20-05-2025
Free Press reporter named Journalist of the Year; newspaper nabs dozens of honors
The Detroit Free Press won dozens of honors this award season — including recognition twice-over for one reporter as Journalist of the Year and recognition yet again for a photojournalist as Photographer of the Year. The work honored was deemed by judges as 'top-notch' journalism that 'sears into the reader's mind,' showed 'immense dedication and doggedness,' and was done with 'nuance and care.'
Most recently, the Free Press nabbed 16 first-place awards in categories including education, environment, health and government reporting on May 14 through the Detroit chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. The newspaper also earned eight first-place awards, including for sports writing, columns, podcasts and photojournalism on May 8 through the Michigan Press Association.
Additionally, this year, the newspaper's journalists were honored with the National Headliner Awards for their reporting on disabilities, the advancement of justice, and opinion writing.
"I continue to be exceedingly proud of the journalism produced by the Free Press newsroom," said Nicole Avery Nichols, editor and vice president of the Free Press. "Our work continues to be relevant and impactful — prompting action and inspiring hard conversations.
"It feels good to see so many hardworking journalists be celebrated for operating in service of our communities."
Criminal justice reporter Andrea Sahouri was named the Richard Milliman Journalist of the Year by the Michigan Press Association Foundation. She also was named Young Journalist of the Year by the Detroit chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Bridge Michigan reporters Ron French and Robin Erb were named Journalists of the Year in that latter contest, with Free Press health reporter Kristen Jordan Shamus as a finalist in that category.
Among Sahouri's notable works to secure her wins was coverage of accusations of racism by the private security police force at Detroit's iconic Renaissance Center. The day after her initial reporting, General Motors ordered those accused off their properties and later suspended the force's arrest powers.
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One of the judges for the Milliman award, Magnus Wilson, called Sahouri's work 'highly incisive' in a news release.
'Ms. Sahouri cuts to the heart of some topics that we would rather not hear about but need to,' Wilson said.
As previously reported, photojournalist Ryan Garza was named Photographer of the Year for the third consecutive year by the Michigan Press Photographers Association.
Photojournalist Kimberly P. Mitchell placed second in the category.
The National Center on Disability and Journalism awarded education equity reporter Lily Altavena a first-place Katherine Schneider Journalism Award for exposing how law enforcement is more frequently called to specialized schools with emotional impairment programs than nearby traditional schools.
She also won first place for her education reporting through the Society of Professional Journalist's Detroit chapter, or SPJ Detroit.
Reporter Keith Matheny and photojournalist Eric Seals were honored by SPJ Detroit with first place for environmental journalism that was described by judges as 'important and sobering.'
Among their top works in 2024 was coverage of Canadian wildfires and how the smoke impacted the U.S.
Investigative reporter Violet Ikonomova won first place for open government reporting through SPJ Detroit for her work covering nonfatal shootings by Detroit police.
In a first-of-its-kind probe, she found more than a third of people shot nonfatally by police in a recent seven-year period either were not charged with a crime or not convicted of the conduct officers said prompted them to open fire.
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Matthew Dolan, who has since departed the paper, also won first place for consumer/ watchdog reporting from SPJ Detroit for exposing how rarely dangerous defects on cars with recalls — particularly used cars — are being fixed. The work was described in the judge's comments as 'a useful public service announcement for consumers.'
Health reporter Kristen Jordan Shamus won first place for health reporting through SPJ Detroit for an array of pieces, including stories on a young man's face transplant after a suicide attempt, the impact of avian flu, and how a mass shooting in the state impacted the ER doctors who treated the victims.
Free Press staff won first place in community/ local news reporting from SPJ Detroit for its coverage of the war in Gaza through the eyes of the large Arab American and Jewish communities in metro Detroit.
The newspaper also won first place through the Michigan Press Association, or MPA, for its special section on the reopening of Michigan Central Station in Detroit's Corktown.
Investigative reporter Dave Boucher and reporter Darcie Moran were among the winners of the Wade H. McCree Award for the Advancement of Justice sponsored by the Michigan Press Association. The pair were honored for a series of stories on judicial accountability that showed Michigan judges are rarely held publicly accountable for misconduct, are more likely to receive private scoldings, and are impacted by the live streaming of court hearings.
