IndyStar wins 'Story of the Year,' 37 other awards from Society of Professional Journalists

Tony Cook, Indianapolis Star
·3 min read

IndyStar's special report examining more than 300 deaths inside Indiana jails earned the top prize at an annual competition honoring the best journalism produced in Indiana in 2021.

The series, "Death Sentence," was named Story of the Year. It was one of 38 awards IndyStar won Friday at the state Society of Professional Journalists ceremony.

In all, IndyStar received 18 first-place awards from the Indiana Professional Chapter of SP, including those for breaking news, investigative reporting, feature writing, sports reporting and column writing. IndyStar's visual journalists took first place in every single photography category for large publications.

"Death Sentence," written by Tim Evans, Ryan Martin and Ko Lyn Cheang with video and photographs by Robert Scheer, revealed how overcrowding and staffing shortages contributed to more than 300 deaths in Indiana jails since 2010. Most of those who died were being held on non-violent charges and hadn't yet had their day in court.

These wall-mounted handcuffs are rarely used, but occasionally allow a jail official to lock a detainee to a wall in this open hallway at the Allen County Jail in Fort Wayne, Ind.
These wall-mounted handcuffs are rarely used, but occasionally allow a jail official to lock a detainee to a wall in this open hallway at the Allen County Jail in Fort Wayne, Ind.

The award is just the latest for the project, which won a national prize earlier this year from Investigative Reporters & Editors, the world's leading organization for investigative journalism.

In addition to being named story of the year during Friday's ceremony, it also won first place for investigative reporting and best online multimedia.

Several other awards IndyStar received Friday recognized its coverage of the mass killing at an Indianapolis FedEx facility last year. It was the deadliest shooting in the city's history.

The scene outside a FedEx facility in Indianapolis on April 15, 2021. A shooter killed eight workers before taking his own life.
The scene outside a FedEx facility in Indianapolis on April 15, 2021. A shooter killed eight workers before taking his own life.

In awarding the publication's staff first place for breaking news reporting, contest judges called IndyStar's coverage "massive, thorough and timely." They noted in particular IndyStar's profiles of the victims.

IndyStar's "Red Flagged" series, by reporters Johnny Magdaleno and Tony Cook and visual journalist Michelle Pemberton, took first place for criminal justice reporting. It exposed how authorities failed to follow through on more than 100 gun confiscations under Indiana's red flag law, including one involving the FedEx shooter.

Visual journalist Grace Hollars won first place for news photography for her work capturing the grief and loss of the city's Sikh community, which lost four members in the shooting.

It was part of a dominant showing by IndyStar's visual team, which swept the top three spots in both the sports and features photography categories. Visual journalist Mykal McEldowney took first place in both. He also won best multiple picture group for "Fourth & Goal," a project documenting the challenges and triumphs of the Indy Steelers youth football team.

Metro columnist James Briggs won the top award for column writing. Gregg Doyel took first for sports column writing. Motorsports reporter Nathan Brown won for sports reporting.

Other first-place IndyStar wins included:

  • Non-deadline story or series, for reporter Holly Hays' investigation of sexual abuse allegations at a West Lafayette church.

  • Business or consumer affairs reporting, for reporter Ko Lyn Cheang's stories about deplorable conditions at the Lakeside Pointe apartment complex in Nora.

  • Medical or science reporting, for "Joy in Jeopardy," an investigation of maternal mortality in Indiana, by former reporter London Gibson and visual journalist Jenna Watson.

  • Coverage of social justice issues, for reporting on Indiana's eviction crisis by reporters Ko Lyn Cheang, Binghui Huang, Alexandria Burris and Amelia Pak-Harvey.

  • Environmental reporting, for investigative reporter Sarah Bowman's coverage of that beat, including stories about threats from Indiana's coal ash pits and how black vultures are eating cows alive.

  • Features writing, for reporter Alexandria Burris's story about the owner of a downtown shoe repair shop struggling to keep the store open after his brother's death.

  • Personality profile, for pop culture reporter Rory Appleton's story about a father's efforts to spread awareness about mental health and suicide prevention through his late son's music.

You can find a full list of winners here.

Contact IndyStar reporter Tony Cook at 317-444-6081 or tony.cook@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @IndyStarTony.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IndyStar wins 'Story of the Year,' 37 other awards in SPJ competition