2020 VPA News and Advertising Contest

In-depth or Investigative Reporting ( Non-Daily Group 2)Back

  • Place Name: First Place
    Contestant Name: The Recorder
    Entry Title: The Pipeline
    Entry Credit: John Bruce, Anne Adams
    Judge Comment: The Recorder reporters and editors educated themselves in complicated legal and environmental arguments and then transferred their knowledge to their community. Their persistence helped end a corporate goliath's plan to build a natural gas pipeline across public and private lands. Their journalistic work earned praise in the community, including this from a pipeline opponent: “Part of the challenge of fighting the pipeline was organizing individuals who do not have internet access and keeping them informed,” Bryan said. “The Recorder did a phenomenal job of that. For the work (the newspaper) did in educating so many, we are forever grateful. We appreciate the newspaper for its role in providing an outlet for native residents and newcomers to find and speak their voice about this important topic.” Stops along the way to remind readers of important elements in the court case and environmental argument were extremely useful.
  • Place Name: Second Place
    Contestant Name: The Recorder
    Entry Title: Bon Air
    Entry Credit: Anne Adams
    Judge Comment: Credit The Recorder's Anne Adams for addressing a safety issue for a vulnerable population. Quotes from numerous parents show the anxiety they have for the care of their children in a juvenile detention facility. Privacy rules make this a difficult story to report. It would have been stronger if specific names were placed behind the accusations.
  • Place Name: Third Place
    Contestant Name: The Farmville Herald
    Entry Title: Living in a food desert
    Entry Credit: Alexa Massey
    Judge Comment: Explores an important community issue for a population that's underserved. Could be helped with more specific statistics.