Pittsburgh Black Media Federation P.O. Box 292, Pittsburgh, PA 15230 • www.pbmf.org • [email protected] • 412-339-0730
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Pittsburgh Federation Announces Finalists in 30th Anniversary Media Awards
PITTSBURGH (April 3, 2018) — The Pittsburgh Black Media Federation announces an extraordinary group of finalists for its 30th annual Robert L. Vann Media Awards.
With the Awards of Excellence, the Vann program honors achievements in print, broadcast, photography and online journalism coverage of the African-American and African Diaspora communities of Western Pennsylvania.
“The contest entries represent a diverse range of issues relevant to the African-American community of this region,” said PBMF President Brian Cook Sr. “We’ve been impressed by the strong storytelling through photo, print, online and broadcast platforms.”
The contest finalists are named lower in this news release.
The winners will be announced at an awards dinner that will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, May 3, at the University of Pittsburgh’s O’Hara Student Center ballroom, 4024 O’Hara St., Oakland.
The Award of Excellence finalists are drawn from contests for both professional and college journalists. Entries were published or broadcast between Jan. 1, 2017, and Dec. 31, 2017.
Professional journalists in New York, Ohio, Michigan, Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia judged the contest entries.
In addition to its Awards of Excellence, the Vann program will give four special awards to honorees:
• Joyce Davis, executive director of the Lincoln Park Community Center, which inspires hope, operates a food pantry, and provides financial and health education to the vulnerable of Penn Hills — Communicator of the Year Award winner • Tony Norman, a pioneering Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist who was the second African-American to serve on the newspaper’s editorial board — Trailblazer Award winner • Bill Nunn August Wilson Monologue Competition, a project that provides underserved public school students access to theater arts and professional artists — Literacy Champion Award winner • Russell and Kathy Bynum, founders of Bynums Marketing, a marketing, design, and idea-generation firm — Legacy Award winners
PBMF looks forward to celebrating the best of Pittsburgh-area journalism with the Vann ceremony’s co-hosts — Michelyn Tinor, founder of video web show PGH SPOT, and Josh Taylor, sports anchor at KDKA-TV — two award-winning journalists.
Tickets for the Vann dinner may be purchased at www.pbmf.org until April 25. Tickets are $20 each for students, $35 each for PBMF members and $50 each for nonmembers.
No tickets will be sold at the door.
Program ads and event sponsorships also may be purchased at www.pbmf.org until April 20.
In 1988, PBMF launched its journalism awards competition named for the late Robert L. Vann, the legendary publisher of the Pittsburgh Courier. The intent was to honor his personal commitment to journalism and to create a voice for the black community.
Proceeds from the Vann Media Awards help fund college scholarships for graduates of PBMF’s Frank Bolden Urban Multimedia Workshop for teens, as well as professional development programs, international reporting fellowships and other initiatives.
Founded in 1973, PBMF is a nonprofit organization whose members are professional journalists, public relations specialists, and professors and college students in schools of journalism or related programs.
PBMF advocates for diversity in newsrooms, hosts programs that recognize excellent media coverage of minority communities, and trains young people to enter the media industry. The National Association of Black Journalists named PBMF the professional chapter of the year in 2017. PBMF tied for the title in 2015.
For more information about the Vann awards, contact Committee Chair Ervin Dyer at 412-624-4796 or [email protected].
See the list of Vann Media Awards finalists below.
FINALISTS – COLLEGE CONTEST
ONLINE MEDIA/PUBLIC AFFAIRS • Septima Simpkins The Hawkeye “On Being Black at Indiana University of Pennsylvania”
• Vania Arthur Point Park News Service “Black Women” documentary
ONLINE MEDIA/NEWS FEATURE • Christopher Ward Point Park News Service “Pittsburgh Veteran Dedicated His Life for His Country”
• Maura Linehan RMU Sentry Media “Humans of RMU: The Aspiring Author”
• Christopher Ward and Tyler Polk Point Park News Service “Baron Batch Sees Graffiti as a Medium for Social Change”
ONLINE MEDIA/EDUCATION • Alexandria M. Mansfield The HawkEye “IUP Punxsutawney’s Racist Past and Present”
• Tiffany Brisbon The HawkEye “The Racial Climate on Campus and Off”
ONLINE MEDIA/INVESTIGATIVE/ENTERPRISE • Emalee Sekely, editor; M. Jones Patterson, professor The Duquesne Duke “Juvenile Justice”
• The HawkEye staff The HawkEye “The Snapchat Photo, Revisited and Reconsidered”
ONLINE MEDIA/SPORTS FEATURE • Ian Kist, Matt Simkovic and Samuel Anthony RMU Sentry Media “Who Is New RMU Head Coach Bernard Clark?”