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Reporter Tresa Baldas won first place in news enterprise reporting from MPA for her coverage of the court cases of the gunman in the Oxford High School shooting and his parents.
Columnist John Carlisle added to his slew of National Headliner Awards, winning first place for feature writing. Judges' comments in particular noted his pieces on a dying teen, a hidden library in the woods of the Upper Peninsula, and a mysterious hose in a 'ghost town.' They described his stories as 'beautifully written' work that 'transports his readers.'
He also took home both first and second place for feature stories through MPA.
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Columnist Jeff Seidel won first place in feature writing through SPJ Detroit for his series on a gun violence survivor's journey.
The Free Press won first place in editorial writing through SPJ Detroit for the work of editorial page editor Nancy Kaffer and deputy editorial page editor Khalil AlHajal.
AlHajal was also honored in the same contest with first place for general column writing, with the judge's comments noting that he brought 'insider insights and passion to the Gaza War, which was hugely important to Michigan and the 2024 presidential choice.'
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Investigative columnist M.L. Elrick, who previously won the Pulitzer Prize, has been named a finalist for excellence in opinion writing nationally through the Scripps Howard Journalism Awards. He also won best columnist through MPA.
Dining and restaurant critic Lyndsay C. Green, a 2023 Pulitzer Prize finalist and current nominee for a James Beard Media Award, was awarded first place for criticism through SPJ Detroit for her food and cultural criticism.
The Free Press had already won a slew of sports reporting honors this year, with photojournalist Junfu Han, columnist Seidel and the whole team being recognized as Top 10 in multiple categories of the Associated Press Sports Editors awards.
On top of that, Lions beat reporter Dave Birkett recently won first place in sports reporting through SPJ Detroit for his 'punchy writing with strong images and no wasted words,' judges said. He also won first place in sports writing through MPA.
Seidel won first place for sports column writing through SPJ Detroit, and sports columnist Shawn Windsor won second place in the category through MPA.
As previously reported, Free Press photojournalists won 20 awards through the Michigan Press Photographers Association and photojournalist David Rodriguez Muñoz won first place in the general news story category for the National Press Photographers Association.
More recently, photojournalist Kimberly Mitchell won first place in feature photography through SPJ Detroit, with the judge's comment highlighting her ability to capture a fleeting moment of schoolchildren catching snowflakes on their tongues. She also won first place for her news photo of flooding on Interstate 275 through MPA.
Photojournalist Ryan Garza won first place in news photography through SPJ Detroit for his work capturing images of arrests during a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Michigan.
More: See Free Press photographers' winning photos from MPPA conference
The Free Press won best podcast through MPA for its series 'Where Secrets Go To Die: The Disappearance of Derrick Henagan,' which explores an Upper Peninsula missing person case and questions around Michigan State Police.
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The podcast also earned national recognition, nabbing third place in the National Headliner Awards for a digital criminal justice and/or crime podcast.
The Free Press won first place for digital presentation through MPA and swept SPJ Detroit's headline writing category, with web editor Tanya Wildt nabbing first.
Deputy sports editor Ryan Ford won first place for sports page design and third place for page one design through SPJ Detroit. He also won second place for best page design through MPA for the October 2023 farewell to Detroit Tigers' great Miguel Cabrera and third place for special section design for the Free Press' preview of the Lions' 2023 season.
Former Free Press journalists Alex Cruden, Kirthmon F. Dozier, Daymon J. Hartley, Dorothy Jurney, Keith Owens and David Zeman were among those inducted into the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame.
Additionally, Free Press team members won numerous other second-, third- and fourth-place awards in the contests for work on topics, including EVs, eviction, the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy embezzlement scandal and personal finance.
Among these wins were two runners-up for the Sojourner Truth Award — reporter Niraj Warikoo and contributing columnist Darren Nichols — for work exposing bias and addressing racial justice. Lansing bureau chief Paul Egan also was a runner-up for an MPA public service award for his coverage of the Flint water crisis 10 years later.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Free Press honored for watchdog, education, sports reporting and more
