Apart from a byline, journalists rarely receive outside recognition for work they’ve done and on the rare occasion we are actually contacted about a published story, 8 times out of 10 it’s a complaint about the content or how someone was quoted. Most of the time we’re totally okay with remaining unseen and unacknowledged in order to tell stories as objectively as possible, but once a year, the Utah Press Association pulls us out from behind our desks to honor outstanding journalism in Utah.
On Saturday night at the Provo Convention Center, The Daily Utah Chronicle took home six awards for our work as a weekly paper and we are absolutely thrilled to be acknowledged in our efforts to teach students how to be better journalists. This year especially, we’ve attempted to build upon the traditions of the past while pressing forward into an age of digital reporting and were excited to learn that the progress we’ve made secured us first place for “Best Website” in our category.
We also took home first place awards for “Best Breaking News Story,” “Best Feature Series,” “Best Editorial,” “Best Sports Story” and received second place for “Best General News Story,” bringing our grand total to six awards for all of 2015. We’re extremely proud of what we’ve accomplished this past year and can only hope to continue progressing in our journalistic endeavors in the years to come.
For now though, we’re content to take our awards back to our desks and work tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure your stories are told. Until next year Utah Press Association, and thank you for acknowledging us young journalists who are just trying to make a difference.
@katherinekellis