Daily Herald wins first place in Best of Gannett 2021 awards in two categories

Staff reports
·2 min read
Columbia's East 8th Street is devoid of activity on Tuesday, June 22, 2021.
Columbia's East 8th Street is devoid of activity on Tuesday, June 22, 2021.

The Daily Herald won first place in two categories of the Best of Gannett 2021 awards for its work covering the East 8th Street community last year.

Winners were announced on Thursday.

The 175-year old newspaper grabbed the top spot in two categories among small papers (Division IV) across the nation in the Gannett USA Today network.

The contest included 1,950 entries across 22 categories with finalists and winners chosen by 42 judges. Entries were submitted from publications in the Gannett network.

The Gannett network includes almost 250 newspapers nationwide.

Maury County Archives Director Tom Price and Maury County Historian Jo Ann Williams McClellan stand along East 8th Street in Columbia, Tenn., on Monday, June 7, 2021.
Maury County Archives Director Tom Price and Maury County Historian Jo Ann Williams McClellan stand along East 8th Street in Columbia, Tenn., on Monday, June 7, 2021.

The Herald's winning work includes coverage of the 75th anniversary of the 1946 Columbia Uprising, historically referred to as a race riot, and its coverage of the lack of revitalization of East 8th Street in downtown Columbia, formerly known as the "Bottom."

The infamous uprising took place in 1946 following the arrest of a black man, who pushed a white store owner through a window because he disrespected his mother during an argument over a broken radio. Days later, as racial tensions mounted, the Tennessee state troopers ransacked the Bottom black business district, forcing business owners and residents to rise up against the brutality of law enforcement.

Trent Ogilvie, the executive director of the Columbia Housing and Redevelopment Corporation, stands along East 8th Street in Columbia, Tenn., on May 21, 2021.
Trent Ogilvie, the executive director of the Columbia Housing and Redevelopment Corporation, stands along East 8th Street in Columbia, Tenn., on May 21, 2021.

Now, the East 8th Street area is slow to catch the same wave of economic revitalization and progress being experienced just a street over on bustling 7th Street in downtown Columbia.

The only other Tennessee papers to win top honors in the contest is The Tennessean in Nashville and The Commercial Appeal in Memphis.

The Herald won first place in the two categories below, after serving as one of four finalists in the contest categories.

Finishing Touch Barbershop owner John T. Davis works inside the shop in along Woodland Street in near the intersection with East 8th Street in Columbia, Tenn, on Monday, June 7, 2021.
Finishing Touch Barbershop owner John T. Davis works inside the shop in along Woodland Street in near the intersection with East 8th Street in Columbia, Tenn, on Monday, June 7, 2021.

Social Justice Reporting - First Place

DIVISION IV

Best of Gannett Winner: How a dispute over a broken radio launched a civil rights movement

Writer: Mike Christen

Editor: Kerri Bartlett

Designer: Ayrika Whitney

Finalists in this category included the Sun Journal at New Bern, North Carolina, The Gadsden Times in Alabama and The Progress-Index at Petersburg, Virginia.

Andrew Cannon stands on East 8th Street in Columbia, Tenn., on Friday, June 11, 2021. He remembers the once vibrant community when visiting as a teenager.
Andrew Cannon stands on East 8th Street in Columbia, Tenn., on Friday, June 11, 2021. He remembers the once vibrant community when visiting as a teenager.

Local Reporting - First Place

DIVISION IV

Best of Gannett Winner: 'Forgotten history': Can Columbia's East 8th Street neighborhood be revitalized?

Writer: Jay Powell

Editor: Kerri Bartlett

Designer: Ayrika Whitney

Other Division IV finalists in this category included Daily Tribune at Wisconsin Rapids, The Newport Daily News in Rhode Island, The News-Messenger at Fremont, Ohio and The Progress-Index at Petersburg, Virginia.

The Daily Herald staff is comprised of reporter and photo journalist Mike Christen, reporter Jay Powell, planner Justin Glover and editor Kerri Bartlett.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Herald: Daily Herald wins first place in Best of Gannett 2021 awards in two categories