BridgeDetroit and its sister publication, Bridge Michigan, took top honors Wednesday at the Detroit chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists’ annual Excellence in Journalism awards.
BridgeDetroit reporter Jena Brooker was named Young Journalist of the Year out of three finalists that also included Nushrat Rahman, who works for BridgeDetroit and the Detroit Free Press and Simon D. Schuster, who recently came to Bridge Michigan from MLive.
One Detroit, American Black Journal staffers Zosette Guir and Bill Kubota and BridgeDetroit staffers Bryce Huffman and Orlando P. Bailey received the Sojourner Truth Award in Topical Reporting, which honors excellence in journalism covering racial justice. The Sojourner Truth Award seeks to recognize reporting that is revealing and impactful in tackling new subject matter. The group was recognized for its Walk to Freedom coverage.
Jonathan Oosting and Mike Wilkinson of Bridge Michigan were named Journalists of the Year for their investigations into Michigan’s political pork spending and Michigan State University’s response to last year’s mass shooting.
“These wins and nominations are particularly gratifying for our newsroom because BridgeDetroit spent nine months of last year without an executive editor after the departure of Catherine Kelly,” said new Executive Director Laurén Abdel-Razzaq. “This is a testament to the hard work, dedication and skill of the staff who not only kept this newsroom alive through that challenging period, but created impactful, useful and heartfelt journalism.”
In addition, BridgeDetroit staffers won 12 awards:
Collaborative Coverage-
- Second place, Nushrat Rahman, “Vouchers help-low-income families find housing but using them isn’t easy.”
- Third place, Malachi Barrett and Mike Wilkinson, “See how much you’ll save under Detroit land value tax proposal.”
- Fourth place, Christine Ferretti and Sarah Rahal (The Detroit News), “AFSCME puts Michigan’s Council 25 in receivership.”
Community/Local News Reporting-
- First place, Jena Brooker, “Detroit’s cost for automotive growth: Generational Displacement.”
Consumer Watchdog-
- Third place, Jena Brooker, “Hantz tree farm falls short on solving east side blight.”
Engagement-Driven Coverage-
- First place, Nushrat Rahman, “What happens when a court officer comes knocking during an eviction.”
- Third place, Jena Brooker, “Can Detroiters afford more dollar stores?”
- Fourth place, Malachi Barrett, “When nature calls on Belle Isle, visitors struggle to find a bathroom.”
Feature Reporting-
- First place, Nushrat Rahman, “From shelter to home, how one woman climbed out of homelessness.”
Newsletter Strategy-
- Fourth place, Malachi Barrett, Micah Walker, Jena Brooker, Nushrat Rahman, Christine Ferretti, “BridgeDetroit Newsletters.”
Racial Justice Reporting-
- Third place, Malachi Barrett,” False arrest of Detroit mother reignites criticism of facial recognition tech.”
- Fourth place, Nushrat Rahman, “‘Rationing justice’: Legal aid programs struggle to meet high demand.”
BridgeDetroit Founder Stephen Henderson won 6 awards with Detroit PBS and WDET.
Earlier this month, the BridgeDetroit staff won third place in the National Headliner Awards for Community/Local News site. Winners were noted for “creating a model for the future of journalism.”
Bridge Michigan won 16 other awards in a handful of categories:
Community/Local News Reporting-
- Third place, Ron French, “After LGBTQ library fight, a Michigan town tries something new: compromise.”
- Fourth place, Ron French, “Western Upper Peninsula towns empty out, look to Wisconsin for lessons.”
Consumer Watchdog-
- First Place, Lauren Gibbons, “In Michigan, juvenile justice carries high cost: crippling debt for parents.”
- Second place, Lauren Gibbons, “Michigan’s Pothole Reimbursement Scam.”
Digital Media Presence-
- Third place, Kelly House and Paula Gardner, “As automakers win incentives for EV plants, Michigan pays for.”
Education Reporting-
- First place, Isabel Lohman and Mike Wilkinson, “School choice expands, gutting some rural districts.”
- Second place, Isabel Lohman, “Excited but worried, Michigan teachers wrestle with artificial intelligence.”
- Third place, Isabel Lohman, “Michigan looks to soften teacher evaluations. Will it help or hurt students?.”
- Fourth place, Isabel Lohman, “Whitmer expands teacher union rights, critics say it sets back.”
Environmental Reporting-
- Second place, Kelly House and Paula Gardner, “Michigan’s Industrial Legacy: Taxpayers fund new factories and cleanups at old ones.”
Health Reporting: First place, Robin Erb, “Michigan’s Health Care Worker Crisis.” - Third place, Robin Erb, “Michigan is short on Adderall, penicillin, cancer drugs amid supply woes.”
Newsletter Strategy-
- Second place, Bill Emkow, “Bridge Michigan daily and beat-specific email newsletter”
Racial Justice Reporting-
- Second place, Robin Erb, “How a Michigan hospital is acting to save lives of Black pregnant.”
Social Media Strategy
- First place, Asha Lewis, “Expanding engagement with in-depth reporting through Instagram.”
The awards complete a season sweep for Wilkinson and Oosting, who was recently promoted from Capitol reporter to deputy editor. They were named the Michigan Press Association’s Journalists of the Year in March. Both have won the award twice; Bridge has won the award four years in a row and has four one-time winners on staff.
“The journalists of Bridge Michigan and BridgeDetroit continue to inspire us with their commitment to high-quality journalism to serve our communities,” said Katy Locker, CEO of the Center for Michigan, the nonprofit publisher of Bridge Michigan and BridgeDetroit.
“It’s our aspiration to be a workplace where journalists can do the best work of their careers, and these awards demonstrate our fulfillment of this organizational value.”