2021 News (Midsize Newsroom) Finalists

Nuria Martinez-Keel & Josh Dulaney
The Oklahoman

Ninnekah Schools Abuse Scandal

• Ninnekah community furious at school district’s ‘failure to act’ in sexual abuse scandal
• Oklahoma coach preyed on players while school looked the other way, lawsuit alleges
• A ‘total breakdown’: State school board comes down on Ninnekah schools, administrators

Comments from the Judges:

“This entry is classic good beat reporting about an issue of high importance to a community regarding the safety of its children and fractured faith in its school system…Stories about sexual misconduct present special barriers and require intense sensitivity which the reporters handled well.”

“The details in these stories are incredible. Really good work.”

Ileana Najarro, Holly Peele, Eesha Pendharkar, Maya Riser-Kositsky, Stephen Sawchuk, Sarah Schwartz, Kaylee Domzalski & Brooke Saias
Education Week

A Year After George Floyd

• How the murder of George Floyd changed K-12 schooling: A collection

Comments from the Judges:

“Education Week’s look at the state of school resource officers is a fascinating project and much-needed reporting about how the racial reckoning in America post-Floyd affected school districts. Education Week created its own database to keep track plus did site-specific reporting…Education Week created a wonderful resource for media and researchers alike, not to mention school districts trying to figure out what to do about their police forces.”

“Excellent, multilayered work…The database of districts that removed police officers or otherwise made changes is detailed and helpful.”

Jack Stripling
The Chronicle of Higher Education

The Tenure Case of Nikole Hannah-Jones

• ‘What the hell happened?’ Inside the Nikole Hannah-Jones tenure case
• ‘Look us in the eye’ A tense tenure vote at Chapel Hill lays bare racial wounds.
• How Nikole Hannah-Jones flipped the script on Chapel Hill

Comments from the Judges:

“Deep reporting and compelling writing on a major issue in higher education. It clearly lays out a wide range of issues including academic freedom, autonomy for universities, the role of money, politics and race in the academy. It reads like a novel and it is all true. The story was difficult to dig out because there was reluctance to talk on all sides. The reporter had to either find alternate routes to the story or work until he earned the trust to gain openings to key sources.”

“The reporter combined exhaustive reporting, a great writing flair and exclusive interview with the subject. Phenomenal work.”

SEE THE FULL LIST OF 2021 CATEGORY FINALISTS