GPHN Wins 10 Awards
Colorado Press Association Honors Newspaper For Sustained Coverage, Columns, News, Features, Sports And Photos
Staff Report
For the GPHN
The Greater Park Hill News has won 10 Colorado Press Association awards for work done in 2023 — eight of them first place winners. The statewide journalism awards were announced on Aug. 24.
The latest honors follow nine awards the Greater Park Hill News received in the Top of the Rockies regional journalism contest earlier this year.
Being recognized for excellence underscores our commitment to providing readers with impactful, compelling and interesting journalism. Congratulations to all the winners in this year’s contests.
Here are our latest awards:
First Place Winners
Series or Sustained Coverage: The 2023 Denver Mayor’s Race by Cara DeGette and other contributors.
Still in its post-pandemic funk, 2023 was a pivotal election year in Denver. Homelessness has reached a crisis, the city is increasingly unaffordable and crime has spiked. Fully 17 candidates emerged to replace Michael B. Hancock. Dozens more were vying to win other city races.
We made the decision early to go all-in with sustained coverage of this critical election, providing readers with resources to make informed decisions.
We also placed high importance on an issue that directly impacted our readership: the controversial proposal, also on the ballot, to remove a city-owned conservation easement for massive development of the Park Hill Golf Course. Other news organizations followed our lead, making the issue a top focus of the election. (The developers, Westside Investment Partners, spent $1 million on their losing campaign.)
This entry reflects coverage from January through July, 2023, when a new mayor, Mike Johnston, was sworn in.
Serious Column Writing: Earth In Crisis by Tracey MacDermott
A selection of columns focusing on the environment and impacts of global warming.
Agriculture Story: American Icon by Reid Neureiter
The news story, with stunning photos, details successful conservation efforts bringing back wild bison from the brink of extinction.
Politics Reporting: The Golden Road To City Hall by Cara DeGette
This news story traced the strong connections that Denver mayors have had to Park Hill for decades.
Sports Story: Lisa! Lisa! Lisa! by Reid Neureiter
Story and photos about East High School Athletic Trainer Lisa Smith, who for 19 years has kept the Angels soaring.
Feature Story: The Spooky Season by Rebecca Zimmerman, Cara DeGette, Tommy Kubitsky and Mark Silverstein
Story and photos about Halloween in Park Hill, which is not just a day, but a grand, spine-tingling tradition.
Junior Journalist Story: A Year Of Lockdown by Anna Boyle and Elin Lawrence, with supporting columns by Anya Nitczynski and Madeleine Senger.
Anna Boyle and Elin Lawrence reflected on a year of living through deadly gun violence at East High School that mobilized students demanding their voices be heard.
Headline Writing: Lucas Clarke Has Just One Speed (and other headlines) by Cara DeGette.
2nd Place Winners
News Story: Finding Shelter by Cara DeGette
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s mad dash to move 1,000 unhoused people inside by the end of 2023 did not come without critics.
Serious Column Writing: A selection of columns by Cara DeGette about government and leadership.
Check out all of GPHN‘s award-winning stories, columns and photographs for work published in 2023 at this link: greaterparkhill.org/newspaper-awards-2023.