Sun Sentinel wins Gold Medal for Public Service, 10 first-place awards
The South Florida Sun Sentinel was recognized with the Gold Medal for Public Service during Florida Society of News Editors awards ceremonies that took place Thursday in St. Petersburg.
Along with the prestigious public-service citation, Sun Sentinel staff received 10 first-place awards for entries in 21 categories, including breaking news reporting, breaking news video, enterprise stories, investigative reporting and community leadership.
Much of the work cited by FSNE judges involved Sun Sentinel coverage of the horrific 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland and the aftershocks that reverberated through the community, local law enforcement and national politics.
“We dedicated almost everyone in our newsroom to this story because it was that important to our community,” Editor in Chief Julie Anderson said in accepting the award.
The Sun Sentinel also won first-place awards in sports writing, editorial writing, live video, multimedia and news interactive. Sun Sentinel staff also received numerous second- and third-place honors from FSNE, now in its seventh decade of “advancing the cause of responsible journalism in all media.”
The Miami Herald won four first-place awards among larger circulation media outlets, including the Sun Sentinel. Competing in a separate category, the Palm Beach Post won eight firstplace awards.
Among the Sun Sentinel reporters, columnists, videographers, photographers and editors cited by FSNE were: Breaking New Reporting First place: Sun Sentinel staff, “Parkland, the first hours” Enterprise Stories
First place: Sun Sentinel staff, “Parkland”
Second place: Political coverage by Aric Chokey, Stephen Hobbs, Anthony Man and Skyler Swisher.
Investigative Reporting First place: Sun Sentinel staff, “Parkland”
Community Leadership First place: Sun Sentinel staff, “Parkland”
Beat Reporting Second place: Scott Travis, “Broward Schools/Parkland coverage”
Sports
First place: Dave Hyde, “ExDolphins Kiick, Morris form a backfield, and bond, far beyond football”
Business
Second place: Ron Hurtibise, “South Florida Scams” Columns
Second place: Fred Grimm Editorials
First place: Collaboration between South Florida Sun Sentinel, Miami Herald, Palm Beach Post
and WRLN Public Media, “The Invading Sea: Can South Florida Be Saved?”
Second place: Martin Dyckman, Rosemary O’Hara, “A collection of editorials by Martin Dyckman”
Page Design Second place: David Schutz, Lillian Mayor, “Parkland shooting: A Horrific Day”
Photo Story Second place: Susan Stocker, “A permanent remembrance: Tattoos of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School” Breaking News Video First place: Mike Stocker, Amy Beth Bennett, John McCall and Cindy
Choi, “Florida school shooting: Timeline of events”
Second place: EmmaKate Austin, “Stoneman Douglas student David Hogg gives his account from inside the school as shooting took place”
Live Video
First place: EmmaKate Austin, Sean Pitts, Rosemary O’Hara, Cindy Choi, “LIVE: David Hogg, Sari Kaufman and Ellie Branson talk about the #NeverAgain movement”
Second place: Carline Jean, Sean Pitts, EmmaKate Austin, Dave Hyde, Omar Kelly, “X’s & Omar: Dolphins’ finish vs. Indy raises questions about Gase and Tannehill”
Third place: Carline Jean, Wayne Roustan, “Brightline launch” Features Video Third place: Sean Pitts, Doreen Christensen, Mike Stocker, “Voices of Change”
Multimedia
First place: Sun Sentinel staff, “Unprepared and Overwhelmed”
News Interactive First place: Sun Sentinel staff, “Unprepared and Overwhelmed”
Second place: Aric Chokey, Paula McMahon, Brittney Wallman, “Parkland Shooter: Facts Hidden in Report”
Third place: Yiran Zhu, Aric Chokey, Megan O’Matz, Stephen Hobbs, “Nikolas Cruz: The Violent Path of a Teenage Killer” Niche Site/App Second place: David Schutz, Yiran Zhu, “Felonious Florida podcast”