VTDigger took home a dozen awards last weekend at the New England Newspaper and Press Association’s annual convention in Boston — including five first-place finishes for investigative reporting, photography and the use of social media in breaking news.
Vermont’s largest newsroom was also honored for its videos and newsletters, as well as for its coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic and local and state elections.
“I am so proud of the VTDigger staff for their outstanding work,” said Anne Galloway, founder and editor of VTDigger. “In a tough competition, we showed our mettle as Vermont’s newspaper of record.”
The nonprofit news organization won its awards at the New England Better Newspaper Competition in the news services and online news sites division. Others competing in that division included the Associated Press, Boston.com and MassLive.
VTDigger won two top prizes in the prestigious “Investigative/Enterprise Reporting” category. Reporter Emma Cotton came in first place for her groundbreaking coverage of Slate Ridge, a military-style training facility that has terrorized neighbors in rural Pawlet. NENPA’s judges called it “a superb piece of reporting that raised serious red flags about the potential dangers” of Slate Ridge and “strong enough to force state officials to take action.”
Former reporter Katie Jickling came in second place in the same category for her account of two young women who alleged abuse at the hands of their high school vice principal. The judges called it “an excellent piece of in-depth reporting on an issue that was overlooked for too long.”
Staff photographer Glenn Russell won five awards in the NENPA contest, three of which were first-place finishes. Russell won top honors in the “Spot News Photo” category for an image of a man brandishing a knife as he attempted to drive through an immigration-related protest; the “Feature Photo” category for a shot of Santa Claus speaking to a child behind a sheet of plexiglass; and the “Contemporary Issues Photo” category for an image of protesters and police interacting outside the Essex police station. Russell also came in second in both the feature and contemporary issues categories.
Senior editor Mike Dougherty won the top prize for “Best Use of Social Media in Breaking News” for his work sharing critical public health information during the Covid-19 pandemic through social media, video, graphics and live-streaming. Dougherty, who was serving at the time as VTDigger’s digital editor, also came in second in the “News Video” category for a video he produced explaining how to vote by mail in the 2020 election.
VTDigger’s entire staff won second place in two important and highly competitive categories: “Best Coverage of Coronavirus” and “Local Election Coverage.” In the former category, VTDigger was recognized for its work providing lifesaving information to its readers during the pandemic through investigations, explanatory reporting, a liveblog, data visualization, FAQs, live events, podcasts, a business directory and more. In the latter category, VTDigger was honored for its coverage of Vermont’s 2020 election and 2021 Town Meeting Day.
In describing VTDigger’s coverage of the pandemic, NENPA judges cited the organization’s “deep-seated and abiding commitment to good journalism” and “the consistency of writing and presentation over an extended period.”
VTDigger also came in third place in the “Outstanding Newsletter” category for its coverage of state government and politics in the “Final Reading” newsletter, which was written at the time by former political reporter Kit Norton.
