Florida International University’s Caplin News dominated the student division of the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors contest, perhaps the state’s most important journalism competition. A presentation ceremony was held last Thursday in Ponte Vedra, near Jacksonville.
The network took first place awards in most major divisions, from breaking news to investigative to audio, commentary and sports. No other university news outlet came close.
Winners included:
- Helen Acevedo, Alejandra Garcia El Coro, Zitlali Solache took first place in breaking news for stories on the collapse of Champlain Towers.
- Valentina Palm garnered first place in investigative reporting for “Miami Beach’s dirty little secret.”
- Shantel Sanchez scored a first in sports reporting for “Freedom Park: What do neighbors think?”
- Adriana Rizik took first place in audio for “The world is fighting an invisible war through the Internet: Interview with Khrystyna M.
- Lidia Delgado came first in commentary for “Is FIU’s P3 App effective?”
- Aaliyah Pasols was third in feature writing for “Roller skating during the pandemic.”
- Luciana Naretti took second place in multimedia reporting for “Does the incoming flood of college students affect COVID-19 cases on campus?”
- Zitlali Solache and Julio Mendez for second place in video storytelling for “A son grieves the loss of his elderly parents in the Surfside collapse.”
The Miami Herald also won numerous prizes in the contest for its coverage of the Champlain Towers collapse. This was highlighted by Herald reporter Linda Robertson’s sharing of the Paul Hansell Award, the organization’s most important prize. Robertson, who worked on the collapse stories, was the co-winner with Brittany Wallman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
