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KUOW team wins 16 SPJ Northwest Excellence in Journalism awards

May 20, 2022

Seattle, WA — KUOW's newsroom has won nine first place and seven runner up awards in this year's Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Region 10 Excellence in Journalism contest.

SPJ's Western Washington chapter announced the full list of winners on May 19. All of KUOW's awards were in the large newsroom division.

Below, we've shared KUOW's winning stories. We are proud of our team of journalists and the incredible reporting they did last year. We are also grateful to our supporters, who make this kind of local journalism possible.

Audio: Comprehensive Pandemic Coverage

First Place

Pandemic Coverage – KUOW staff

Audio: Environment & Natural Disaster Reporting

First Place

"2021 Climate Disasters" – Reporting by John Ryan, edited by Christy George, Deborah Wang

Second Place

"Melting Glaciers" – Reporting by John Ryan, edited by Christy George, Deborah Wang

caption: Nooksack Tribe glacier researchers cross a snowfield on their way to the Sholes Glacier on Mount Baker.

Audio: Feature, Hard News

First Place

"A Sunday service, a funeral, and a conference: How some churches spread Covid in the Seattle area" – Reporting by Anna Boiko-Weyrauch, edited by Deborah Wang and Ryan Kailath

Second Place

"Amazon Fresh divides a neighborhood" – Reporting by Joshua McNichols, edited by Carol Smith

caption: Victoria Beach fills a box with foods from the hot bar at Amazon Fresh

Audio: Government & Politics Reporting

Second Place

"Small town QAnon" – Reporting by David Hyde

Audio: Health & Science Reporting

Second Place

"How low wages and high rent helped Covid spread from a wedding in Kent to nearly 300" – Reporting by Anna Boiko-Weyrauch, edited by Deborah Wang and Ryan Kailath

caption: Zipporah Maina, before she got Covid-19 from a wedding in July 2020, and after she was hospitalized.

Audio: Investigative Reporting

Second Place

"Oil train disaster" – Reporting by John Ryan, edited by Deb Wang and Carol Smith

caption: Firefighters watch an oil train burn in Custer, Washington, on Dec. 22, 2020.

Photo & Design: General News Photography

First Place

Covid-19 Vaccine – Megan Farmer

caption: Lauren Alexander is vaccinated against COVID-19 in Seattle on April 15. <a href="https://www.kuow.org/stories/blog-pandemic-updates-for-washington-april-12-16">Full Story</a>

Photo & Design: Photo Portfolio

First Place (tie)

Portfolio – Megan Farmer

"Looking Back on 2021" – Megan Farmer and Genna Martin

Yip

Photo & Design: Portrait Photography

First Place

"Seattle Afghans to new arrivals: 'Recognize the power we all bring with us'" – Megan Farmer

caption: From left, Zarby Kakar, Navid Hamidi, Aneelah Afzali and Aziz Jamali.

Photo & Design: Portrait Photography

Second Place (tie)

"Celebration" – Megan Farmer

caption: Cleveland Stem High School senior Julia Nuñez Alvarez celebrates after picking up her diploma on Tuesday, June 15, 2021, during an in-person commencement ceremony at Memorial Stadium in Seattle.

Photo & Design: Spot News Photography

First Place

"Historic Flooding" – Megan Farmer

caption: Skagit River flood waters surround homes east of Mount Vernon on Nov. 16, 2021.

Photo & Design: Photo Essay

First Place (tie)

"Photos: Seattle sparkles on water" – Photography by Genna Martin, edited by Isolde Raftery

caption: Student Logan Musser begins his descent on a practice dive during a class at the Diver's Institute of Technology, September 15, 2021. DIT sits next to Gas Works Park at the top of Lake Union and has trained students in diving, underwater welding, construction and salvage operations for over 50 years.

Photo & Design: Photo Essay

Second Place (tie)

"Birthing and Parenting in the Pandemic" – Photography by Megan Farmer, edited by Deobrah Wang and Ryan Kailath

caption: Midwife Jenn Linstad, left, and Jake Black, right, hold Hope Black's hands as she breathes through a contraction at 2:25 a.m. on Friday, May 28, 2020, at the couple's home on Vashon Island.

Writing: Poverty & Homelessness Reporting

First Place

"In this 'city of abundance,' everyday Seattleites deliver donations to unhoused communities" – Reporting by Liz Brazile, edited by Isolde Raftery

caption: From left, Joscelyn and Cass DuVani deliver a new tent, shoes, clothing, soup, and a tarp along with several other items to Tedra, 24, who is experiencing houselessness on Friday, March 5, 2021, underneath Interstate 5 along South Dearborn Street in Seattle. Tedra's tent and belongings had caught fire the previous evening.