2022 Sigma Delta Chi Award Honorees
The Society of Professional Journalists is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2022 Sigma Delta Chi Awards for excellence in journalism.
Judges chose the winners from entries in categories covering print, radio, television and online. The awards recognize outstanding work published or broadcast in 2022.
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.
PRINT / ONLINE / WIRE
Deadline Reporting (Single-issue circ 40k+ or online only)
Vacationing AP reporter’s lightning fast response dominates coverage of author’s shock stabbing
Joshua Goodman, David Bauder, Hillel Italie, The Associated Press
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Deadline Reporting (Single-issue circ. up to 40k)
Hurricane Ian devastates Southwest Florida
Staff , The News-Press, Naples Daily News
View Online: Link 1
Non-Deadline Reporting (Single-issue circ 40k+ or online only)
Erasing Mariupol
Mstyslav Chernov, Evgeniy Maloletka, Vasilisa Stepanenko, Lori Hinnant, The Associated Press
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Non-Deadline Reporting (Single-issue circ up to 40k)
Bridges on the brinkSean D. Hamill, Jonathan D. Silver, Ed Blazina, Joel Jacobs, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
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Investigative Reporting (Single-issue circ 40k+ or online only)
Broken homesJoaquin Palomino, Trisha Thadani, San Francisco Chronicle
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Investigative Reporting (Single-issue circ up to 40k)
Disabled and abandonedCaroline Ghisolfi, Tony Plohetski, Nicole Foy, Austin American-Statesman
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Feature Reporting (Single-issue circ 40k+ or online only)
A world gone mad: Schizophrenia and a journey through California’s failed mental health systemThomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times
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Magazine Writing
‘I was never ready for this’Lizzie Presser, ProPublica, The New York Times Magazine
View Online: Link 1
Magazine Investigative Reporting
Kate Price remembers something terribleJanelle Nanos, The Boston Globe
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Public Service Journalism
How Hasidic schools are reaping millions but failing studentsEliza Shapiro, Brian M. Rosenthal, The New York Times
View Online: Link 1
Feature Reporting (Single-issue circ up to 40k)
The art of reparationSteffie Nelson, Red Canary Magazine
View Online: Link 1
Editorial Writing (Single-issue circ 40k+ or online only)
Standing with UvaldeJosh Brodesky, Nancy M. Preyor-Johnson, Cary Clack, Brandon Lingle, San Antonio Express-News
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Editorial Writing (Single-issue circ up to 40k)
EditorialsDavid Plazas, The Tennessean
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Washington Correspondence
Keeping an eye on Hawaii’s congressional delegationNick Grube, Honolulu Civil Beat
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Foreign Correspondence
Economic impacts of Putin’s war on UkraineMarc Champion, Bloomberg News
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General Column Writing (Single-issue circ 40k+ or online only)
ColumnsMyron Medcalf, Star Tribune
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General Column Writing (Single-issue circ up to 40k)
ColumnsMelinda Henneberger, The Sacramento Bee
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Sports Column Writing (Single-issue circ 40k+ or online only)
ColumnsMichael Silver, San Francisco Chronicle
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Spanish-language Print/Online News Reporting
La lucha del trabajador en primera línea Ariana Perez-Castells, Natalia Sánchez Loayza, Tasha Sandoval, El Deadline
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Spanish-language Print/Online Feature Reporting
Los silenciosos cartonerosFrank Lopez Ballesteros, palabra.