• Samuel Anthony RMU Sentry Media “WATCH: RMU Officially Introduces Bernard Clark as Head Coach”
• Logan Carney, Matt Simkovic and Michael Evans RMU Sentry Media “What to Expect From the Bernard Clark Era”
FINALISTS – PROFESSIONAL CONTEST
NEWSPAPER FEATURE • Stephen Nesbitt Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “It’s Not Just Fun and Games Anymore”
• Denise Johnson New Pittsburgh Courier “Geri Allen, Director of Jazz Studies at Pitt, Remembered as a ‘Powerful Force’”
• Marsha Keefer Beaver County Times “The Light on the Hill”
• Scott Tady Beaver County Times “Inspiration & Interpretations”
NEWSPAPER FEATURE PHOTOGRAPHY • Stephanie Strasburg Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “Tears for Lil’ Will”
• Nate Guidry Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “Family Members React”
• Xavier A. Thomas New Pittsburgh Courier “Mothers Plead for Gun Violence to Stop”
NEWSPAPER COLUMN • Steve Mellon Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “KKK Makes Mysterious Appearance in Family’s Photo Album”
• Tony Norman Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “The Life Force of Harry Belafonte”
• Tony Norman Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “She’s Bound for Glory”
ONLINE INVESTIGATIVE/ENTERPRISE • Aaron Aupperlee and Theresa Clift TribLIVE.com “In Pittsburgh’s Battle Against Blight, Some Neighborhoods Get Left Behind”
• Jeffrey Benzing PublicSource “From School to Jail: How Hundreds of Kids Get Arrested in Pittsburgh Schools Every Year”
NEWSPAPER SPORTS FEATURE • Brian Batko Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “Two Roads Traveled: Tragedy, Triumph Intertwine in the Tales of Former Sto-Rox Athletes”
• Stephen J. Nesbitt Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “NFL’s Anthem Controversy Proves Nuance Is Hard to Find”
• Bill Brink Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “Major League Baseball’s Diversity Problem Starts With the Managers”
NEWSPAPER BUSINESS NEWS • Tim Grant Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “Elegy for a Funeral Home? Longtime African-American Funeral Home Faces Challenges”
• Joyce Gannon Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “Denny’s Board Chair Considers Herself Agent of Change”
• Courtney Linder Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “Meeting Illustrates Difficulties Finding Black Tech Talent”
NEWSPAPER HEALTH/SCIENCE/ENVIRONMENT • Shelly Bradbury Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “All We Want Is to Make It to 18”
• Sean D. Hamill Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “Concerns Over Ethics Prompt Changes to Asthma Study”
NEWSPAPER PUBLIC AFFAIRS • Shelly Bradbury Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “Block by Block, Person by Person: Policing a Pittsburgh Neighborhood”
• Various PublicSource “I am a black girl and...”
• Joyce Gannon Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “Learning the Business of Social Entrepreneurship”
NEWSPAPER EDUCATION • Elizabeth Behrmann and Liz Navratil Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “Wilkinsburg Has a Unique History With Charter Schools”
• Sean D. Hamill Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “Minority Boys to Learn Coding From Nonprofit”
• Rob Taylor Jr. New Pittsburgh Courier “Narrowing the Racial Achievement Gap – Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Seeks to Improve African-American Student Outcomes”
NEWSPAPER PRINT SERIES • Renee Aldrich New Pittsburgh Courier “Generation NEXT’
• Kate Giammarise, Liz Navratil and Diana Nelson Jones Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “Section 8 Vouchers Don’t Guarantee a Place to Live”
• Tim Grant, Gary Rotstein Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “Race in Pittsburgh: A Tale of Two Cities” “Race in Pittsburgh: The Great Migration”
TV DOCUMENTARY • Beth Dolinar, Iris Samson, Paul Ruggieri, Walt Francis, Frank Caloiero, Dave Forstate and Harold Hayes WQED “Come by Here: A History of Five Churches”
• Bofta Yimam and Brian Caldwell WTAE “Candid Conversations” from Chronicle: Only in Pittsburgh
TV FEATURE STORY • Bob Allen, Rob Hopson and Martin Rodgers KDKA-TV “Carlton’s Comeback”
• Bob Allen, Rob Hopson and Greg Benedict KDKA-TV “Funky Fly Project”
