The Indiana Publisher

Page 3 September 2022 The Lebanon Reporter's John Flora, received Photo of the Year honors for his coverage of Austin Jones carrying a kid goat away from the blaze that destroyed his home.. Indianapolis Star reporters Tony Cook and Johnny Magdaleno received Story of the Year honors for their coverage of Indiana's Red Flag Law. Andy Knight from the Herald Bulletin (Anderson) was awarded the 2022 Nina Mason Pulliam Environmental Journalism Award for his series, "Indiana Indepth Environment." The award from The Pulliam Trust includes a $1,000 prize. On Sept. 23, I was honored to host the 54th annual HSPA Foundation Newsroom Awards and Luncheon. It was wonderful to meet so many of the people who make up our association and to recognize those that have excelled in local news coverage this year. After reading so many winners, and unfortunately likely butchering so many names, it is easy for me to proudly say that we have excellent journalism in every corner of our state at every newsroom size. I want to personally congratulate all of newspapers and journalists who placed and won awards this year. You serve a vital role in not only your local communities, but also our state and our democracy. I applaud your work and dedication. Thank you, too, to everyone who made the journey to Indianapolis to attend the ceremony. After years relegated to Zoom it was both exciting and nerve- wracking to host an in-person event. I know we are looking forward to many more. And a very special thank you to Michelle Pemberton and Tony Cook for the excellent presentation they did on the Pulitzer-nominated series covering Indiana's Red Flag Laws and the investigative reporting process. I hope that we can continue to provide such thought- provoking and informative content. Congratulations again to all, and see you next year. — Amelia McClure, HSPA executive director From the executive director: congratulations, thank you McClure series, "Indepth Indiana Environment." The General Excellence Awards are not judged but represent an accumulation of points earned in the other categories and is given to the paper in each division with the highest overall point total. The 2022 General Excellence recipients are: Div. 1, The Times-Post (Pendleton); Div. 2, Brown County Democrat; Div. 3, The News Sun (Kendallville); and Div. 4, The Indianapolis Star. Entries will be accepted next spring for the 2023 contest. Awards Continued from Page 2 Journalists listen to the Indianapolis Star's Tony Cook and Michelle Pemberton discuss the process of working on the Star's story examining shortcomings in Indiana's Red Flag Law Sept. 23 at the Biltwell Event Center.

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