The team at PublicSource takes great pride in our journalism and community impact. Our greatest rewards come from reader feedback and support. However, we appreciate when the work of our dedicated staff is recognized locally and internationally, as it has been consistently over the past several years. Here we will keep you updated with new announcements of our journalism being celebrated in 2022. We’re grateful for the honors but we owe our biggest thanks to the people who have entrusted us with their stories. You make stories for a better Pittsburgh possible.
November 30, 2022
A PublicSource story by a student-reporter and a podcast series co-published with PublicSource have won awards in the nation’s top contest for journalism on disability issues.
The winners were announced Nov. 14 for the 2022 Katherine Schneider Journalism Award for Excellence in Reporting on Disability and the 2022 Gary Corcoran Student Prize for Excellence in Reporting on Disability.
Chris Hippensteel received second place in the student media category for a story on how the Pennsylvania justice system often fails autistic people and the reforms being offered by activists and judges. Hippensteel was a summer 2021 PublicSource editorial intern while a student at Syracuse University.
Jennifer Szweda Jordan and All-Abilities Media received third place in the small media category for A Valid Podcast, Season 3, which was co-published with PublicSource.
The professional prize is supported by a gift from Katherine Schneider, a retired clinical psychologist. Schneider, who has been blind since birth, established the award to help journalists improve their coverage of disability issues, moving beyond “inspirational” stories that don’t accurately represent the lives of people with disabilities. “That kind of stuff is remarkable, but that’s not life as most of us live it,” she said.
The full list of winners are available here.
November 7, 2022
PublicSource was honored in the Local Media Association (LMA) Digital Innovation Awards as the best local digital news website under 250,000 unique readers per month. Judges commented that, “PublicSource’s commitment to being a credible source of information for — and by — the Pittsburgh community is unparalleled.”
PublicSource’s 2021 photo essay City of Prayer was awarded second place for best digital news project awarded for entries that display captivating, innovative and intentional storytelling.
LMA’s Digital Innovation Awards recognize the best in local digital media in 16 categories such as best local website, best virtual event, best branded content strategy and more. It is a highly competitive contest designed to recognize both large and small media companies for their outstanding and innovative work.
September 27, 2022
The Insitute for Nonprofit News [INN] announced Quinn Glabicki as the winner of the 2022 Insight Award for Visual Journalism in the large division. Glabicki’s photo essay, City of Prayer, received accolades for its “truly impressive investment of time and commitment to tell an important story with depth, impact and nuance.”
The INN Nonprofit News Awards, or INNYs, honor excellence in journalism, leadership and community service across the field of nonprofit news. INN honored a total of 28 news organizations and leaders during its awards on Sept. 21.
August 12, 2022
PublicSource was honored with two national Edward R. Murrow awards for reporting by a small digital news organization, announced during the Radio Television Digital News Association’s national broadcast on Aug. 11. Read more about these prestigious awards here.
August 10, 2022
PublicSource was recognized with four awards in the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation’s 34th annual Vann Media Awards contest.
- TyLisa Johnson received first place in the Education category for written journalism in non-daily publications for The strongest lifeline’: Districts struggle to find Allegheny County’s homeless students as COVID increased distance and needs.
- Naomi Harris, Chris Hedlin and Rich Lord received first place in the Enterprise/Investigative category for written journalism in non-daily publications for Pittsburgh’s oldest Black church was demolished as ‘blight’ in the 1950s Lower Hill. Today, members seek justice.
- Jourdan Hicks and Andy Kubis received first place for Excellence in an Audio Journalism Series for From the Source Podcast (Season Two): Ep. 7, 8 & 14.
- Quinn Glabicki received second place for Excellence in Visual Journalism Photography Essays for The City of Prayer: Clairton’s residents persevere amid persistent pollution and violence.
Honorees will receive their awards at the Robert L. Vann Media Awards dinner on Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2022, at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center.
June 28, 2022
The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle received an honorable mention by the American Jewish Press Association for a story it partnered on with PublicSource.
Chronicle Staff Writer David Rullo and Chris Hedlin of PublicSource co-authored the story “Pittsburgh Jewish leaders are handed frontline role in mental health.” According to the Chronicle’s write-up of the award, the judge commented: “Article shines a light on the difference between mental health counseling and pastoral counseling in a thoughtful, accessible way.”
PublicSource partners with the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle and more than a dozen others in delivering meaningful journalism to the region’s residents.
May 25, 2022
PublicSource’s reporting on education, housing, disabilities, religion and water quality was honored at the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania’s annual Golden Quill awards.
Reader support and vigorous collaboration with other outlets helped PublicSource and its media partners to win nine awards, with 10 other finalists.
