Community Champion Award

2024 Nonprofit News Awards

Honors an INN member organization that made a significant contribution to the well-being of its community through a journalism-centered project or service.

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Micro Division — Winner: InDepthNH.org, published by NH Center for Public Interest Journalism
Small Division — Winner: Springfield Daily Citizen
Medium Division — Winner: Jewish Currents
Large Division — Winner: Honolulu Civil Beat

Community Champion Award – Micro division

InDepthNH.org, published by NH Center for Public Interest Journalism

Ani Freedman Champions Merrimack

Ani Freedman investigated the impact of “forever chemicals” polluting groundwater, soil and surface water in Merrimack, New Hampshire and tied it to Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, which supplies materials for construction and industrial work. That sort of reporting is not easy, one judge said. “The science can be hard to explain. Corporations responsible for the pollution won’t talk or tell the truth. And, it’s essential to tell the personal stories of impact, to humanize the issue,” the judge wrote. “But, Ani Freedman does a good job getting to the bottom of this complex story. It’s a good example of the kind of accountability journalism that gets lost when newspapers shutter and the kind of reporting that nonprofit news organizations can do to enable residents to tell their stories and speak truth to power.”

Read the Winning Work

Saint-Gobain’s Controversial Air Permit Approved by NHDES

State Rep: Saint-Gobain Leaves, But Health Impacts of PFAS Are Here to Stay

Saint-Gobain Denies NHDES Requests for More Sampling of PFAS-Contaminated Sites

Finalists

Eden Prairie Local News, Silent Struggles, Jim Bayer, Juliana Allen, Stuart Sudak, Mark Weber, Amy Nylander
Oviedo Community News, Voter Guide 2023

Community Champion Award – Small division

Springfield Daily Citizen

Living in Fear by Steve Pokin, Jackie Rehwald, Shannon Cay, Jym Wilson

The Springfield Daily Citizen examined the problem of domestic violence in a four-part series published over two months, delving into different aspects such as how law enforcement handles reports of abuse and shortcomings of the criminal justice system. The project weaves together in-depth reporting, multimedia storytelling and a database. A judge described the series as “absolutely remarkable in its depth. What a feat of journalism!”

Read the Winning Work

Living in Fear: Batterers often sent to class, but no one knows if it reduces domestic violence

9 ways to help those who are Living in Fear

Roundtable: Ugly truths about culture, desire to keep things ‘private,’ are factors in domestic violence

Finalist

Mission Local, Election coverage to cut through the noise

Community Champion Award – Medium division

Jewish Currents

On The Nose: Podcast Episodes on American Jews and the War on Gaza by Arielle Angel, Mari Cohen, Peter Beinart, Daniel May, Ilana Levinson

In a series of podcast episodes, Jewish Currents delves into different topics and perspectives related to the Gaza war such as handling family disagreements, antisemitism narratives on U.S. college campuses, and the news outlet staff members’ politics concerning the term “Zionist.”

“This series made a strong impression by including the voices of so many American Jews with such nuanced perspectives that addressed both sides of critical issues related to the War on Gaza,” a judge wrote.

Read the Winning Work

Talking to Our Families

Unpacking the Campus Antisemitism Narrative

On Zionism and Anti-Zionism

Finalist

El Tímpano, Guía de Recursos, Katherine Nagasawa, Vanessa Flores and Mayra Sierra

Community Champion Award – Large division

Honolulu Civil Beat

The Maui Wildfires

In 2023, wildfires destroyed much of Lahaina in Maui County, Hawai’i, and Honolulu Civil Beat has relentlessly covered every aspect of the aftermath. Civil Beat has produced, and continues to report, on resulting environmental threats, government wildfire preparedness (or the lack thereof), housing challenges and more. It’s an effort a judge described as the “definition of rising to community need — from asking hard questions that the community deserves to have answered to providing explainers and resources for the community to use and to generate support.”