Free Press reporter Sonja Horoshko won awards in the National Federation of Press Women 2017 Communications Competition.
Female journalists are eligible to enter published writing in state affiliation competitions. Journalists working in states without an affiliate competition, such as Colorado, enter a 26-state atlarge competition. All first-place winners in affiliate and at-large contests are entered in the NFPW national communications competition.
Horoshko took first in the national at-large competition in the category “Continuing Coverage or Unfolding News” for four stories on the Utah Public Lands Initiative and the controversy over Bears Ears National Monument in 2016.
“This judge appreciated the reporter’s commitment to representing all points of view, as well as to presenting a complete picture of this saga as it unfolded,” the judge wrote. “The temptation is great to side with one group or another, but the reporter obviously worked hard to represent the reader in her efforts to get to the bottom of the story.” She took home third place in the national contest.
Also, two articles by Horoshko about voting-rights issues in San Juan County, Utah, took first place in both the at-large and the national contest for “Specialty Articles-Government and Politics.” The articles were “San Juan County, Utah, told to redraw districts” in April 2016; and “Are mail-in ballots unfair to Navajo voters?” in June 2016.
The judges commented, “Excellent in-depth journalism about an important topic. Well-written and researched, and used many sources. Journalism lives! The articles flowed well, were factual, tried to represent all sides fairly, and were interesting to read. Both articles stayed on point and didn’t get swallowed up by national politics.”
The National Federation of Press Women Communications Competition rewards excellence in communication in a wide range of categories, with entries judged by experts in their fields.
Awards will be presented at the national conference in September 2017.
