Miami Herald journalists win top Esserman-Knight journalism award for Surfside coverage
The journalists behind “House of Cards,” the Miami Herald’s forensic investigation into the collapse of Champlain Towers South, took first place at the annual Esserman-Knight Journalism Awards Wednesday.
The coverage was anchored by a 3D, interactive breakdown of what took place that night, including offering a plausible theory of how a localized collapse that began in the pool deck area progressed into the tower, killing 98 people.
The coverage team, made up of Sarah Blaskey, Ben Conarck, Aaron Leibowitz, Eddie Alvarez, Sohail Al-Jamea, David Newcomb and Rachel Handley, spent months looking into what led to the Champlain Towers South collapse on June 24.
The award, which comes with a $10,000 prize, was one of several announced during a virtual ceremony.
The Esserman-Knight Journalism Awards, now in their third year, were created to highlight excellence in South Florida journalism. In addition to the Miami Herald team, journalists from WLRN and the South Florida Sun Sentinel were recognized.
“Investigative journalism holds our lawmakers, our businesses, our community leaders accountable,” said Karen Rundlet, director of the Knight Foundation’s journalism program. “Across South Florida, reporters have shed light on critical issues that local residents might not have had the platform to elevate.”
The event also recognized columnist Leonard Pitts Jr., who spoke about the power of community-focused journalism.
“There is a sense of ... ownership when a story happens in your town that achieves national notoriety,” Pitts said. “Because what you are compelled as a journalist to want to do is get it first and to get it best.”
Also recognized: Enrique “Kike” Flor, the well-known investigative journalist from el Nuevo Herald who died in March after suffering multiple strokes, and Rosmery Izaguirre and Allie Pitchon, who are this year’s Miami Herald Esserman fellows.
SURFSIDE INVESTIGATION
House of Cards: How decades of problems converged the night Champlain Towers fell.
“All of us have noted the decline in traditional media’s reach, the increased power of social media, the rise of mis- and dis-information and the evolution of media technology,” said Alberto Ibargüen, chief executive officer of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
“We’ve lamented the shrinking of newsrooms,” he said, adding: “This democracy does not work if citizens are not reasonably well informed.”
Here’s a look at the other honorees:
▪ Second place ($5,000): WLRN journalist Daniel Rivero, for his work on Tallahassee Takeover, which looked at how state government is limiting local authority on issues of gun control, minimum wage and climate change.
▪ Honorable mention ($1,000): Miami Herald journalist Jacqueline Charles for her work on Assassination of Haiti’s President.
▪ Honorable mention ($1,000): Miami Herald journalist Mary Ellen Klas for her investigation of how FPL drafted a bill to discourage the growth of rooftop solar panels.
▪ Honorable Mention ($1,000): Sun Sentinel journalists Brittany Wallman, Mario Ariza and Megan O’Matz for their work on Misuse of Police K9s on Black residents.
▪ Honorable Mention ($1,000): Sun Sentinel journalists Spencer Norris, Brittany Wallman, Mario Ariza, Lisa J. Huriash and Susannah Bryan for their work on how lax enforcement of laws has left condo owners at risk.
READ MORE: Miami Herald breaking news, investigative projects have won several awards. Here’s a list
This story was originally published June 1, 2022 at 9:12 PM.
Carli Teproff
Miami Herald