Detroit Free Press wins Michigan Emmy Awards for videos on addiction, polka dancing
Two videos from the the Detroit Free Press — one on an addict who helps others with substance abuse, and another on the tradition of polka dancing — were honored with Emmy awards by the 2024 Michigan Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
Winning an Emmy were:
"Relapse. Overdose. Saving lives: How a Detroit addict and mom of 3 is finding her purpose," Mandi Wright, photographer, and Georgea Kovanis, reporter, in the category Human Interest ‒ News.
The report tells the story of Amanda, an addict who uses her addiction to help others with substance abuse.
"Georgea was that best partner to work with on the project. Addiction issues is six degrees of separation from a lot of us. Winning this award reinforces that we need to keep telling these stories," Wright said.
"Drug overdoses kill more than 100,000 people – or roughly the population of Dearborn – every single year," said Kovanis. "The hope of Mandi and me is that Amanda’s story will open eyes to the realities of addiction, to its push and pull. And that once eyes are open, maybe minds will be open, too. Because when minds are open, that’s when things really change."
"Upper Peninsula lodge holds Michigan's last weekly polka," Ryan Garza, photographer, and John Carlisle, reporter, in the category Societal Concerns ‒ News (no production time limit).
Carlisle's writing and Garza's photos and video tell a story of polka dancing in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and how residents are keeping it alive.
"It's a huge honor to be recognized like this. We put a lot of work into what we do, so receiving the award is very gratifying," Carlisle said.
"We spend a lot of time on the ground writing and shooting stories like this because we're trying to capture parts of our world that are slowly vanishing. We want to capture the essence of them before they're gone."
Jalen Williams is an intern at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jawilliams1@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Free Press wins Michigan Emmy Awards for videos on addiction, polka
