Orlando Sentinel wins 21 awards from Florida Society of News Editors
The Orlando Sentinel took home 21 awards Thursday in the Florida Society of News Editors’ annual journalism contest, including three for the multimedia series Laborland, which chronicled the challenges facing tourism workers in the most popular vacation destination in the country.
The series by Chabeli Carrazana took first place in the Business category, which the Sentinel swept with a second place finish for its coverage by Gabrielle Russon of Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando plus a third place spot for a series by Jason Garcia exploring how major corporations are avoiding paying millions in Florida income taxes.
The paper earned nine first-place awards, including Opinion Editor Mike Lafferty for a body of editorials; Lauren Ritchie for column writing; Joe Burbank for spot news photography; Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda for feature photography; Stephen M. Dowell for sports photography; and the Sentinel staff for producing the Apollo 11 Anniversary Channel.
El Sentinel Editor Jennifer A. Marcial Ocasio and reporter Ingrid Cotto won first place in the Spanish-language category for news coverage plus Cotto took first for sports coverage. The weekly Spanish-language newspaper placed third for features and enterprise reporting.
“It’s great to see our newsroom’s work recognized by our peers here in Florida, home to some of the best newspapers and best journalism in the nation,” said Managing Editor Roger Simmons. “But our work is really for our community, and every day we strive to make sure we are reporting the stories that matter most to the lives of everyone living here in Central Florida.”
The Orlando Sentinel also won awards in sports reporting, community leadership, investigative reporting and for its niche site GrowthSpotter.
The Florida Society of News Editors dates back to 1955 and is dedicated to advancing the cause of responsible journalism in Florida.