Side Effects Public Media journalists received six awards Tuesday from the Indiana Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists for their coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic last year. Their work highlighted health equity, racial disparities in healthcare and problems within Indiana's prison system.
Out-of-state judges selected by SPJ named award-winners for their work in radio, television, digital and social media during 2020. Winners from Side Effects were:
First place:
- Carter Barrett: Print & Digital Coverage for “Equity And Public Health”
- Jake Harper: Radio In-Depth Reporting for “The Pandemic's Impact Inside Indiana Prisons”
- Hilary Powell (in partnership with The Indianapolis Recorder): Print & Digital Coverage for “Pandemic's Impact On The Indianapolis Community”
Third place:
- Hilary Powell (in partnership with The Indianapolis Recorder): Print & Digital Coverage for “Investigating Health Equity in Indiana"
- Farah Yousry and Vinnie Manganello: Television Medical or Science Reporting for “Blood Sugar Rising: COVID-19 and Diabetes are a Dangerous Mix”
- Holly Edgell: Online Newsletter Award for “Side Effects Newsletter”
WFYI Public Media in Indianapolis, the lead station for the Side Effects collaboration, won seven additional awards, mainly for its coverage of anti-racism protests. It included work done in partnership with the Recorder, a weekly newspaper focused on Indianapolis' Black community. Winners were:
First place:
- Kyle Travers: Television Coverage of Minority, Diversity & Inclusion for “Move To Include - Katrina Kelly”
- Bryan Boyd and Gabrielle Steenberger: Television Coverage of Social Justice Issues for “A Difficult Task”
- Lauren Chapman, Doug Jaggers, Jill Sheridan and Eric Weddle: Best Use of Social Media for “Indianapolis Social Justice Protests”
- Kyle Long: Best Podcast for “Cultural Manifesto”
Second place:
- WFYI and The Indianapolis Recorder Staff for the Television Special, “Where Do We Go From Here? A Community Conversation”
Third place:
- WFYI Staff: Print & Digital Breaking News Reporting for “Indianapolis Social Justice Protests”
- Michael Husain and Jeremy Tatara: Television Criminal Justice Reporting for “No Harm - The Battle To Save IV Drug Users”
In addition, two new WFYI Public Media employees earned awards for work they completed before joining the organization. Dylan Peers McCoy earned first place for her education reporting at Chalkbeat Indiana. Digital Editor Lindsey Erdody earned first- and second-place honors for her work at the Indianapolis Business Journal.
The awards program, shown online, featured a tribute to WFYI reporter Jill Ditmire, who died in January at age 56.
