, Tampa Bay Times

Public Service in Online Journalism (Independent)
Busted - by Ryan Gabrielson and Topher Sanders, ProPublica

Specialized Journalism Site
Divided America - by The Associated Press staff

Radio
Public Service in Radio Journalism (Market 1-100 or Network Syndication)
Wells Fargo hurts Whistleblowers: NPR investigation sparks Senate inquiry - by Chris Arnold, Robert Smith and Elizabeth Kulas, National Public Radio

Public Service in Radio Journalism (Market 101+)
Small town justice: The Nick Hillary Trial - by David Sommerstein, Lauren Rosenthal, Brit Hanson and Martha Foley, North Country Public Radio

Radio Breaking News Reporting (Market 1-100 or Network Syndication)
Pulse Nightclub - by CBS Radio News staff

Radio Breaking News Reporting (Market 101+)
Inferno threatens Santa Barbara county homes - by Lance Orozco, KCLU AM/FM

Radio Documentaries (Market 1-100 or Network Syndication)
America works - by CBS Radio News staff

Radio Documentaries (Market 101+)
"...and justice for all." - by Pat Duggins, Stan Ingold, Alex Aubuchon and MacKenzie Bates, Alabama Public Radio

Radio Feature Reporting (Market 1-100 or Network Syndication)
"A Life of Predictable Emergencies: Undocumented on Dialysis," - by Jake Harper, Side Effects Public Media

Radio Feature Reporting (Market 101+)
Not all felons want to vote: A community worn down by politics - by Mallory Noe-Payne and Connie Stevens, WVTF/RadioIQ

Radio Investigative Reporting (Market 1-100 or Network Syndication)
Advanced black lung cases surge in Appalachia - by Howard Berkes, Robert Little, Nicole Beemsterboer and Benny Becker, Ohio Valley ReSource, National Public Radio

Radio Investigative Reporting (Market 101+)
FAA plan to shift weather observations at airport raises safety concerns - by Deborah Shaar, KMUW 89.1FM Wichita Public Radio

Research
Research About Journalism
The new newsrooms - by Charles Lewis, Pietro Lombardi, Daniel Farber-Ball and Kelly Martin, Investigative Reporting Workshop

Television
Television Breaking News Coverage (Large-Market Station: 1-50 market)
Charlotte riots - Chaos in the Queen City - by Bill Melugin, WJZY-TV FOX46 Charlotte

Television Breaking News Coverage (Small-Market Station: 50+ market)
Flood 2016 breaking news coverage - by Kevin Barry, Aaron Gerhardt, Matt Larsen and Jason Meyer, KGAN/KFXA

Television Breaking News Coverage (Network/Syndication Service/Program Service)
Democracy Now! Reports – Standoff at Standing Rock: Epic Native resistance to Dakota Access Pipeline - by Amy Goodman, Laura Gottesdiener, John Hamilton and Denis Moynihan, Democracy Now!

Television Documentaries (Small-Market Station: 50+ market)
No room in paradise - by Anthony Aalto, Mike Hinchey and Gopinatha Duran, Green Island Films

Television Documentaries (Large-Market Station: 1-50 market)
Dying for change: Domestic violence victims & law enforcement failures - by Tony Kovaleski, Brittany Freeman, Andy Miller, Lindsay Radford, Ryan Luby, Jason Foster and Peter Lipomi, KMGH-TV

Television Documentaries (Network/Syndication Service/Program Service)
48 Hours "Live to tell: The long road home" - by Vladimir Duthiers, Judy Tygard, Chris Young Ritzen, Michelle Fanucci, Nancy Kramer, Ruth Chenetz and Susan Zirinsky, CBS News

Television Feature Reporting (Small-Market Station: 50+ market)
Weathering the storm of Autism - by Blake Essig and Albert Lutan, KTUU-TV

Television Feature Reporting (Large-Market Station: 1-50 market)
Bringing back Bruce - by Lara Greenberg and Kyle Cooper, WHP - TV

Television Feature Reporting (Network/Syndication Service/Program Service)
The climate diaries - by Mark Phillips, Lynne Edwards, Ian Robbie and Thorsten Hoefle, CBS News

Television Investigative Reporting (Small-Market Station: 50+ market)
No Winner Chosen

Television Investigative Reporting (Large-Market Station: 1-50 market)
Failing at fire drills - by Mitch Blacher, Jim O'Donnell, Dan Lee and Charlie Wellock, NBC Philadelphia

Television Investigative Reporting (Network/Syndication Service/Program Service)
The girl left behind - by Brian Ross, James Gordon Meek, Brian Epstein Megan Christie and Rhonda Schwartz, 20/20 Brian Ross Investigates, ABC News

Television Public Service Journalism (Small-Market Station: 50+ market)
Medical waste - by Lee Zurik, Jon Turnipseed, Tom Wright and Greg Phillips, WVUE-TV

Television Public Service Journalism (Large-Market Station: 1-50 market)
Toxic safety - Investigating car seat chemicals - by Julie Watts & ConsumerWatch Team, KPIX

Television Public Service in Television Journalism (Network/Syndication Service/Program Service)
EpiPen price uproar - by CBS This Morning, CBS News

SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to informing citizens; works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists; and fights to protect First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press. Support excellent journalism and fight for your right to know. give to the Legal Defense Fund, or give to the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation.

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