Courier Journal wins 45+ local journalism awards, including Journalist of the Year

Kathryn Gregory, Louisville Courier Journal
·5 min read

The Courier Journal won more than 45 awards Thursday night at the annual Society of Professional Journalists Louisville Pro Chapter 2022 awards ceremony, including Journalist of the Year, awarded to reporter Mandy McLaren for her work about the inequities in Jefferson County Public Schools' student-assignment plan.

McLaren has spent the past four years at The Courier Journal learning everything she can about why these problems exist and how they can be solved. She gathered data and records, combed through The Courier Journal's extensive archives, and read every book on Louisville’s schools she could find, said senior news editor Rob Byers.

This background work and her years of daily beat coverage culminated in the 2021 publication of two significant projects — “The Last Stop,” which published in February along with co-reporter Olivia Krauth, and “Magnetic Pull,” which published in October.

“The Last Stop” unraveled Jefferson County’s complicated legacy of “forced busing" in the name of integration, showing how the plan had been watered down until the burden lay solely on Black families, particularly in Louisville’s West End. “Magnetic Pull” unveiled how the JCPS magnet school program created a system of “haves” and “have-nots” by sacrificing poorer schools so its magnets could thrive. Full of data showing striking inequities in the system and focusing on high school students facing common challenges in vastly different environments, “Magnetic Pull” also featured a mini-documentary.

Courier Journal Editor Mary Irby-Jones said McLaren's Journalist of the Year award-winning work, which prompted heated reactions from community leaders, including calls to overhaul the entire integration plan, "is a perfect example of why local journalism matters. Mandy and her editors spent countless hours tirelessly exploring this issue, and I could not be more proud of that body of work and the results it generated."

The Courier Journal also earned awards in categories including Best Tornado Story, Enterprise and Investigative Reporting, Government Reporting, Education Reporting, Continuing Coverage, Personality/Profile Writing, Business/Technology Reporting, Sports Features Writing, Editorial Cartoon and General News Photography.

“I am grateful that The Courier Journal staff was recognized for its tremendous journalism in a year that challenged our entire staff. It's an honor to work with such a talented group of individuals dedicated to telling great, impactful stories about the Louisville community," Irby-Jones said.

Journalist of the Year

Mandy McLaren has reported for The Courier Journal since 2017.
Mandy McLaren has reported for The Courier Journal since 2017.

Mandy McLaren, for coverage of "Magnetic Pull, Desegregation Myth, and Racial Equity"

First place SPJ Louisville awards

Stacy Bryan became emotional while salvaging her belongings from a storage unit in Dawson Springs, Ky. on Dec. 13, 2021. She was finding that most of her possessions were damaged or blown away following a tornado that caused deaths and destruction in the community.
Stacy Bryan became emotional while salvaging her belongings from a storage unit in Dawson Springs, Ky. on Dec. 13, 2021. She was finding that most of her possessions were damaged or blown away following a tornado that caused deaths and destruction in the community.
Governor Andy Beshear delivers remarks during a ceremony remembering those lost to COVID-19 on Friday, January 22, 2021 in Frankfort, Kentucky. 3301 flags, each representing one person lost to the virus were planted behind the Kentucky State Capitol
Governor Andy Beshear delivers remarks during a ceremony remembering those lost to COVID-19 on Friday, January 22, 2021 in Frankfort, Kentucky. 3301 flags, each representing one person lost to the virus were planted behind the Kentucky State Capitol

  • General News Photography: Michael Clevenger, "Gov. Andy Beshear"

  • Sports Action Photography: Scott Utterback, "A QB Jump"

  • Sports Feature Photography: Jeff Faughender, "147th Running of the Kentucky Derby"

The field of 20 horses are bookended by the shadows of the twin spires as they make their way to the first turn in the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby. Saturday, May 1, 2021
The field of 20 horses are bookended by the shadows of the twin spires as they make their way to the first turn in the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby. Saturday, May 1, 2021

Second place SPJ Louisville awards

Ice forms on an outdoor map at Ashland Park in Jeffersonville on Wednesday, February 10, 2021.
Ice forms on an outdoor map at Ashland Park in Jeffersonville on Wednesday, February 10, 2021.

  • Feature Photography: Michael Clevenger, "Icy Lou"

  • Best Podcast: Mandy McLaren, "A 'Bad' School"

  • Best Special Section: Jennifer Hermann, Bill Campling, Karen Taylor, Jeff Harkness, and Mark Matherly, "Spirited Victory: Kentucky Derby 147"

  • Best Page Design Sports / Features: Brian Gray, "The Year of Seafood and Tacos"

  • Best Page Design News / Business: Bill Campling, "Run for the Roses: Kentucky Derby 147"

Third place SPJ Louisville awards

Don Hall, 88, right, and Patsy Hall, 89, gave each other a smooch through their facial masks in their senior living residence at the Chapel House in Louisville, Ky. on Jan. 21, 2021. Don has already received his first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine and Patsy will receive her first dose soon.
Don Hall, 88, right, and Patsy Hall, 89, gave each other a smooch through their facial masks in their senior living residence at the Chapel House in Louisville, Ky. on Jan. 21, 2021. Don has already received his first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine and Patsy will receive her first dose soon.

Reach Features Editor Kathryn Gregory at kgregory@courier-journal.com. Follow her on Twitter at @kitgregory.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Courier Journal wins local journalism awards, Journalist of the Year