Sentinel Colorado wins 7 journalism honors among state’s largest news media

AURORA | The Aurora Sentinel was honored with seven top journalism awards Saturday as part of the Colorado Press Association’s annual contest.

“We’re honored that our peers recognize the hard work the Sentinel does in shining a fierce light on the community,” said Sentinel Editor and Publisher Dave Perry. “It’s not coincidence that some of journalism’s harshest critics are those who work to shun the transparency and accountability the media strives for.”

The awards for work in 2023 were presented during the Colorado Press Association’s 146th annual convention, this year at the Delta Hotel in Northglenn.

There are eight divisions in the state, roughly sorted by newsroom size. Despite its small staff, the Sentinel competes with the largest news organizations in Colorado, including the Denver Post, the Colorado Springs Gazette and the Colorado Sun.

This year’s awards included second-place honors for breaking news reporting during a volatile Oct. 23, 2023 protest at Aurora city hall over the Israeli-Gaza war, days after it broke out.

“Another outstanding example of a newsroom reacting and responding to a breaking news story with near-perfect execution,” judges said about the story.”Textbook.”

First place among the top division went to the Denver Post for their coverage of a shooting that injured 10 after the Denver Nuggets’ NBA Finals victory.

Sentinel reporter Carina Julig won first place in the Best News Story category for her emotional take-out about a former Aurora council member’s journey to recovery after being brutally attacked while walking along an Aurora canal trail.

“By far the best lede in this category, and the rest of the piece delivered, too,” judges said about Julig’s enterprise. “Well-written story by someone who clearly gave it the time and care it deserved.”

Second place in the category went to the Colorado Springs Gazette for their story about the “Satanic Temple” in that community. 

A special investigative series among reporters in residence at the Sentinel, staff writers and the Colorado News Collaborative won second place among the state’s largest news organizations for its work about police who are “Undisciplined.”

The four-part series focused on officers from Aurora and across the state caught violating police policy and even state law in a variety of instances, but able to avoid firing or serious consequences. In many instances, officers resigned before being fired and got jobs elsewhere in the state.

“It’s appalling that such a widely acknowledged problem can go on like this as though nothing can be done,” judges said about the investigative series. “This project makes the problem so clear that the reader can’t help but feel outrage.”

First place in the category went to the Colorado Sun and Chalkbeat Colorado for their investigation series on the dwindling number of facility schools for students with disabilities. 

Sentinel Editor Dave Perry was honored for his humorous columns in that category, taking second-place this year. Judges highlighted a column about Perry lamenting to be the worst marital gift-giver on record.

“Dave Perry takes us on a fun journey that just about every man has taken — finding the perfect gift,” judges said.

First place in the category went to Colorado Springs Gazette writer Jennifer Mulson for “Bird calls,” about the weird mating rituals of male birds.

Perry also received second-place honors this year for serious column writing for columns about abuse of force by police and about homelessness.

The Sentinel was also honored for crafting headlines, winning top honors in the category.

“The headlines for Sentinel Colorado stood out for creative wordsmithing in that their headlines didn’t stray from what the article was about,” judges said. A headline by reporter Max Levy about a pig won the dog in the category.

“SWINE OF THE TIMES: Aurora porker heads to the pen after 3 days on the ham,” about a wayward pig in the city.

The Sentinel also received second-place honors for the Best News Website among competing news organizations. First place this year went to the Denver Post.

LINKS TO SENTINEL WINNERS

BEST BREAKING NEWS STORY: https://sentinelcolorado.com/metro/israeli-gaza-war-resolution-conflict-erupts-at-aurora-city-hall-as-hundreds-protest/

BEST NEWS STORY: https://sentinelcolorado.com/orecent-headlines/trail-guide-after-a-brutal-attack-debi-hunter-holen-reflects-on-a-new-normal-finding-justice/