Bridge wins 11 awards from Detroit Society of Professional Journalists

Bridge Michigan won 11 awards Thursday for articles published in 2021, for work ranging from examinations of political extremism to climate change to housing segregation.

The Excellence in Journalism Awards were presented by the Detroit chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. BridgeDetroit, also published by Bridge’s parent nonprofit, The Center for Michigan, won two awards. Both publications competed in the digital media division.

Here’s a list of Bridge work earning honors Thursday:

• First place, to Kelly House, for collaborative coverage as part of a collaboration with Michigan Radio, Detroit Public Television and Circle of Blue, on a series of stories on the impact of climate change on the Great Lakes.
• First place, to House, in consumer/watchdog reporting, for a story questioning who should pay for new sea walls in flooded Michigan neighborhoods.
• First place, to Tracie Mauriello in education reporting, for stories on Michigan schools struggling to return to classrooms amid COVID.
• Second place, to Jonathan Oosting, for breaking news via social media, for his reporting on the Jan. 6 insurrection on Twitter.
• Second place, to Ron French, for education reporting, for a story on how a decade of strict teacher evaluations hadn’t improved student test scores.
• Second place, to Sergio Martinez-Beltran and Mike Wilkinson, in racial justice reporting, for an examination of how increased integration is raising fears of more white flight.
• Third place, to French and House in education reporting, for a story in the wake of the Oxford school shooting examining the limits of heightened school security.
• Third place, to Ted Roelofs for racial justice reporting, for reporting on how a booming Grand Rapids economy isn’t helping some Black businesses.
• Third place, to Oosting in feature reporting, for a series of stories on political extremism in Michigan.
• Fourth place, to House for racial justice reporting, for examining Michigan efforts to make Michigan’s great outdoors more inviting to people of color.
• Fourth place, to House and French in consumer/watchdog reporting, for a story chronicling the choices made by Oxford school officials before December’s deadly shooting.

At BridgeDetroit, Eleanore Catolico earned second place in feature reporting for a story on the murder of the son of a community activist. Orlando Bailey and Stephen Henderson won a second place award in social media strategy in collaboration with Detroit Public TV for work on Detroit watch parties.