April 22, 2022
Carmel, Ind. — The Indiana Citizen‘s 2021 Redistricting Project was recognized with a first place award Friday evening by the Indiana Professional Chapter of SPJ (Society of Professional Journalists).
The award, in the category of Coverage of Government or Politics, went to veteran journalists Janet Williams and Bill Theobald (above, center and left), the lead reporters in The Indiana Citizen‘s comprehensive coverage of the decennial redrawing of congressional and legislative district lines and its implications for the democratic process and civic health in The Hoosier State. The project was overseen by Kevin Morgan (above, right), editor in chief of The Indiana Citizen.
The entry included four stories published in April, May, June and July of 2021. In reviewing the entry, SPJ judges — brought in from out-of-state chapters as is routine in the annual contest — commented, “This is a thorough job explaining Indiana’s redistricting — the process, the consequences and more.”
Finishing second in the category were Sarah Bowman and London Gibson of The Indianapolis Star for “Politics and the Environment,” and finishing third was Tom Davies of the Associated Press for “Indiana’s Redistricting Turmoil.”
Also honored at Friday’s dinner were Steve Key, the retiring executive director and general counsel of the Hoosier State Press Association who was presented the SPJ Slaymaker Service to Journalism Award, and Steve Sanders, a professor in the Indiana University Maurer School of Law, for his report, published on the Medium publishing platform, on irregularities in the search and hiring process for the university president. Sanders was presented with the SPJ’s Indiana Journalism Courage Award.
The annual awards ceremony was held in Carmel, and honored hundreds of Indiana journalists for their work during the past year.
The Indiana Citizen is a nonpartisan, non-profit platform dedicated to increasing the number of informed, engaged Hoosier citizens, and is operated by the Indiana Citizen Education Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity. The foundation was founded by Bill Moreau, a retired Indianapolis attorney and longtime public servant, and his wife, Ann Moreau, a retired educator, association executive and public servant. — The Indiana Citizen
