The Florida Center for Investigative Reporting won seven honors from the Society of Professional Journalists’ Green Eyeshade Awards.
FCIR took first place in three categories.
Ashley Lopez’s series on the 11 constitutional amendments on the 2012 Florida ballot won first place in Public Service in Radio Journalism. The series was the result of a collaboration with Florida’s NPR member stations.
FCIR’s series of reports on K12 Inc., the nation’s largest for-profit online education company, won first place in Online Investigative Reporting. The stories, reported by Trevor Aaronson of FCIR and John O’Connor of StateImpact Florida, were also the result of a collaboration with Florida’s NPR member stations.
Amy Green’s reporting on sugar subsidies and Big Sugar in Florida won first place in Online Business Reporting.
FCIR also took second and third place in Public Service in Online Journalism. Second place went to “13th Grade” — a collaboration between FCIR and StateImpact Florida and reported by Sarah Gonzalez and John O’Connor of StateImpact Florida and Mc Nelly Torres and Lynn Waddell of FCIR — that explored the crisis of remedial education in Florida’s community colleges. Third place went to FCIR’s and StateImpact Florida’s reporting on K12 Inc. The Tampa Bay Times’ PolitiFact won first place in the category.
Other honors included third place in Specialized Site for Voter’s Edge Florida, a companion to Lopez’s radio and print reporting on the constitutional amendments, and third place in Online Non-Deadline Reporting for Torres’ reporting on poverty and homelessness among Florida students.