Rules/EligibilityCategories
2023 HonoreesPrevious Honorees
Rules/EligibilityCategories 2023 HonoreesPrevious Honorees

2020 Sigma Delta Chi Award Honorees

The Society of Professional Journalists is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2020 Sigma Delta Chi Awards for excellence in journalism.

Jump to:

Deadline Reporting
Continuous Coverage
Investigative Reporting
Feature Reporting
Documentaries
Editorials
Column Writing
Public Service
Multiplatform Categories
COVID-19 Reporting


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Howard & Ursula Dubin Foundation

Judges chose the winners from entries in categories covering print, radio, television and online. The awards recognize outstanding work published or broadcast in 2020.

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.


Deadline Reporting

Newspaper Deadline Reporting (Daily Circulation of 100,001+)

The killing of George Floyd
Staff, StarTribune

Download [PDF]


Newspaper Deadline Reporting (Daily Circulation 1-100,000)

The Nashville tornadoes
Staff, The Tennessean

Read online: Link 1 | 2


Newspaper Deadline Reporting (Non-Daily)

Royta Giles shooting
Carol Robinson, Alabama Media Group

Read online: Link 1 | 2 | 3 | 4


Breaking News Photography (Newspaper Circulation 100,001+ or Affiliated Website, National Magazine)

A racial reckoning in America: Minneapolis and George Floyd
Julio Cortez, The Associated Press


Breaking News Photography (Newspaper Cir. 1-100,000/Regional Magazine/ Non-Daily Publication)

George Floyd protest erupts in Philadelphia
Heather Khalifa from The Philadelphia Inquirer


Radio Breaking News Reporting (Market 1-100 or Network Syndication)

George Floyd protests
Doug Sovern, Keith Menconi and Peter Finch, KCBS Radio

Listen online


Radio Breaking News Reporting (Market 101+)

Braintree Plaza shooting
Staff, WATD


Television Breaking News Coverage (Network/Syndication Service/Program Service)

George Floyd and the forces of change
Staff, CBS News

Watch online


Television Breaking News Coverage (All Market Sizes)

Hurricane Zeta coverage
Staff, WDSU

Watch online


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Continuous Coverage

Newspaper Non-Deadline Reporting (Daily Circulation 100,001+)

Inside China’s coronavirus response
Financial Times team

Read online: Link 1 | 2 | 3


Newspaper Non-Deadline Reporting (Daily Circulation 1-100,000)

Maricella’s Last Breath
Rory Linnane, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Read online: Link 1 | 2


Newspaper Non-Deadline Reporting (Non-Daily Publication)

Economic Inequities
Shawn Donnan, Bloomberg Businessweek

Read online: Link 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5


Washington Correspondence

California and the CARES Act
Sarah D. Wire, Los Angeles Times

Read online: Link 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5


Foreign Correspondence

Individual lives under China’s crackdowns
Alice Su, Los Angeles Times

Read online: Link 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5


Magazine Writing (National Circulation)

The Amish keep to themselves. And they're hiding a horrifying secret
Sarah McClure, Cosmopolitan and Type Investigations

Download [PDF]


Magazine Writing (Regional/Local Circulation)

The 1857 Project
Staff, Gateway Journalism Review

Download [PDF]


Informational Graphics (All Circulation Sizes)

Los Angeles County police killings database
Staff, Los Angeles Times

Read online: Link 1 | 2


Online Non-Deadline Reporting

The Evidence Against Her
Justine van der Leun, Type Investigations/GEN

Read online: Link 1 | 2


Online Video

Breonna Taylor’s Death How A 26-Year-Old Black Woman Was Killed By Police
Laura Strickler, Lisa Riordan Seville and Bianca Britton, NBC News

Watch online


Data Visualization

New Climate Maps Show a Transformed United States
Al Shaw, Abrahm Lustgarten and Jeremy W. Goldsmith, ProPublica

Read online


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Investigative Reporting

Newspaper Investigative Reporting (Daily Circulation 100,001+)

LSU sexual abuse scandal coverage
Kenny Jacoby, Nancy Armour and Jessica Luther, USA Today

Read online: Link 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5


Newspaper Investigative Reporting (Daily Circulation 1-100,000)

Careless
Tony Cook, Emily Hopkins and Tim Evans, The Indianapolis Star

Read online: Link 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5


Newspaper Investigative Reporting (Non-Daily Publication)

One system, (un)equal access: How the U.S. financial system is failing Black businesses and how that might change
Staffs, American City Business Journals and Portland Business Journal

Download [PDF]


Magazine Investigative Reporting (All Circulation Sizes)

Addicted to Profit
Cam Simpson, Michael Smith and Nacha Cattan, Bloomberg Businessweek

Read online: Link 1 | 2 | 3 | 4


Radio Investigative Reporting (All Market Sizes)

Cash Flows: How Investors Are Banking On the West’s Water Scarcity
Luke Runyon, Heather Sackett, Bret Jaspers and Daniel Rothberg, KUNC

Read online


Television Investigative Reporting (Network/Syndication Service)