Winners include:
- Dispute in Downtown’s Gateway Towers Divides Condo Residents by Bill Zlatos, in the news feature category
- From Participant to Paid Employee, Recent Woodlands Foundation Hires Show What People With Disabilities Bring to the Workforce also by Zlatos, for lifestyle journalism
- PWSA: After the Crisis by Oliver Morrison, for reporting on public affairs, politics and government
- After Finding a Home in Pittsburgh, a Paralegal Helps Others Navigate Housing Difficulties by Ryan Loew, in the video essay category
- Screen Test by TyLisa Johnson, Punya Bhasin, Juliet Martinez and community members, for education reporting
- What Difference Has a Year Made? by Naomi Harris, Natasha Vicens and Ryan Loew, for digital presentation
- Pittsburgh’s Oldest Black Church Was Demolished as ‘Blight’ in the 1950s Lower Hill. Today, Members Seek Justice by Chris Hedlin, Lord and Harris, for history and culture reporting
- A Valid Podcast: Relationships Among People With Intellectual Disabilities produced in partnership with the All-Abilities Media Team and Unabridged Press, for audio journalism
- Tenant Cities by PublicSource’s Rich Lord and Kate Giammarise of WESA, for enterprise and investigative journalism. Tenant Cities also won a Ray Sprigle Memorial Award for best in show in its category.
PublicSource finalists include:
- Dispute in Downtown’s Gateway Towers Divides Condo Residents by Zlatos, for business, technology and consumer reporting
- Therapists at UPMC, Pittsburgh Mercy Are Burned Out and Quitting. What Does It Mean For Patient Care? by Juliette Rihl
- Mixed-up Meds & Long Waits: How Understaffing Hurts Medical Treatment at Allegheny County Jail also by Rihl
- A Tragedy of Errors: A Series of Maintenance Failures Led to the 2018 Fire at the Clairton Coke Works by Morrison
- Leading With Generosity — A Conversation With a Local Jeweler About His Career and Culture of Giving by Jourdan Hicks and Andy Kubis, PublicSource
- Lives Left in Caring Hands? — A Conversation With a Palliative Care Social Worker also by Hicks and Kubis
- Pittsburgh’s Black Muslim History Uncovered by Hicks, Kubis and Hedlin
- Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi Leads Western Pennsylvania Churches Toward a More Inclusive Future by Hedlin
- Pittsburgh Jewish Leaders Are Handed Frontline Role in Mental Health by Hedlin and David Rullo of the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle
- The City of Prayer: Clairton’s Residents Persevere Amid Persistent Pollution and Violence by Quinn Glabicki
A list of all of the winners is available here.
May 4, 2022
Pennsylvania Newsmedia Association Keystone Media Awards
PublicSource received four Keystone Media Awards honoring work produced by the newsroom in 2021.
The awards, published on April 28 by the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, are presented each year to Pennsylvania journalists in recognition of journalism that “consistently provides relevance, integrity, and initiative in serving readers and audiences, and faithfully fulfills its First Amendment rights/responsibilities.”
Jourdan Hicks and Andy Kubis won first place in the podcast category for their work on From the Source, Season 2.
Quinn Glabicki won first place in the photo story/essay category for The City of Prayer: Clairton’s residents persevere amid persistent pollution and violence.
Rich Lord and Kate Giammarise received an honorable mention in the investigative reporting category for their Tenant Cities series, produced in collaboration with 90.5 WESA.
Juliette Rihl and Colin Deppen received an honorable mention in the news feature category for their work on the coming crisis in dementia care and why PA is woefully underprepared. This was produced in partnership with SpotlightPA.
April 28, 2022
Society of Professional Journalists Keystone Pro Chapter Spotlight Contest
PublicSource was awarded seven awards in the 2021 Keystone Awards contest, including the prestigious Spotlight Award for non-daily reporting for the second year. The Spotlight Award is given to the journalist or journalists whose published investigative story or series scooped other media and placed the public’s right to know in the spotlight. This year’s award was received for Tenant Cities reporting in collaboration with news partner 90.5 WESA.
The Society of Professional Journalists Keystone Pro Chapter Spotlight Contest annually recognizes the best in journalism. The contest is open to all journalists from Pennsylvania and New Jersey whose work appeared in a publication in one of the two states.
A full list of PublicSource awards are as follows:
- Education Writing: 2nd place for Screen Test, compiled by TyLisa Johnson
- Podcasts: 1st place for From the Source by Jourdan Hicks and Andy Kubis
- Graphic/Photo Illustration: 1st place for Unraveling: A comic artist’s journey through alcoholism and recovery in the pandemic by Andrea Shockling, published with the Pittsburgh City Paper
- Photo Story, non-daily: 1st place for City of Prayer by Quinn Glabicki
- Environmental reporting, non-daily: 1st place for PWSA After the Crisis by Oliver Morrison
- Environmental reporting, non-daily: 2nd place for A Tragedy of Errors: A series of maintenance failures led to the 2018 fire at the Clairton Coke Works by Oliver Morrison
- Spotlight Award, non-daily: 1st place for Tenant Cities by Rich Lord, Kate Giammarise and Ryan Loew, published with 90.5 WESA
See PublicSource’s awards in 2021
