2013 Beat Reporting for Print/Online (Small Staff) Second Prize: Beth Hawkins

Judges’ Comments

“Beth Hawkins fills her blogs with solid reporting on a wide variety of issues in education. Written in an easy-to-read style, her pieces raise awareness of the people, the schools and the issues important to education in St. Paul. The story on the “ladies” and the refuge they found with a teacher who gave them extra instruction in math was particularly striking.”

“Beth Hawkins brings a fresh approach, a conversational sort of authority and the savvy you hope for in a source of information about education. She hasn’t dumbed it down, but she has translated the philosophies she writes about with practical examples, strong descriptive skill, and a deft and mostly reliable avoidance of jargon. Anyone dismissive of the blog format should take note of her insightful use of it, exploiting too the opportunity to make personal observations that connect on a different level with readers. The warm – not smarmy or gushing – reflection on Samatar’s funeral is a case in point and the ‘rant’ on the depressing condition of some facilities is another. The posts are well-reported, bring in voices from many strata, and written with engaging skill.”