St. Louis Public Radio received two first place awards and two certificates of merit at the 2022 Missouri Broadcasters Association Awards. Around 900 entries are submitted each year from member stations throughout Missouri.
“We pour ourselves into our journalism to serve our communities, not to win awards, but we’re honored to have our work recognized by the Missouri Broadcasters Association,” said Brian Heffernan, interim executive editor of the STLPR newsroom.
First Place, Documentary/Public Affairs
General assignment reporter Chad Davis won First Place Documentary/Public Affairs for a story on what an attempt at reparations might entail.
“This was a story my editor and I had been talking about for months and I'm pleased that the story was recognized,” Davis said.
“I’m glad I was able to talk with politicians, scholars and average people about what reparations would look like and how it can eliminate the racial wealth gap,” he said. “I hope it enlightened people and showed what still needs to be done to help achieve racial equity.”
First Place, Convergent Media
For reporting that mixes traditional print with digital and social platforms, St. Louis Public Radio received First Place, Convergent Media, for coverage on the city’s remaining racial covenants.
“Our reporting on the nearly 100,000 properties in St. Louis city and county that still have racial covenants in their deeds illuminated systemic forces that have segregated and shaped inequity in our region for generations,” Heffernan said.
“Last month, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed into law a change that will help eliminate racially restrictive covenants on deeds. I give the pioneering work of researcher Colin Gordon, reporter Corinne Ruff, editor Maria Altman and others who contributed to this project a lot of credit for making that change happen,” he said.
Certificate of Merit, Documentary/Public Affairs
Newscaster Marissanne Lewis-Thompson received a Certificate of Merit for her coverage of the growing number of Black families homeschooling.
“I’ve wanted to tell a story about Black homeschoolers for quite some time, and finally the stars aligned, Lewis-Thompson said. “Fortunately, this is only the beginning. There is much more to come from me soon on this topic.”
Certificate of Merit, Local Website
And for the second time in two years, St. Louis Public Radio received recognition for Best Local Website. A Certificate of Merit award was given based on the content, user experience and design of stlpr.org.
“Radio is in our name and we’ve been doing it longer, but we’re just as serious about St. Louis Public Radio being a regional leader in digital news,” Heffernan said. “I’m glad to have stlpr.org honored for all the dedication and hard work our talented newsroom and digital teams put into it.”
See more of Chad and Marissanne’s work and read all of the winning entries on racial covenants.
STLPR’s 2022 MBA Awards at a glance
First Place:
- Documentary/Public Affairs Ending the racial wealth gap through reparations: Local policies or federal payments? by Chad Davis
- Convergent Media 30,000 St. Louis properties have racial covenants in their deeds. Your home could be one by Corrine Ruff; editor Maria Altman; with research assistance from Colin Gordon
Certificates of Merit:
- Best Local Website stlpr.org
- Documentary/Public Affairs A growing number of Black families are taking education into their own hands by homeschooling by Marissanne Lewis-Thompson
