The Valley Independent Sentinel and its online affiliates received 22 awards Thursday at the annual Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists‘ Excellence in Journalism Contest.
The Valley Indy won seven reporting awards for articles published in 2011, including four first place wins.
The online news site has won 15 Connecticut SPJ awards since launching in June 2009.
The Valley Indy competed against other professional online news outlets, of which there are at least 100 in Connecticut.
The contest is judged by journalists outside Connecticut.
The Valley Independent Sentinel is part of the Online Journalism Project. It is affiliated with the New Haven Independent, the Branford Eagle, the Connecticut Health Investigative Team and CT News Junkie.
Here are the Valley Indy awards:
Investigative Story
FIRST PLACE: High Kill Rate Triggers Change At Derby Dog Pound — By Jodie Mozdzer
Spot News
FIRST PLACE: Flash Floods Hammer Seymour, Paralyze Route 8 — By Jodie Mozdzer and Eugene Driscoll
General Reporting
FIRST PLACE: Oxford Official Accused Of Stealing Money Lived Lavish Lifestyle — By Jodie Mozdzer
Audio Storytelling
FIRST PLACE: Navel Gazing: The Valley Indy Podcast — By Eugene Driscoll, Jodie Mozdzer and Tony Spinelli
Opinion Column
SECOND PLACE: Connecticut Magazine Kicks The Valley In The Shins — By Eugene Driscoll
In-Depth Series
SECOND PLACE: Halloween Storm Coverage — By Eugene Driscoll, Jodie Mozdzer and Tony Spinelli
In-Depth Reporting
THIRD PLACE: Life Imprisonment On The Installment Plan — By Eugene Driscoll
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Branford Eagle awards:
Photo Layout
FIRST PLACE: A winter trick at Halloween — By Mary Johnson
SECOND PLACE: Snapshots of Hurricane Irene — By Mary Johnson
Arts & Entertainment Reporting
FIRST PLACE: Flutes tell a story (Branford Eagle/New Haven Independent) — By Sally E. Bahner
Business Reporting
FIRST PLACE: Kebabian’s squeezed by recession (New Haven Independent) — By Brian Dowling
SECOND PLACE: Costco coming? — By Marcia Chambers
Feature Reporting
THIRD PLACE: Typewriter lives on! (Branford Eagle/New Haven Independent) — By Sally E. Bahner
General Reporting
SECOND PLACE: A dock to nowhere? — By Diana Stricker
General Reporting Series
FIRST PLACE: Hurricane Irene’s Aftermath; Branford Eagle/New Haven Independent; Marcia Chambers, Diana Stricker, Sally E. Bahner, Mary Johnson
Investigative Series
FIRST PLACE: Christmas puppies banned (Branford Eagle/New Haven Independent) — By Marcia Chambers
Spot News
SECOND PLACE: Judge grills Dr. Wang (Branford Eagle/New Haven Independent) — By Marcia Chambers
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CT News Junkie awards:
Op-Ed Column
FIRST PLACE: Dear Emily’s List … Really? — By Sarah Darer Littman
SECOND PLACE: Bridgeport schools takeover a symptom of bigger problems — By Susan Bigelow
THIRD PLACE: The making of King Dannel — By Heath W. Fahle
News Photo
SECOND PLACE: Endeavour’s final launch — By Matt Rece
In-Depth Reporting
FIRST PLACE: Dotcom billionaires taking on NASA’s big government contract culture — By Lon Seidman and Doug Hardy