View Online: Link 1
Spanish-language Print/Online Investigative Reporting
Salud de Alquiler: inmigrantes latinos participan una y otra vez en ensayos clínicos por dineroJorge Carrasco, Ana M. Rodríguez, Eulimar Nunez, Noticias Telemundo
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Public Service in Newsletter Journalism
Closing argumentStaff, The Marshall Project
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Sports Reporting (Print/Online/Wire)
The KeeperJuliet Macur, The New York Times
View Online: Link 1
ART / GRAPHICS / MULTIMEDIA
Breaking News Photography (Single-issue circ up to 40k or affiliated website)
Ashes to ashesJake May, The Flint Journal, MLive.com
View Online: Link 1
Breaking News Photography (Single-issue circ 40k+ or affiliated website/online only)
Fleeing warEmilio Morenatti, Associated Press
View Online: Link 1
Feature Photography (Single-issue circ up to 40k or affiliated website)
A brother’s loveJake May, The Flint Journal, MLive.com
View Online: Link 1
Feature Photography (Single-issue circ 40k+ or affiliated website/online only)
SnowflakesScott Serio, Scott Serio freelance for Broadway World
Sports Photography
Wayne can still trainScott Serio, Hipismo.net
View Online: Link 1
Editorial Cartooning (Single-issue circ up to 40k or affiliated website/online only)
Michael Ramirez editorial cartoonsMichael Ramirez, Las Vegas Review-Journal
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Editorial Cartooning (Single-issue circ 40k+ or affiliated website)
Editorial cartoonsGary Markstein, Creators Syndicate
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Informational Graphics/Data Visualization
Inside the apocalyptic worldview of ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight’Staff, The New York Times
View Online: Link 1
Specialized Journalism Site
The people vs. rubber bulletsLinda Rodriguez McRobbie, Eoin O’Carroll, John Patrick Pullen, Amelia Lang, Long Lead
View Online: Link 1
Digital Video
Why miners risk their lives to get sulfur from an active volcanoInsider Staff, Insider
View Online: Link 1
Immersion Journalism
Destroying Maya treasures to build a tourist trainKevin Sieff and Whitney Leaming , The Washington Post
View Online: Link 1
Photo Essay/Slideshow
The things COVID victims left behindStaff, CNN
View Online: Link 1
Illustration
What’s in the water at PepsiCo?Steven Wilson, Fortune
View Online: Link 1
AUDIO
Radio Breaking News Reporting (All Markets or Network Syndication)
Sri Lanka at the breaking pointCarolyn Beeler, The World/PRX
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Radio Investigative Reporting (All Markets or Network Syndication)
How the newest federal prison became one of the deadliestJoseph Shapiro, Christie Thompson, The Marshall Project staff, NPR, The Marshall Project
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Radio Feature Reporting (Market 1-100 or Network Syndication)
Grief and grit: Ten years after Sandy Hook, one woman continues to wrestle with her double lossTovia Smith, Catherine Laidlaw, Walter Ray Watson, Elizabeth Baker, National Public Radio
View Online: Link 1
Public Service in Radio Journalism (All Market or Network Syndication)
A place to call homeStaff, North Country Public Radio
View Online: Link 1
Podcast, Narrative/Radio Documentary
Inside the global fight for white powerVerified from Scripps News, Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting , Scripps News
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Radio Feature Reporting (Market 101+)
Dairy worker housing goes uninspected. The result is horrific conditions on some farms.Lucy Grindon, David Sommerstein, North Country Public Radio
View Online: Link 1
Podcast, Conversational
Doorstep: Can Putin be prosecuted for war crimes?Tatiana Serafin, Nick Gvosdev, Carnegie Council
View Online: Link 1
Radio Sports Reporting
Chinatown’s 9-man tournament takes its Labor Day showdown to ProvidenceAimee Moon, WBUR
View Online: Link 1
TELEVISION
Television Breaking News Coverage (Network/Syndication Service/Program Service)
Hurricane IanMSNBC/NBC News staff , NBC News
View Online: Link 1
Television Breaking News Coverage (All Markets)
Uvalde school massacreKPRC 2 staff, KPRC-TV
View Online: Link 1
Television Investigative Reporting (Network/Syndication Service/Program Service)
What happened at Grizzly Flats?Bill Whitaker, Heather Abbott, LaCrai Mitchell, Michael Mongulla, CBS News 60 Minutes
