Gainesville Sun journalists take home nine awards in 2023 Florida Press Club competition
The Gainesville Sun took home nine honors at this past weekend's 2023 Florida Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards.
The annual ceremony held in Clearwater Beach on Saturday night yielded nearly 400 entries and celebrated the best work from news outlets across the Sunshine State in various news, photography, design and editorial categories.
Orlando Sentinel columnist Scott Maxwell kicked off the event as the guest speaker and congratulated those who have stayed in the business during trying times and taken heat from politicians upset with news coverage.
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Former Sun News Editor Andrew Caplan took home two first-place awards, including a second consecutive win in the Government News category for his reporting on the establishment of the Gainesville Regional Utilities Authority, a governor-appointed board that took away the city of Gainesville's decision-making powers of the municipal utility. The reporting chronicled the process from a draft proposal from Republican state Rep. Chuck Clemons until the unprecedented appointment of five members, four of whom didn't live in city limits as the bill intended. The coverage resulted in one board member resigning, while the others have remained in office.
"Caplan's extensive, well-researched and written reporting of the controversy surrounding the takeover of the Gainesville utilities by the state is an outstanding example of covering governmental actions," one judge said.
Caplan also took home first place in Education News for chronicling an executive cabinet meeting held by Alachua County Public Schools Superintendent Shane Andrew, where the district leader brought a Bible into the meeting, referenced scripture and likened himself to the Biblical character Joshua when discussing staff betraying him. Andrew publicly denied the incident ever occurred, but interviews with employees in the room as well as documents obtained by The Sun painted a different story. Despite months of denial, the school district's attorney later sent an email to The Sun saying that Andrew, did in fact, have a Bible during the meeting in question. However, the attorney also added that the district would not turn over or conduct a search for any notes Andrew prepared for the cabinet meeting, in accordance with the state's public records law.
"The author of this series shows true journalist grit by not letting up on this topic and chasing leads to shine a light on this controversial superintendent whom parents of students in the district should know about," a judge said. "He uses strong leads to engage the reader and builds off it by explaining the nuances succinctly and with an ownership of the information."
Caplan also placed second for Election News for coverage of misleading mailers sent out by Republican operatives regarding Alachua County's single-member district ballot referendum.
Reporters Nora O'Neill and Heather Bushman took home second place in Community News for their coverage of campus life at the University of Florida, including protests around President Ben Sasse and Kanye West supporters clashing with Jewish student groups.
The Sun's Alan Festo placed third for a series of business-related articles, including his coverage of the closure of a longtime Gainesville business and the foreclosure proceedings filed against the owner of the Gainesville Country Club.
The Gainesville Sun staff also placed third in Public Safety reporting for its coverage of the Alachua County Jail and issues surrounding then-sheriff Clovis Watson's leadership. Watson ultimately resigned from office and Sheriff Emery Gainey was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The Sun staff also earned third in Opinion Writing, while Caplan placed third in Health News and Arts News.
For the full list of winners, visit www.floridapressclub.org.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Gainesville Sun 2023 Florida Press Club awards
