VTDigger won four awards from Local Independent Online News (LION) Publishers for Best Coronavirus Coverage, Best Business Idea of the Year, Technology Innovation of the Year and Best Visual Journalism Project. VTDigger was also a finalist in the categories for Investigative Report of the Year and Collaboration of the Year.
LION Publishers, an association that represents 300 local news organizations, held its second annual awards ceremony virtually on Thursday, Oct. 22, giving out 15 awards celebrating the best of independent online media.
When Covid-19 hit Vermont, VTDigger’s newsroom went into overdrive producing stories as we raced to keep Vermonters informed about the impacts of the virus on our state. LION awarded VTDigger Best Coronavirus Coverage for our daily and investigative reporting on Covid-19 and critical projects, such as our coronavirus landing page and daily Covid-19 newsletter, coronavirus tip drop email address, an essential services business directory, a searchable FAQ knowledge base for readers and a “Vermont Remembrances” series about people who have died of the virus.
LION’s panel of judges commented, “The fact that VTDigger’s pressure on the state led to it releasing more town and hospitalization data and increasing the frequency of public briefings is exactly why local journalism is important. Huge impact.”
Everyone in the newsroom has been involved in this intensive effort. We have worked hard to ensure Vermonters have as much information as possible to function during the pandemic. VTDigger’s coverage is led by editors Colin Meyn, Jim Welch, Mark Johnson, Cate Chant, Elizabeth Hewitt and Mike Dougherty. Reporters Anne Wallace Allen, Lola Duffort, Ellie French, Katie Jickling and Erin Petenko were at the center of our Covid news cycle, which also included critical reporting by regional reporters Kevin O’Connor, Aidan Quigley, Justin Trombly and Emma Cotton. Reporters Grace Elletson, Xander Landen and Kit Norton covered the Statehouse policy changes that included federal funding for hazard pay, hospitals, small business recovery and dairy farm support. Photographer Glenn Russell captured images all over the state that help to chronicle the profound changes Covid has made to the way Vermonters live now.
VTDigger also took home the award for Best Visual Journalism Project for our story “Deadly Encounters,” which combined rigorous data reporting with video storytelling to interrogate the rising tide of police killings in Vermont over the past decade. The judges ruled that, “Both the video and the broader piece itself are very well done and led to clear impact. The way the video weaves together raw footage, interviews, data etc is very strong and impactful.” This project was a team effort led by data reporter Erin Petenko, with support from digital editor Mike Dougherty and criminal justice reporter Alan Keays.
VTDigger’s reader services project, which includes our press release and obituaries portals, won two awards. The PR portal won a Technology Innovation of the Year award and the reader services project was recognized for Best Business Idea of the Year. According to the judges, this work “Improved operational efficiency, while driving incremental revenue,” and “can easily be scaled to [other] publishers.”
The reader services project was created by VTDigger web developer Stacey Peters and was made possible by generous support from the Evslin Family Foundation and the Lenfest Institute.
Our months-long investigation of the Kiah Morris case in collaboration with Vermont Public Radio was a finalist for LION’s Investigative Report of the Year and Collaboration of the Year awards. VTDigger and VPR worked together to tell the whole story of how Vermont’s only Black lawmaker experienced racial harassment that eventually led to her resignation, but little systemic change. Criminal justice reporter Alan Keays spent a year combing through documents and interviewed dozens of sources to complete this complex story about racial injustice in a community that has failed to address an ongoing rift between white supremacists and people of color.
None of our reporting would be possible without the heroic work of our small business team: finance manager Marnie DeFreest, chief revenue officer Jim Lehnhoff, sales associate Sam Lucci, communications manager Libbie Pattison, web developer Stacey Peters and membership coordinator Florencio Terra.
Despite the uncertainty of the Covid economy, the business team has soldiered on, working hard to support the newsroom and VTDigger’s nonprofit mission, which is to produce rigorous journalism that explains issues, holds government accountable and engages Vermonters in the democratic process.
During the pandemic, VTDigger’s staff is working remotely. We continue to cover issues of paramount importance to Vermont communities, and we are prouder than ever of the work we are doing to meet critical information needs during these challenging times.
VTDigger thanks LION Publishers for their recognition of our local journalism and congratulates the other newsrooms across the country that won awards in Thursday’s ceremony.