Copeland, who provided a stalwart presence within the Crosscut newsroom since 2010, held previous editorial roles in Western Washington newsrooms, including at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Everett Herald. Retired KING 5 news anchor Lori Matsukawa was also a recipient of the local SPJ chapter’s lifetime achievement honor in 2019.
Another top honor went to Crosscut reporter Agueda Pacheco Flores for New Journalist of the Year, an award that recognizes early career journalists who are already beginning to display veteran editorial savvy and professionalism. As noted in the award recognition by SPJ Western Washington about Pacheco Flores’ nomination, “She seeks out the important stories of those who aren’t traditionally at the center of our news universe, and she navigates difficult stories with grace and thoughtfulness.”
Our emerging journalist fellow, Liz Brazile, was also recognized by the SPJ Ohio chapter in the Best Investigative Reporting category for a story published earlier this year on the rights of students with disabilities in an Ohio school district.
The award season began last month with the 56th Annual Northwest Regional Emmy Awards at Fremont Studios in Seattle. Among the evening’s honorees, current and former KCTS 9 staffers Laila Kazmi, Aileen Imperial, Stephen Hegg, Greg Davis, Valerie Vozza, Amy Mahardy, Greg Cohen, Madeleine Pisaneschi and Samantha Muscat-Scherr earned an Emmy award in the category for Arts/Entertainment - Program Special for Borders & Heritage: Los Artistas (The Artists).
Below are Crosscut's first-place winners from this year's SPJ awards.
Arts & Entertainment
Is this the buzziest artist in Seattle?
Mason Bryan
Editorial & Commentary
Mossback on Northwest life
Knute Berger
Food, Drink, Lifestyles, and Travel Reporting
Our mountains are under siege. Blame your selfie.
Ted Alvarez
Long-Form Feature News Reporting
Can gold mining save fading Washington town?
John Stang
Social Issues Reporting
Foster kids kept by state in hotels at record rate
Allegra Abramo, for InvestigateWest and Crosscut.com
The individuals were recognized during an award ceremony July 1 honoring journalists from across the Pacific Northwest in categories including newspapers, broadcast and digital outlets. The awards recognized various categories of writing and photography produced in 2018. Here’s the full list of Northwest Excellence in Journalism award recipients.
