Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: The Roanoke Times Entry Title: Staff General News Writing Entry Credit: Staff Judge Comment: Exceptional reporting. This is more than reporting on COVID-19. This is well-planned coverage of a once-in-a-lifetime event. A good variety of stories from hospitals, to drive-in restaurants, to religious services. The connection with Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital and the timeline for the day was interesting and well-written. A moving story of the priest who was denied access to perform last rites on a parishioner.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Daily Press Entry Title: A part of me died - Never underestimate our resolve - 20 years after the attack Entry Credit: Dave Ress Judge Comment: An excellent, gripping retelling of the tragic tale of the USS Cole, is accompanied by moving stories about the survivors and the families, who lost their loved ones in the tragedy.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Richmond Times-Dispatch Entry Title: Monumental change: Richmond removes its Confederate iconography Entry Credit: Sabrina Moreno, Kenya Hunter, Michael Martz, Mark Robinson, Mel Leonor, Justin Mattingly Judge Comment: Strong series of stories covering many aspects and sides of the controversial removal of confederate statues.