View Online: Link 1
Television Investigative Reporting (All Markets)
Disabled and deniedProject Baltimore staff, WBFF-TV
View Online: Link 1
Television Feature Reporting (Network/Syndication Service/Program Service)
Somalia on the brink of starvationStaff, ABC News
View Online: Link 1
Television Feature Reporting (Large-Market Station: 1-50 market)
Mei’s messengerPeter Rosen, Tanner Siegworth, KSL TV
View Online: Link 1
Television Feature Reporting (Small-Market Station: 51+ market)
Descendants’ voicesRoberta Oster, Dennis Ting, Brad Clore, VPM News Focal Point
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Television Documentaries (Network/Syndication Service/Program Service)
Putin’s Attack on Ukraine: Documenting War CrimesThomas Jennings, Producer/Director/Writer, FRONTLINE Annie Wong, Director, Producer, FRONTLINE Erika Kinetz, Producer/Reporter/Correspondent, AP, FRONTLINE (PBS)
View Online: Link 1 | Link 2
Television Documentaries (Large-Market Station: 1-50 market)
Burned: The story behind the Marshall fireChris Hansen, Chris Vanderveen, KUSA
View Online: Link 1
Public Service in Television Journalism (Network/Syndication Service/Program Service)
Conviction: The case of Vincent SimmonsDavid Begnaud, T. Sean Herbert, Christine Weicher, CBS Mornings staff, CBS NEWS
View Online: Link 1
Public Service in Television Journalism (All Markets)
The secrets they keepDave Biscobing, ABC15 staff. , ABC15 Arizona
View Online: Link 1
Spanish-language Television News Reporting
De frontera a fronteraCelia Mendoza, Voice of America
View Online: Link 1 | Link 2
Spanish-language Television Investigative Reporting
Las mansiones de la perversiónUnivision Investiga/Univision Noticias staff, Univision
View Online: Link 1
Spanish-language Television Feature Reporting
Mayan rapper Pat Boy seeks to preserve his culture for the next generationsVeronica Villafañe, Voice of America
View Online: Link 1
Television Sports Reporting
Musial Awards storiesMike Bush, Scott Suppelsa, Adam Dew, Tom Stasiak, KSDK-TV
View Online: Link 1
ALL PLATFORMS
Fact Checking
Fact-checking: The truth about Hunter BidenGlenn Kessler, The Washington Post
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Collaborative Journalism
A new prescriptionGuy Boulton (professional); Alexa Jurado, Annie Mattea, Vanessa Rivera (students), Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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Inequalities in Society (Print/Online)
Exploring race in CaliforniaTyrone Beason, Los Angeles Times
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Science/Environment/Climate Reporting
Climate and punishmentAlleen Brown, Akil Harris, The Intercept
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Travel Journalism
Stuck@work: When your country’s brand is escape, but you can’tGregory Warner, Catarina Fernandes Martins, and Staff of Rough Translation
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Arts/Entertainment/Fashion Journalism
Museum reporting that led to an F.B.I. probe and a director’s firingBrett Sokol, The New York Times
View Online: Link 1
Food/Restaurant Journalism
Food is loveJay Korff, WJLA
View Online: Link 1
Cultural Criticism
ColumnsMelanie McFarland, Salon
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Inequalities in Society (Television, Audio)
How sewer diving became one of the most dangerous jobs In India and PakistanSara Khan, Bhaavan Goswami, Zainab Nasir, Havovi Cooper, Insider
View Online: Link 1
Crime Reporting
Murder or mercyLane DeGregory, Tampa Bay Times
View Online: Link 1 | Link 2
Obituaries
A life well livedStaff, NBC News, Sunday Today
View Online: Link 1
Business/Finance Reporting
Rent baronsHeather Vogell, Haru Coryne, Erin Smith, Ryan Little — ProPublica, ProPublica
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Regional Political Reporting
Elise StefanikZach Hirsch, David Sommerstein, North Country Public Radio
View Online: Link 1
Consumer/Retail Reporting
Secret surveillance, mining customer data: How retailers help bag shoplifting kingpinsAndrew Blankstein, Simone Weichselbaum, Rich Schapiro, Mark Schone, NBC News Investigations
View Online: Link 1
Tech Reporting
QAnon, Bangladesh, misinformation, and Canadian truckers: How social media created a false convoyGrid News staff, Grid News
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