FlaglerLive won first place for court reporting in the Society of Professional Journalists’ 2018 Sunshine State Awards, the statewide contest that drew entries from Florida’s largest newspapers and news websites and some of its smaller ones. The awards were announced Saturday at the University of Miami’s Newman Alumni Center.
FlaglerLive was awarded the courtroom honor for a series of articles written to give readers a front-row seat in the courtroom, reflecting proceedings with analytical and vivid detail and accessible narratives of the legal context. Articles the jury cited included the final day’s account of the Erin Vickers trial–the 23-year-old found guilty of raping her own 1-year-old daughter for the gratification of her boyfriend, who watched on Skype–the attempt by a man who murdered a woman in Palm Coast 25 years ago to get an early release, and how Flagler Sheriff’s deputies peacefully defused what could have been a suicide-by-cop situation in the courthouse parking lot.
The articles were reported by FlaglerLive Editor Pierre Tristam. The Daytona Beach News-Journal’s Suzanne Hirt took second place and Law.com’s Daily Business Review won third place. Other first-place awards went to the Miami Herald, the Palm Beach Post, the Tampa Bay Times, the Sun-Sentinel, the Times-Union, the Orlando Sentinel and Florida Weekly.
The News-Journal won two first-place awards: Jim Tiller won first place for breaking news photography and Dinah Voyles Pulver won for environmental reporting, for “Rising Seas,” a sobering account of the certainty of the dangers of rising sea levels along Florida’s shore. Tiller and Pulver, among the few remaining veterans of the News-Journal’s staff, make frequent appearances in award circles.
FlaglerLive also won third place for arts reporting. It was the first time in the non-profit website’s eight-year history that there was time to enter a contest.
Among the highest honors, The James Batten Award for Public Service went to Carol Marbin Miller, Audra D.S. Burch, and Emily Michot from the Miami Herald for their project “Fight Club: Dark Secrets of Florida Juvenile Justice.” The Journalist of the Year is the Florida Times-Union’s Nate Monroe. The First Amendment Foundation Freedom of Information Award went to The Palm Beach Post’s Mike Stucka and Eliot Kleinberg for “Tracking the Legislature.”
“The Sunshine State Awards is always a fun reunion for journalists to get together and celebrate each other’s work, but it’s also a time to reflect on the importance of what we do,” said SPJ Florida President Christiana Lilly. “It’s a recognition of the impact that local reporting has on our communities, from covering last year’s tragic hurricane season to elections and the ups and downs experienced by our state‘s residents. As we hand out each certificate, it’s a moment of recognizing the blood, sweat and tears we put into our craft to keep the public in the know.”
The Sunshine State Awards, now in its 24th year, recognizes the best in Florida journalism. Out-of-state journalists chose first, second, and third place honors in each category.
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David Sullivan says
Pierre
Congratulations on the award. Your Court reporting is consistently outstanding.
Dave Sullivan
atilla says
Congratulations. When I want the latest news I go to this website.
Brandon Cross says
Kudos for the award!!! Well deserved for effort as a Reporter.
We both know we are in disagreement, on political issues, yet you deserve recognition on true reporting of issues occurring in our area.
Congratulations and thank you for your site.
Brandon Cross
Jane Gentile-Youd says
Congratulations Pierre
You are so thorough and precise. Great news!!
Jane
KMedley says
Your excellence in reporting extends well beyond the courtroom. Congratulations!
JustMe says
Way To Go.
Jack Howell says
Congratulation Pierre. You do an outstanding job on covering the court system and keeping the public well informed. This recognition is well earned.
Steve says
Nice job, well deserved. I dont always agree but the articles/ commentary are exemplary.
Just a guy says
I don’t know how or why there are always so many typos and personal opinions put in everything you type in my opinion flagler live is one of the worse news sources around….I’m sure there has been more posts similar to mine and I’m sure you won’t approve it to be seen. Because the reality is you won’t let the truth about how most of flagler county feels go public….
Buylocal says
Job well done!
Palm Coast Eyes says
Way to Go! Good Job!
Pogo says
@FlaglerLive Editor Pierre Tristam
“…The Sunshine State Awards, now in its 24th year, recognizes the best in Florida journalism…”
Yes, I believe it does. Congratulations on well deserved recognition.
Jan Reeger says
That is fabulous Pierre. Congratulations! Well deserved.
CG says
Pierre,
Well deserved. Your hard work is much appreciated by me. Running a website, chasing down local issues and events as they happen and spending time in the courtroom is a very full schedule. To keep your cool in these divisive times the way you do is amazing. Thank you.
Jan says
Congratulations. Your reporting/writing provides a wonderful – and needed – service for Flagler County.
palmcoaster says
Well deserved!
Fredrick says
2 thumbs up Pierre
BMW says
Congratulations, well deserved.
Concerned Citizen says
Congrats Pierre,
I don’t often agree with your views but I have come to rely on you for honest local news. Please know your efforts are very much appreciated in this county.
Sherry says
CONGRATULATIONS PIERRE! Very well deserved! You and your staff are doing an excellent job of keeping our community well informed of the facts about local, as well as national, issues that impact our lives. ALL in our community owe you a debt of gratitude and support for your tireless and often valiant efforts in speaking “truth to power”! Well done, Pierre. . . very well done!
FlaglerLive says
Richard says
Congratulations Pierre on your 1st Place Award for courtroom reporting. In regards to your commentary writing, well that’s a different subject all together.
Barbara says
Congratulations, Pierre and team!
Cheryl Mandolin says
Congratulations! I appreciate your independent coverage of local news.
Congratulations says
“Journalism can never be silent: That is its greatest virtue and its greatest fault. It must speak, and speak immediately, while the echoes of wonder, the claims of triumph and the signs of horror are still in the air.”
— Henry Anatole Grunwald
Anonymous says
Congrats Pierre and staff! And Mr Typo-man, the truth is your grammar sucks. In addition, the aforementioned article reports on the very real news that an award had been given; nothing to do with feelings or opinions. That would be an editorial, not a report!
Nancy N. says
Way to go Pierre! Well deserved!
John Sbordone says
Congratulations Pierre for your vivid, accurate accounts of the court room. I want to especially congratulate you and Rick for your thorough, well researched writing on the arts in the area. The Sunshine State placement of flaglerlive.com in the upper ranks of Arts reporting. The depth and vision of the reporting exceeds much of what I read I throughout the area. I am so pleased to see that work recognized. John
Charles F. Ericksen, Jr says
Congratulations and well done..and deserved.
Maybe the Courtroom will now give you your own electrical wall outlet to plug, your equipment into
Anonymous says
Pierre you deserve many more accolades. Your reporting and your depth of information in your articles is unmatched and a lot of what you writes creates dialogue and that is important for growth! Your work is so much better than the News Journal. You are proof that not for profits can be productive members of the economy.
Reader says
Congratulations! Well deserved!
Jim O says
I do not agree with many of your views. This award however, is certainly justified and well earned. Congratulations. Well done.
tulip says
Awesome!! Well deserved and better than newspapers.
Robert Haddad says
Congratulations, Pierre. You do great work. Please consider entering more such contexts. Your work deserves broader recognition. It is also heartwarming to see that you have a large following, which includes people who disagree with your views and still support your work. That is because of the integrity you bring to your journalistic profession. Job well done. Integrity is increasingly absent of late in the public sphere.
And congratulations to the the team supporting you in maintaining the high standards of FlaglerLive. Keep it up.
Robert