VA Ignores War's Signature Wound, Leaving Vets to Die
Jim Axelrod, Peter Burgess, Len Tepper and Michael Kaplan, CBS News/CBS This Morning

Read online


Television Investigative Reporting (All Market Sizes)

Prone
Chris Vanderveen, Chris Hansen, AJ Lagoe and Megan Jurgemeyer, KUSA-TV

Watch online


Online Investigative Reporting

Potato Slaves: The cost of an H-2A visa in Texas
Almudena Toral, Patricia Clarembaux and Mauricio Rodríguez Pons, Univision News Digital

Read/watch online: Link 1 | 2


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Feature Reporting

Newspaper Feature Reporting (Daily Circulation 100,001+)

The lives upended around a $20 cheeseburger
Jessica Contrera, The Washington Post

Download [PDF]

Read online


Newspaper Feature Reporting (Daily Circulation 1-100,000)

Politics, COVID and the search for truth: A death in a divided American family
Patrick Lohmann, The Post-Standard

Download [PDF]

Read online


Newspaper Feature Reporting (Non-Daily Publication)

COVID and the LGBTQ community
Victoria A. Brownworth, Philadelphia Gay News

Read online: Link 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5


Feature Photography (Daily circulation 100,001+, Affiliated Website or National Magazine)

Serenity
Jonathan Levinson, Oregon Public Broadcasting

Read online


Feature Photography (Daily circulation 1-100,000, Regional Magazine, Non-Daily Publication or Online Independent)

Isolation
Jake May, Flint Journal

Read online


Sports Photography (All Circulation Sizes)

Freeze Tag
Robert Gauthier, Los Angeles Times


Radio Feature Reporting (Market 1-100 or Network Syndication)

Mississippi prisons in crisis
Walter Ray Watson, Vickie Walton-James and Debbie Elliott, NPR News

Read online: Link 1 | 2 | 3


Radio Feature Reporting (Market 101+)

New York's declining prison population threatens North Country towns
Emily Russell and Natasha Haverty, North Country Public Radio

Read online


Television Feature Reporting (Network/Syndication Service/Program Service)

Grizzlies
Bill Whitaker, Rome Hartman, Sara Kuzmarov and Michael Mongulla, CBS News/60 Minutes

Watch online


Television Feature Reporting (Large Market Station, 1-50 Market)

Land of 10,000 stories
Boyd Huppert and Chad Nelson, KARE-TV

Watch online


Television Feature Reporting (Small Market Station, 51+ Market)

You are the Hero
Trevor Keller and Ryan Ward, PBS Wisconsin

Watch online


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Documentaries

Radio Documentaries (1-100 Market or Network Syndication)

The Moving Border
Maria Hinojosa, Julieta Martinelli, Diane Sylvester and Marlon Bishop, Latino USA

Listen online


Radio Documentaries (101+ Market)

Oil & Water: 10 Years Later
Pat Duggins, Guy Busby and Lynn Oldshue, Alabama Public Radio


Television Documentaries (Network/Syndication Service/Program Service)

Tutwiler
Alysia Santo and Elaine McMillion Sheldon, The Marshall Project and FRONTLINE

Watch online


Television Documentaries (All Market Sizes)

In the Shadow of Fairview
Kami Horton, Dan Evans, Todd Sonflieth and Nadine Jelsing, Oregon Public Broadcasting

Watch online


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Editorials

Editorial Writing newspaper (Daily Circulation 100,001+)

Robert Greene, Los Angeles Times

Read online: Link 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5


Editorial Writing (Daily Circulation 1-100,000/Non-Daily Publication)

Jeffery Gerritt, Palestine Herald-Press

Download [PDF]


Editorial Cartooning (Newspaper Circulation 100,001+ or Affiliated Website/National Magazine)

Matt Davies, Newsday

Download [PDF]


Editorial Cartooning (Newspaper Circulation 1-100,000, Regional Magazine, Non-Daily Publication or Online Independent)

Nancy Ohanian, freelance cartoonist


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Column Writing

Newspaper General Column Writing (Daily Circulation 100,001+)

James Rosen, Detroit Free Press

Read online: Link 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5


Newspaper General Column Writing (Daily Circulation 1-100,000/Non-Daily Publication)

Kyle Whitmire, Alabama Media Group

Read online: Link 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5


Sports Column Writing (Daily Circulation of 100,001+)

Kurt Streeter, The New York Times

Read online: Link 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5


Sports Column Writing (Daily Circulation of 1-100,000/Non-Daily Publication)

Tom Archdeacon, Dayton Daily News

Read online: Link 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5


Online Column Writing

Chandra Bozelko, Gannett/MoreContentNow

Download [PDF]


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Public Service

Public Service in Newspaper Journalism (Daily Circulation 100,001+)

The killing of George Floyd
Staff, StarTribune

Read online: Link 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5


Public Service in Newspaper Journalism (Daily Circulation 1-100,000)

Pandemic. Protests. Politics. A year at the center of three storms.
Staff, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Read online: Link 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10


Public Service in Newspaper Journalism (Non-Daily Publication)

