Media Milwaukee Wins Gold for Sexual Misconduct, Immersion Stories and More

Media Milwaukee student journalists won eight first-place gold awards at the 2018 Milwaukee Press Club award dinner, including top honors for the investigation into sexual harassment at UW-Milwaukee, for a semester-long exploration of opioid deaths in Milwaukee County, and for a major student immersion project that sent students to Flint, Michigan to explore the aftermath of the water crisis.

In addition, Sacred Cat honoree Megan Twohey, The New York Times reporter who helped break the Harvey Weinstein story, praised student journalists for their coverage of sexual harassment during her speech at the awards event. According to its website, the Milwaukee Press Club “has provided professional development and camaraderie to members of the press community from around the city and across the state of Wisconsin” since 1885. It’s a statewide competition.

Altogether, Media Milwaukee student journalists took home 23 awards, adding to the array of awards they’ve won in a series of prestigious journalism contests for 2017 work.

Media Milwaukee shared the first-place investigative reporting award for the sexual misconduct investigation with Marquette University. Media Milwaukee student journalists took home awards in multiple genres (writing, audio, video, and online) and from multiple classes. Talis Shelbourne and Ariel Goronja won multiple gold awards. The UWM journalism immersion project to Flint, Michigan won first place in the online multimedia category with the immersion project to Port Arthur, Texas taking a silver in the same category.

Here are the gold winners for Media Milwaukee:

Investigative reporting (writing):
UWM Profs, Staff Accused of Sexual Assault & Harassment But Details Hidden
Talis Shelbourne
Jennifer Rick
Miela Fetaw

Best long soft feature story (writing):
Mikel Holt, Milwaukee’s Pioneer of the Black Press
Talis Shelbourne

Best Use of Multimedia (online)
Finding Flint
Media Milwaukee Staff

Best Soft Feature Story (online)
Untold Success Stories Behind UW-Milwaukee’s Black Graduation Rate
Ariel Goronja

Best Blog (online)
Water Is Life: Exploring the Stories of Flint, Michigan
Media Milwaukee Staff

Best Hard Feature Story (online)
Professors Accused of Sexual Harassment Speak Out
Talis Shelbourne

Best Investigative Reporting (online)
343 and Counting: The Epidemic No one Saw Coming
Media Milwaukee staff

Best Editorial or Commentary (online)
Visa Lottery Program Needs Work, but Has American Value
Ariel Goronja

The other Media Milwaukee award winners were:

Best Short Hard Feature Story (writing)
BRONZE
Amanda Becker
Activism and Community Outreach, but the Neighborhoods Are a Different Story

Best Short Soft Feature Story (writing)
SILVER
Ed Makowski
UW-Milwaukee’s Pow Wow Has Deep American Indian Roots

Best Sports Story (writing)
BRONZE
Andrew Boldt
Bucks, Raptors Playoff Series Ends In Classic 6th Game

Best News Story Single or Ongoing (audio)
SILVER
Amanda Becker
Oak Creek Sikh Community Marks Fifth Anniversary of Tragic Shooting

Best Feature Story (audio)
SILVER (tie)
Morgan Langley
Milwaukee’s Florentine Opera Brews Holiday Cheer

BRONZE (tie)
Lindsey Patzlsberger
Faces of UWM: The Granddaughter

Best Sports Story (audio)
SILVER
Ninia Linero
Bucks View Playoffs as Learning Experience

Best News Story Single or Ongoing (Video)
SILVER
Ethan Duran
Port Arthur Residents Rebuild

BRONZE
Brittani Cook
The Mayor, Destruction and Displaced People

Best Sports Story (video)
SILVER
Amanda Becker
Hoops and Spirituality

Best Use of Multimedia (Online)
SILVER
Media Milwaukee Staff
In Harvey’s Wake

Best Local News or Feature Website
SILVER
Media Milwaukee Staff
Media Milwaukee

Best Soft Feature Story (online)
SILVER
Ariel Goronja
A Day in the Life: The Wife of an Immigrant

BRONZE
Madeline Matzinger
Why You Should Spend More Time with Your Family

Best Editorial or Commentary (online)
SILVER
Ariel Goronja
EDITORIAL: UW System Campus Merger Plan Needs to Slow Down