OPB journalists honored with SPJ Northwest Excellence in Journalism Awards in a broad range of categories

Several OPB journalists have been honored with Northwest Excellence in Journalism awards from the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ).

The competition is one of the largest of its kind in the nation, and honors journalists across SPJ Region 10, which covers Alaska, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Oregon.

The contest recognizes excellence in published or broadcast work of journalists in the region. It is run each year by a committee of volunteers from SPJ Western Washington and SPJ Oregon Territory.

OPB reporters and producers were recognized across a broad range of categories in the “Large Newsroom” division, including health and science reporting; government and politics reporting; social equity reporting, hard news and for comprehensive pandemic coverage. They were also honored for their work in multimedia storytelling, photography, design and writing.

OPB’s SPJ awards include:

Audio: Series

First Place: “Timber Wars” Podcast (Aaron Scott, Peter Frick-Wright, Robbie Carver)

Second Place: “People of color and mental health in Oregon” (Samantha Matsumoto, Donald Orr, Sage Van Wing)

Audio: Feature, Hard News

First Place: “Timber Wars” Episode 3: The owl (Aaron Scott, Peter Frick-Wright, Robbie Carver)

Audio: Health & Science Reporting

Second Place: “Searching for cremated remains in the ashes of Oregon’s wildfires” (Jes Burns)

Audio: Social Equity Reporting

Second Place: “Racism In ihe great outdoors: Oregon’s natural spaces feel off limits to Black people” (Monica Samayoa)

Video: Comprehensive Pandemic Coverage

First Place: “Postcards from the pandemic” (OPB Staff)

Video: General Assignment, No Time Limit

First Place: “Indigenous spirituality inside Oregon prisons” (Arya Surowidjojo, Bradley W. Parks, MacGregor Campbell, Jan Boyd)

Video: General Assignment, Within 24 Hours

First Place: “Portland’s violin vigil for Elijah McClain” (Arya Surowidjojo, Courtney Sherwood, Claudia Meza, Jan Boyd)

Multimedia Storytelling

Second Place: “Move to include: In the shadow of Fairview” (Kami Horton, Dan Evans)

Collaboration (The Oregonian/OregonLive, Oregon Public Broadcasting, ProPublica)

First Place: “The cutting” (Rob Davis, Tony Schick, Lylla Younes)

Photo & Design: Photo Essay

First Place: “Serenity” (Jonathan Levinson)

Second Place: “Portland Was Different” (Jonathan Levinson)

Writing: Government & Politics Reporting

First Place: “Workplace dispute reveals big flaws In Oregon Capitol’s harassment policy” (Dirk VanderHart)

Second Place: “Rural Oregon leaders mull revolt against COVID-19 reopening rules” (Emily Cureton)

Writing: Series

First Place: Fed wars: The month-long battle between federal law enforcement and Portland protesters (Jonathan Levinson, Conrad Wilson, Ryan Haas)