Remember Them
Staff, Philadelphia Gay News

Read online


Public Service in Magazine Journalism (All Circulation Sizes)

The risky business of breast implants
Maria Aspan of Fortune

Read online: Link 1 | 2

Download [PDF]


Public Service in Radio Journalism (Market 1-100 or Network Syndication)

Land & Power
Margaret J. Krauss and Liz Reid, WESA

Listen online


Public Service in Radio Journalism (Market 101+)

Child care during COVID-19: Struggles and solutions in the North Country
Staff, North Country Public Radio

Listen online


Public Service in Television Journalism (Network/Syndication/Program Service)

The Opioid Playbook
Bill Whitaker, Sam Hornblower, Emilio Almonte and Matthew Danowski, CBS News/60 Minutes

Watch online


Public Service in Television Journalism (All Market Sizes)

Prone
Chris Vanderveen, Chris Hansen, AJ Lagoe and Megan Jurgemeyer, KUSA-TV

Watch online


Public Service in Online Journalism

Tracking the coronavirus
Staff, The New York Times

Read online: Link 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5


Public Service in Newsletter Journalism

Everyday Health coronavirus updates
Staff, Everyday Health Group

Read online: Link 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5


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Multiplatform Categories

The John C. Ensslin Award for Podcast Excellence

Coronavirus: Fact vs. Fiction
CNN Audio

Listen online


Collaborative Journalism

Nowhere to go
UMD’s Howard Center for Investigative Journalism and Capital News Service, University of Oregon, Stanford University, Arizona State University, University of Arkansas, Boston University and University of Florida

View project


Fact-Checking

Trump on the stump
Staff, Factcheck.org

Read online


Video Game Reporting

Next Level
Zach Toombs, Matt Picht and Jennifer Smart, Newsy

Read online: Link 1 | 2 | 3


Immersion Journalism

Inside the Storm
Staff, The Tennessean

Read online [paywall]


Specialized Journalism Site

The COVID Tracking Project
Staff, The Atlantic

View project


Inequalities in society

American Injustice
Reuters team

View project


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COVID-19 Reporting

COVID-19: Television Breaking News Coverage (All Market Sizes)

Inside the COVID-19 pandemic
Staff, NBC Nightly News

Watch online


COVID-19: Breaking News Photography (All Circulation Sizes)

COVID-19’s toll on Latino communities
Carolyn Cole, Los Angeles Times


COVID-19: Data Visualization

What Coronavirus Job Losses Reveal About Racism in America
Lena V. Groeger, ProPublica

Read online


COVID-19: Digital Video

Go there: Fear and anxiety in epicenter of Wuhan coronavirus outbreak
Staff, CNN

Watch online


COVID-19: Editorial Cartooning (All Circulation Sizes)

In/Vulnerable
Reveal staff, The Nib staff and artist Thi Bui

Learn more and download [revealnews.org]


COVID-19: Editorial Writing (All Circulation Sizes)

Michael Dobie, Newsday

Download [PDF]


COVID-19: Fact-Checking

Fighting the Infodemic
The staff of Lead Stories and Dean Miller

Read online: Link 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12


COVID-19: Feature Photography (All Circulation Sizes)

The Fight of Their Lives
Meridith Kohut, TIME

Download [PDF]

Read online


COVID-19: Newspaper Feature Reporting (All Circulation Sizes)

Hitting Home: The pandemic’s indelible impact on five New Mexico towns
Staff, Searchlight New Mexico

Read online


COVID-19: Television Feature Reporting (All Market Sizes)

Mexico’s Hidden Toll
Staff, NBC News/MSNBC’s “On Assignment with Richard Engel”

Watch online


COVID-19: General Column Writing (All Circulation Sizes)

Steve Politi, NJ Advance Media

Read online: Link 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5


COVID-19: Informational Graphics (All Circulation Sizes)

COVID-19: Our explanatory graphics collection
The infographics team of the South China Morning Post

Read online


COVID-19: Magazine Writing (All Circulation Sizes)

The Fight of Their Lives
Simon Shuster, TIME

Download [PDF]

Read online


COVID-19: Non-Deadline Reporting Online

Pandemic Profiteers
Staff, ProPublica

Read online: Link 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6


COVID-19: Non-Deadline Reporting (Daily Circulation of 100,001+)

America in Pain
Staff, The Associated Press

Read online: Link 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5


COVID-19: Non-Deadline Reporting (Daily Circulation of 1-100,000)

Tragedy at Brighton
Natasha Lindstrom, Jamie Martines and Susan McFarland of Trib Total Media

Read online: Link 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5


COVID-19: Non-Deadline Reporting (Non-Daily Publication)

Pandemic warnings unheeded
Staff, Bloomberg News

Read online: Link 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5


COVID-19: Online Column Writing

Ernest Owens, Philadelphia Magazine

Read online: Link 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5


COVID-19: Radio Feature Reporting (All Market Sizes)

Another COVID-19 medical mystery: Patients, post-ventilator, who don’t wake up
Martha Bebinger of WBUR

Listen online


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