• Lynne Hayes-Freeland, Rob Hopson and Martin Rodgers KDKA-TV “Cancer Connection”
TV INVESTIGATIVE/ENTERPRISE • Lauren Silver, Kellie Burkett and Ward Hobbs WPXI “Harbour Portfolio Properties”
• Paul Van Osdol, Kendall Cross and Brian Caldwell WTAE “Child Deaths and Abuse”
• Marty Griffin, Dave Colabine and Ian Smith KDKA-TV “Attacked Teacher Speaks Out”
TV SERIES • Staff WTAE “Housing Controversy”
• Rick Earle, Aaron Martin, Damany Lewis and Jennifer Tomazic WPXI “Penn Plaza Development”
• Olga George and Aaron Sledge KDKA-TV “Black History Month”
TV SPOT NEWS • Marlisa Goldsmith WPXI “Bus Stop Shooting”
• Meghan Schiller, Dan Vojtko and Steve Willing KDKA-TV “Tragedy in Homewood”
• Staff WTAE “Deadly High-rise Fire”
TV SPORTS FEATURE • Alby Oxenreiter and Mike Drewecki WPXI “From Heinz Field to Heinz Hall: Arthur Moats”
• Janelle Hall and Louis Griffith WTAE “Karis’ Big Goals”
• Staff WTAE “Dan Rooney & The Rooney Rule”
MAGAZINE FEATURE • Meredith Soeder, Brian Butko and Liz Simpson; designer: Gatesman (Bryan Vorp, Senior Art Director) Western Pennsylvania History Magazine “Instruments in Every Classroom: Pittsburgh’s African American Jazz Musicians”
• LaMont Jones Jr. Bridges Magazine “Social Issues in Cuba: A Unique Study Abroad Course”
• Brandy Hadden Pittsburgh Magazine “Stuff of Legends/Pittsburgh Opera’s ‘The Summer King: The Josh Gibson Story’”
• Hal B. Klein Pittsburgh Magazine “A Changing of the Guard(ener)/Raqueeb Bey of Black Urban Gardeners and Farmers of Pittsburgh”
MAGAZINE FEATURE PHOTOGRAPHY • Harry Giglio Pitt Magazine Cover of the Winter 2017 issue
RADIO PUBLIC AFFAIRS • An-Li Herring 90.5 WESA “Black Girls, Who Often Have History of Trauma, Are 11 Times More Likely to Encounter Justice System”
RADIO NEWS FEATURE • Virginia Alvino-Young 90.5 WESA “You Can Go Through Horrible Things, But You Can Shine, Too: Wilkinsburg One Year Later”
• An-Li Herring 90.5 WESA “Racial Slurs Have No Place in High School Athletics, Students Say. So Why Does This Keep Happening?”
RADIO BUSINESS NEWS • Margaret J. Krauss 90.5 WESA “What Do the Pittsburgh Penguins Have to Do With Affordable Housing?”
ONLINE MEDIA PUBLIC AFFAIRS • Paul Guggenheimer and Andres Tapia-Urzua “Primal Interviews: Tony Norman — Racism and the Return of the Civil War”
ONLINE MEDIA — NEWS FEATURE • Sarah Anne Hughes The Incline “You Know Darlene and Bill. Meet Pittsburgh Mayoral Candidate John Welch”
• Anthony M. Moore Pittwire “‘Black Nativity’ Showcases Gospel Music, Family and Community Connections”
• Ervin Dyer Pittwire “Archival Collections Document the Black Arts Movement in 20th-century Pittsburgh”
ONLINE MEDIA — BUSINESS NEWS • MJ Slaby The Incline “Meet the Woman Behind Black Tech Nation in Pittsburgh”
• Kevin Zwick Pittwire “Alumna Earns CEO of the Year Honors”
ONLINE MEDIA — SPOT NEWS • Bob Bauder TribLIVE.com “Pittsburgh Fines White Contractor for Discriminating Against Black Customer”
• Aaron Aupperlee TripLIVE.com “Western Pa. Company Fires Man Who Attended Charlottesville Rally”
ONLINE MEDIA — EDUCATION • Jamie Martines and Ben Schmitt TribLIVE.com “Woodland Hills School District’s Troubles Rooted in Past”
ONLINE PHOTOGRAPHY — FEATURE PHOTO • Aimee Obidzinski Pittwire Portrait of Oronde S. Sharif, leader of “Black Nativity” for the past 18 years
• Annie O’Neill Pittwire Portrait of Pitt alumna Vivian Davidson Hewitt as she celebrates her 97th birthday at an art event
MULTIMEDIA • Emmai Alaquiva OpticVoices “OpticVoices: Conversations”
• Julian Routh, Steve Mellon, Stephanie Strasburg, Lake Fong, Ben Howard and Laura Malt Schneiderman Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “Break Thru: A Half-decade After Mac and Wiz, the Pittsburgh Hip-Hop Scene Is Still Waiting for Its Moment”
• Minette Seate, Chris Moore, Rebecca Jean Born, Iris Samson, Lisa Washington, David Solomon and Darryl Ford Williams WQED “Think! Equity & Opportunity”
• Peter Smith, Nate Guidry and Laura Malt Schneiderman Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “Unsettled In America: Pittsburgh’s Latino Community Is Small, Diverse, Growing – and Anxious”
PRINT ILLUSTRATION/GRAPHICS • Dan Marsula Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Billy Porter
• Holly Artz Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Rap artist Common