Judges have chosen the finalists in the 2017 Diamond Journalism Awards, a regional competition sponsored by the Arkansas Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
The awards recognize outstanding journalism by professionals and students from Arkansas and bordering media markets in Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.
UPDATE: Awards will be presented at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 14 at the Flying Saucer in Little Rock. Tickets are $10 per person, including heavy hors d’oeuvres and libations. Purchase in advance at arkansasspj.org or at the door. Guest speaker to be announced.
Here is a list of finalists by category:
ONLINE
VIDEO
Kirstin Pieri May, Arkansas State University; Stephen Thornton, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
PHOTO SLIDESHOW
Jacob Kauffman, KUAR Public Radio; Jillian Kremer, Arkansas Online; Brandon Riddle, Arkansas Online.
MULTIMEDIA PROJECT
Jackson Carter, University of Arkansas at Little Rock; Staff, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; Emma Pettit, Arkansas Online.
BLOGS
Syd Hayman, Only in Arkansas.
PRINT
EDITORIALS (All print)
Rick Kron, Jonathan Feldman, Garrick Feldman, The Leader, Jacksonville, Ark.; Jonathan Feldman, The Leader, Jacksonville, Ark.; David Barham, Paul Greenberg, Walter Hussman Jr., Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
COMMENTARY (Daily newspapers)
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; John Brummett, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
COMMENTARY (Non-daily newspapers)
Rick Kron, The Leader, Jacksonville, Ark.; Tammy Keith, River Valley & Ozark Edition/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; Garrick Feldman, The Leader, Jacksonville, Ark.
HARD NEWS (Daily newspapers)
Staff, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; Noel Oman, Chris Bahn, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; Andrew DeMillo, Kelly P. Kissel, Sean Murphy, Jill Bleed, Tafi Mukunyadzi, The Associated Press; Thomas Gounley, Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader.
HARD NEWS (Non-daily newspapers)
Tammy Keith, Three Rivers Edition/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; Tammy Keith, River Valley & Ozark Edition/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
HARD NEWS (Magazines)
Wyndham Wyeth, Arkansas Life; Jordan Hickey, Arkansas Life.
FEATURE (Daily newspapers)
Hunter Field, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; Ellis Widner, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
FEATURE (Non-daily newspapers)
Tammy Keith, Three Rivers Edition/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; Sarah DeClerk, River Valley & Ozark Edition/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; Sarah DeClerk, Health Beat/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
FEATURE (Magazines)
Mariam Makatsaria, Arkansas Life; Sarah DeClerk, Health Beat/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; Jordan Hickey, Arkansas Life.
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING (All print)
Kara Harnett, Stone Selso, Olivia Moyers, Katelyn Mary Skaggs, Breanne Bleichroth, The Southeast Arrow; Staff, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; Lisa Hammersly, Brian Fanney, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
SPORTS (All print)
Jeremy Muck, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; Johnny Carrol Sain, Arkansas Life; Bob Holt, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
POLITICS (All print)
Michael Wickline, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; John Moritz, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; Andrew DeMillo, The Associated Press.
PHOTOGRAPHY (Daily newspapers)
Mitchell Pe Masulin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; Benjamin Krain, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; Jill Bleed, The Associated Press.
PHOTOGRAPHY (Non-daily newspapers)
David Scolli, The Leader, Jacksonville, Ark.
PHOTOGRAPHY (Magazines)
Arshia Khan, Arkansas Life Magazine.
PHOTO PACKAGE/SPREAD (All media)
Mitchell Pe Masulin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; Arshia Khan, Arkansas Life.
PHOTOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO (All media)
Arshia Khan, Arkansas Life; Staton Breidenthal, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; Mitchell Pe Masulin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
LEISURE INTERESTS (Magazines)
Bonnie Bauman, Arkansas Life; Morgan Acuff, Little Rock Family; Wyndham Wyeth, Arkansas Life.
TELEVISION
HARD NEWS
Jose Gómez, Rolando Ochoa, Univision Arkansas; Andrea Guzmán, Univision Arkansas; Mariana Rivero, Univision Arkansas.
FEATURE REPORTING
Rodolfo Portillo, Univision Arkansas; Karen Pérez, Univision Arkansas; Univision Arkansas.
SPORTS REPORTING
Aaron Nolan, KARK-TV.
RADIO/PODCASTS
HARD NEWS
Ann Kenda, Johnathan Reaves, Arkansas Public Media; Bobby Ampezzan, Arkansas Public Media; Jacqueline Froelich, Arkansas Public Media.
FEATURE REPORTING
Jacqueline Froelich, Arkansas Public Media; Chris Hickey, KUAR Public Radio.
DOCUMENTARY/INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING
Jacob Kauffman, KUAR Public Radio; Karen Steward, KUAR Public Radio; Sarah Whites-Koditscheck, Arkansas Public Media.
SPORTS REPORTING
Jacob Kauffman, Chris Hickey, KUAR Public Radio.
SPECIAL AWARDS
ROBERT S. MCCORD FOI AWARD
Kelly P. Kissel, The Associated Press; Hunter Field, Amanda Claire Curcio, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; Lisa Hammersly, Brian Fanney, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
OUTSTANDING NEW JOURNALIST
Emma Pettit, Arkansas Online; Jacob Kauffman, KUAR Public Radio; Brandon Riddle, Arkansas Online.
DIAMOND JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
Andrew DeMillo, The Associated Press; Eric Besson, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; Tammy Keith, River Valley & Ozark Edition/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
Lisa Hammersly, Brian Fanney, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; Staff, KUAR Public Radio and Arkansas Public Media; Frank Fellone, Lisa Hammersly, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
STUDENT JOURNALISM
NEWS
Emma Williams, The Herald, Arkansas State University; Kimberely Blackburn, Caitlin Jancyz, Delta Digital News Service, Arkansas State University.
Kimberely Blackburn, Delta Digital News Service, Arkansas State University.
FEATURE
Marie Mitchell, Delta Digital News Service, Arkansas State University; Darcy Hagood, KUAR Public Radio, University of Arkansas at Little Rock; Jiayue Liao, Deltat Digital News Service, Arkansas State University.
