EVERETT — The Daily Herald staff won five awards this week in the annual Northwest Excellence in Journalism competition.
Sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists, judges for the contest reviewed content published in 2022 by news organizations in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska.
The Herald took the top prize in one category for “Large” news outlets and second place in four others.
Investigative reporter Jake Goldstein-Street received a first-place award in the “Racial Equity Reporting” category for his story analyzing staff diversity at police departments in Snohomish County.
Using public records, Goldstein-Street compiled the demographics of all but one law enforcement agency in the county and compared this with data from the 2020 U.S. census. He discovered only police in Marysville and Edmonds were roughly as diverse as those cities as a whole, if not more diverse.
University of Washington sociology professor Alexes Harris, whose research focuses on racial inequality in the criminal justice system, reviewed the data and noted a “great deal of racial under-representation.” Law enforcement leaders say changing the demographics has been a focus of recent recruitment efforts.
Other former and current Herald staff were recognized:
• Sports reporter Cameron Van Til received a second-place award in the “Sports Reporting” category for his story on Lake Stevens High School winning its first-ever 4A football state championship title.
• Business reporter Janice Podsada received a second-place award in the “Feature — Soft News” category for her story on the KRKO radio station commemorating 100 years on the airwaves.
• Environmental reporter Zachariah Bryan received a second-place award in “Environmental & Natural Disaster Reporting” for his story on a retired biologist who dives into the Snohomish River to clear out trash.
• Chief photographer Olivia Vanni received a second-place award in the “Photo & Design” category for her photo series following the pregnancy of mixed martial artist Miranda Granger.
The awards were announced Thursday via Twitter.
A full list can be found at spjwash.org/2022-nw-excellence-in-journalism-winners/
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