Buzzfeed, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Salt Lake Tribune and Slate win first-time contest for journalists covering sexual violence

WASHINGTON, May 9, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today the winners of the first-ever RALLYs awards were announced at a national media summit advancing how the media approaches sexual violence.

Raliance, in partnership with The Poynter Institute for Media Studies, launched The RALLY awards this year to honor the highest level of journalistic achievement in coverage of sexual violence. Together these national leaders recognize the importance of sexual violence reporting and the critical role journalists play in educating the public on this widespread, but preventable, issue.

The four award categories highlight everyday journalism, digital innovation, investigative series and feature stories. Four $500 cash prizes will be awarded to the top winners in each category.

The awards were announced at a summit for newsroom journalists at the Kaiser Family Foundation in Washington D.C. Changing the landscape: A dialogue with journalists reporting on sexual violence featured speakers including New York Times David Carr Fellow, Amanda Hess and award recipients from Buzzfeed, The Atlanta-Journal Constitution, and The Plain Dealers.

Nearly 80 applicants entered the inaugural competition and finalists represent national and local coverage across the U.S. The SME Harbinger in Fairway Kansas is recognized as an award finalist submitted by high school students.

This contest and event were made possible by generous sponsorship from the Glover Park Group and the National Football League.

Raliance and our national partners would like to congratulate the following winners: 

DIGITAL INNOVATION:

1st Place - "Doctors & Sex Abuse" from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in Atlanta, Georgia
Carrie Teegardin, reporter; Danny Robbins, reporter; Ariel Hart, reporter; Jeff Ernsthausen, data journalist; Ryon Horne, Videographer; Richard Watkins, web application specialist/illustrator; Alan Judd, reporter; Johnny Edwards, reporter

2nd Place - "Sex Trafficking: The Victims Next Door" from the St. Cloud Times in St. Cloud, Minnesota
David Unze, reporter; Stephanie Dickrell, reporter; Jenny Berg, reporter; Dave Schwarz, photojournalist; Lisa Schwarz, editor; Abigail Faulkner, producer

3rd Place - "Facing the Problem" from the SME Harbinger in Fairway Kansas
Celia Hack, Co-Online Editor; Morgan Browning, Head Photo Editor; Ellie Cook, Co-Online Editor; Caroline Heitmann, Head Copy Editor; Staff

EVERYDAY JOURNALISM:
1st Place - "BuzzFeed News: Tyler Kingkade's reporting on sexual violence" from BuzzFeed News Tyler Kingkade, National Reporter

2nd Place - "Coverage of Vanderbilt rape case" from The Tennessean / USA Today Network in Nashville, Tennessee
Stacey Barchenger, courts and criminal justice reporter; Adam Tamburin, higher education reporter

3rd Place - "University of Minnesota sexual assault" from the St. Paul Pioneer Press in Minneapolis, Minnesota
John Shipley, Reporter/Columnist

FEATURE STORY:

1st Place - "Flight Risk" from Slate in Brookline, Massachusetts
Nora Caplan-Bricker, contributing writer

2nd Place - "BuzzFeed News: Ethics and they Eye of the Beholder" from BuzzFeed News in New York, New York
Katie J.M. Baker, Senior National Reporter

3rd Place Tie - "At Profiles Theatre the drama and abuse is real" from the Chicago Reader in Chicago, Illinois
Aimee Levitt, Staff Writer; Christopher Piatt, Contributing Writer; Robin Amer, Editor

3rd Place Tie - "BuzzFeed news: Some Days The Bomb Goes Off: The Ballerina Who Accused Her Instructor Of Sexual Assault" from BuzzFeed News in New York, New York
Jessica Luther, BuzzFeed Contributor

INVESTIGATIVE SERIES:

1st Place - "A question of honor at Brigham Young University" from The Salt Lake Tribune in Salt Lake City, Utah
Erin Alberty, reporter; Jessica Miller, reporter; Rachel Piper, editor; Sheila McCann, managing editor; Staff of The Salt Lake Tribune

2nd Place - "Rape kit series" from The Plain Dealer" in Cleveland, Ohio
Rachel Dissell, reporter

3rd Place - "BuzzFeed News: Unfounded: Investigation into the Baltimore County Police Department's handling of rape cases" from BuzzFeed News in New York, New York
Alex Campbell, Investigative Reporter; Katie J.M. Baker, Senior National Reporter

For more information on The RALLY Awards and Raliance Media Summit, visit: www.raliance.org

ABOUT RALIANCE
Raliance serves as the central hub for effective allocation and distribution of programmatic funding in sexual violence prevention and as the go-to resource for policymakers, advocates, service providers and the media. Raliance is funded through a $10 million multiyear commitment from the National Football League. The name was inspired by the entity's intent to rally engagement from stakeholders and align goals and resources behind its overarching mission of putting a stop to sexual violence once and for all. Learn more at Raliance.org.

ABOUT THE POYNTER INSTITUTE The Poynter Institute for Media Studies is a global leader in journalism education and a strategy center that stands for uncompromising excellence in journalism, media and 21st century public discourse. Poynter faculty teach seminars and workshops at the Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., and at conferences and organizational sites around the world. Its e-learning division, News University, www.newsu.org, offers the world's largest online journalism curriculum in 7 languages, with more than 400 interactive courses and 330,000 registered users in more than 200 countries. The Institute's website, www.poynter.org, produces 24-hour coverage of news about media, ethics, technology, the business of news and the trends that currently define and redefine journalism news reporting. The world's top journalists and media innovators come to Poynter to learn and teach new generations of reporters, storytellers, media inventors, designers, visual journalists, documentarians and broadcast producers, and to build public awareness about journalism, media, the First Amendment and protected discourse that serves democracy and the public good.

Contact: Tina Dyakon
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The Poynter Institute
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SOURCE The Poynter Institute