The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press staff earn top honors in Virginia Press Association contest

The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press claimed the Virginia Press Association’s award for Journalistic Integrity and Community Service — as well as nearly three dozen other accolades in the annual statewide competition.

The journalistic integrity award went to The Pilot for its Dividing Lines series, reported by Sara Gregory and Ryan Murphy, on the enduring legacy of racial segregation in Norfolk.

“In an eight-story series, they chronicle the development of their city since reconstruction as one that has become more segregated, not less, with the passage of time,” judges wrote.

Jane Harper, a courts reporter for The Pilot, was named the state’s outstanding journalist of the year for 2021.

Her work “exemplified a doggedness and attention to detail that the best journalists possess and use to tell compelling stories that matter to communities,” one judge wrote.

Virginia Media — which includes The Virginian-Pilot, Daily Press, Inside Business and Virginia Gazette — also brought home 16 first place awards, nine second place awards and 11 third place awards for reporting and photography published in 2021. Pilot reporter Elisha Sauers won best in show for daily writing.

“I am so proud of all the amazing work our journalists did last year, from investigative work to Covid coverage to captivating visuals. We have some talented reporters on staff who worked tirelessly to keep our readers informed,” said Kris Worrell, editor-in-chief of Virginia Media. “I am especially grateful to the judges for recognizing our editorial work on government transparency, something we believe deeply in and will continue defending.”

The Virginia Press Association hosts the competition each year, judging publications for advertising, writing, photography, art, presentation, multimedia and public service. This year, awards were announced throughout the week with top honors announced Thursday. The contest is administered by the contest committee and VPA staff and is judged by journalists and advertising professionals from another state.

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Reporting awards

Of the first place awards, seven were awarded to reporters in categories that include: health/science and environment, breaking news, education, feature series, editorial, and critical writing.

Gary Harki and Jonathan Edwards’ breaking news coverage of last year’s “night of chaos” at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront claimed a first-place award. Among the first-place winners were Gregory, Sauers, Matthew Korfhage and Katherine Hafner.

In editorial writing, Brian Colligan claimed first place for his opinion and commentary writing.

“These pointed editorials achieve their mission by demanding transparency from public officials, holding them accountable when they try to dodge responsibility and celebrating the public good they can achieve when working together,” the judge commented.

Three of the nine second-place awards were handed out to reporters, including Dave Ress for government writing and Murphy for data journalism.

Harki and Harper also claimed second place for their investigative reporting on Blake Bailey, a former Old Dominion University professor who faculty and students say abused and harassed women for years. The judge applauded Harki and Harper’s in-depth reporting, commenting, “The details from accusers are frightening, well-sourced and the story flows together incredibly well.”

Six of the nine third-place awards were given to reporters for feature, government, general news and health-science and environmental writing.

Hafner’s take on Jack the Ripper was awarded third place in the feature story category, with the judge calling it “a very interesting read about the possible man behind Jack the Ripper and his Norfolk ties.” Hafner claimed an additional third place award for government writing.

Ress received a third-place award for health-science and environmental writing, and Saleen Martin took third place in the feature profile category for her story on Busch Gardens’ unofficial mayor, which the judge said was “sweet” and “well written.”

Virginia Gazette’s Em Holter took first place in education writing, and Abigail Adcox took third place in business and financial writing.

Inside Business’ Sandra Pennecke took first place in general news writing for her story on Hampton Roads’ first Black-owned tattoo academy, which opened in Portsmouth.

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Photography awards

The Pilot’s photographers dominated this year’s VPA awards, bringing home a total of 13 awards — five first place, six second placeand two third place.

In the picture story category, photographers Stephen Katz, Jonathon Gruenke, Kaitlin McKeown and Kristen Zeis were awarded first place for their coverage of the killing of Donovon Lynch by Virginia Beach police, with the judge applauding their efforts to stay with the story beyond the initial incident.

“The image of the small child watching the officer gather up police tape and the unusual angle for the closing image of the casket being taken out of the church bookend a strong visual story,” the judge commented.

Gruenke received four first-place awards, three second-place awards and one-third place award. His photography following the shooting at Heritage High School in Newport News claimed first place in the breaking news photo category, as did his portrait photo on the challenges people with mental illness face.

“The word ‘isolating’ was in the cutline and that feeling is carried perfectly in the photo. The contrasts with the rain helped paint a full picture of the subject,” the judge commented.

Katz claimed second place in the breaking news photo category for his images of police responding to multiple shootings during a chaotic night of violence at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront.

“The innocence of a child surrounded by police tape made this photo a winner,” the judge commented.

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McKeown brought home two second-place awards — one in the feature photo category and one in the personality/portrait photo category — with the judge stating that her personality/portrait photo did “a wonderful job capturing the subject within the confine of the story.”

McKeown snagged a third-place award in the sports news photo category, which the judge said had “great focus on the three players’ contact” and showed “the emotion of the game.”

Gruenke also grabbed a final award in the general news photo category for his images of Donovon Lynch’s celebration of life.

“Competition, color and lighting come together to put this image in the winning category,” the judge commented.

Caitlyn Burchett, 727-267-6059, caitlyn.burchett@virginiamedia.com

Ali Sullivan, 757-677-1974, ali.sullivan@virginiamedia.com