Southern Journalism Shines In Green Eyeshade Awards

There’s some really good education journalism coming out of the South.

By Alexander Russo.

This year’s Green Eyeshade Awards (which focus on journalism in 11 Southern states) include tons of education stories, including radio pieces, column-writing, and news coverage.

Some of the bylines (Solochek, Rainwater, Perry) will be familiar. Others (Gerety, Walser) may be new. One special mention at the bottom isn’t technically an education story but you should still read it.

Check them out. Congrats to all.

Investigative Reporting – Large Dailies: First Place: Chattanooga Times Free Press – Kendi Anderson Rainwater, Ooltewah High School rape (above)

Serious Commentary: Magazines: Third Place: Memphis Magazine – Vance Lauderdale, “Miller School Mystery,”

Investigative Reporting: Radio: Third Place: WLRN-Miami Herald News – Rowan Moore Gerety, School Suspensions Continue In Spite Of Miami-Dade’s No-Suspension Policy (see another commendation further down)

General News Reporting: Non-Dailies: First Place: Jackson Free Press – Arielle Dreher Refugee Kids

General News Writing: Magazines: Second Place: Teaching Tolerance – Monita K. Bell, Adrienne van der Valk, Valerie Downs, 100 Years in the Making

Feature Writing: Magazines: Third Place: Teaching Tolerance – Robert Reece, Heather O’Connell, Adrienne van der Valk, Segregation Forever?

Investigative Reporting: Television: Second Place: WFTS/ABC Action News – Adam Walser, Randy Wright, Fran Gilpin, Gaming Graduation Rates

Investigative Reporting: Radio: First Place: Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting – Kate Howard, University of Louisville Investigation

Third Place: WLRN-Miami Herald News – Rowan Moore Gerety, School Suspensions Continue In Spite Of Miami-Dade’s No-Suspension Policy

Serious Commentary: Online: Third Place: The Hechinger Report – Andre Perry, Degree of Interest

Best Blog: Second Place: Tampa Bay Times – Jeffrey Solochek, Gradebook.

Last but not least, be sure to check out Josh Green’s The Gentrifier in Atlanta magazine, which won first place for feature writing in a general interest magazine.

The reported first-person piece includes a retired teacher (being gentrified), a couple that includes a tenured Atlanta Public Schools teacher (doing the gentrifying), and — most important for our purposes — the school choice they make for their daughter.