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BINJ WINS AWARDS FOR POLITICAL COLUMN AND FIRST AMENDMENT JOURNALISM

 

As shameless as it sometimes feels to celebrate awards, it’s also true that journalists are underpaid, underappreciated, and in some cases even relentlessly harassed because of their work. Since that is the case, we are humbled but nevertheless excited to announce that two of our finest have been honored by the Association of Alternative Newsmedia (AAN) for work funded, reported, and edited under the BINJ umbrella. The outlets that comprise AAN are doing some of the most ambitious reporting anywhere, and this year the competition came in the form of more than 600 entries submitted by 55 alternative publications across the US and Canada.

Congratulations to BINJ Executive Director Jason Pramas, whose Apparent Horizon won second place in the Political Column category. Jason came in first place for Political Column in 2018, and with the work he has been doing this year is sure to be a contender in 2020, when the annual AAN conference will be held in Boston. Here are the three columns Jason submitted:

Additional props to Maya Shaffer, who won third place in the Free Speech & Open Government category for “The Massachusetts Public Records Law Fails Three out of Three Times,” a hands-on impugnment of our state’s fumbled efforts to update public information regulations, in some ways demonstrably making government even less transparent than it already was. Maya’s work over the years in this realm has been inspiring, and this sort of national recognition is long overdue. 

Illustration by Richard Chance via INDY Week

We also had the honor of giving out a prize of our own, the “BINJ Award,” which we sponsored to acknowledge the “Best Nonprofit Collaboration.” In working with editors and publishers across the country to start their own 501(c)3 arms to do deep investigations, we have encouraged people to link up with reporting and community partners as much as possible—whether it’s a housing rights organization that has compiled valuable research, or a national media outlet that can bring serious resources to the table. 

We are happy to announce that the first-ever BINJ Award went to INDY Week (North Carolina) for “The Cheat Sheet Taught N.C. Prosecutors How to Get Rid of Black Jurors.” The dig was spearheaded by Jacob Biba for The Appeal, while INDY Week was brought on to add a local angle, help authenticate and fact check, and co-publish the feature. The other top contenders also exemplified the power of shared information and resources. You can check out their projects at these links:

Read about what’s happening with BINJ and alt weeklies everywhere in this recent installment of the Local Fix journalism newsletter

Thanks for reading and please consider this:

If you appreciate the work we are doing, please keep us going strong by making a tax-deductible donation to our IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit sponsor, the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism!

BINJ not only produces longform investigative stories that it syndicates for free to community news outlets around Massachusetts but also works with dozens of emerging journalists each year to help them learn their trade while providing quality reporting to the public at large.

Now in its 10th year, BINJ has produced hundreds of hard-hitting news articles—many of which have taken critical looks at corporations, government, and major nonprofits, shedding light where it’s needed most.

BINJ punches far above its weight on an undersized budget—managing to remain a player in local news through difficult times for journalism even as it continues to provide leadership at the regional and national levels of the nonprofit news industry.

With your help BINJ can grow to become a more stable operation for the long term and continue to provide Bay State residents more quality journalism for years to come.

Or you can send us a check at the following address:

Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism

519 Somerville Ave #206

Somerville, MA 02143

Want to make a stock or in-kind donation to BINJ? Drop us an email at info@binjonline.org and we can make that happen!

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