Wisconsin Watch reporters and collaborators won four top prizes and three other awards in the Milwaukee Press Club’s 2023 Excellence in Journalism Awards over the weekend.
Bennet Goldstein received a gold medal in the online long, hard feature category for his story on how Great Lakes pollution was affecting Native American treaty rights.
Zhen Wang received a gold medal for best online business or consumer story or series for her coverage of Chinese prison labor connected to Milwaukee Tool. Wang’s story drew attention from Congress and the U.S. recently blocked imports from the alleged Milwaukee Tool supplier.
Farrah Anderson won the top prize for best online public service story or series. Her series examined the challenge Milwaukee faces in getting landlords to clean up toxic lead in rental units. She found that a 2022 Milwaukee ordinance designed to prevent landlord retaliation and stiffen penalties for landlords who refuse to address detected lead has yielded little impact. Acknowledging shortcomings, the Milwaukee Health Department planned to roll out a new strategy for spurring landlords to act.
In the online category best multi-story coverage of a single feature topic or event, Wisconsin Watch reporters won both the silver and bronze awards. Silver went to Jonmaesha Beltran, Jonah Chester and Pat A. Robinson for their collaboration with WPR on the effect of Interstate 94 widening. The Wisconsin Watch statehouse team received a bronze for their Supreme Court coverage.
In the best investigative story or series category, Wisconsin Watch’s editing collaboration with WPR reporter Corrine Hess on an investigation into a nonprofit leader’s no-bid contracts from Milwaukee Public Schools received a silver medal. The district ended its relationship with Gerard Randall, who also stepped down from a leadership role with the Republican National Convention’s host committee, after the story’s publication.
In the collegiate competition, Rachel Hale took top honors in online investigative reporting for her story on the growth of Moms for Liberty in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our newsletters for original stories and our Friday news roundup.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
