TC Jewfolk won three awards for journalism at the 2022 American Jewish Press Association annual meeting in Atlanta on Monday night, competing in a digital-only category with the largest publishers in Jewish media.
The awards – two first place and one honorable mention – match the total TC Jewfolk staff won in 2021. TC Jewfolk has been competing in the Simon Rockower Awards for Jewish journalism since 2019.
First Place
Social Justice and Humanitarian Work: ‘Hiding in plain sight’: How a family lived at Shir Tikvah for 3 years by Lonny Goldsmith
Comment: The winner combined an inventive use of story structure by alternating between family’s thoughts and event chronology. Extensive use of quoted sources added depth to what is both a humanitarian tale and a social justice topic, immigration. The story is very timely, given the political climate in the U.S. and the family’s home country of Honduras.
Writing About Camp: Return To Webster series Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
Comment: There was so much competition in this category, but Lonny’s series was the clear winner. Lonny did a stellar job of laying out all the preparations required to open Herzl Camp in Wisconsin last summer. All his stories were mesmerizing. His follow-up story written in late July was crushing, and I appreciate that he didn’t try to sugar-coat the circumstances that led to the camp closing early.
Honorable Mention
News Story: Why the U wouldn’t change its Rosh Hashanah start date by Lev Gringauz
Judge’s Comment: This could have been a throw-off quick daily, but instead the reporter presented a detailed, “how the sausage is made” look inside university decisions.
The full list of winners is available on the American Jewish Press Association website.
