Civil Beat Reporter Honored For Public Service Reporting
Blaze Lovell’s story on pay-to-play politics was part of a New York Times series.
The Hawaiʻi chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists recognized the work of television, print, radio and online media Wednesday at an awards ceremony held at the Japanese Cultural Center.
Top honors for public service reporting went to Civil Beat reporter Blaze Lovell, who worked with two other reporters and The New York Times on a story that ran in April 2024 titled “Inside the Late-Night Parties Where Hawaii Politicians Raked In Money.”
The story showed how fund-raising parties involving lobbyists and legislators effectively undermined a state law that was intended to bar government contractors from donating to politicians.
“Revelatory reporting captured in a story with such a palpable heartbeat that I couldn’t stop reading,” said one of the contest judges.
In spite of all the attention the article received, the Hawaiʻi Legislature killed a bill earlier this year that would have closed the loophole allowing millions of dollars to flow to political campaigns from people who get large state contracts.
Second place for public service reporting went to Ashley Mizuo and Savannah Harriman-Pote of Hawaiʻi Public Radio for their series on wildfire vulnerability. And Noelle Fujii-Oride of Hawaii Business magazine came in third for “Private equity now owns nearly 30% of Hawai’i’s hotel rooms.”
Civil Beat garnered 28 awards total, 12 of them winning first place:
- Breaking News Reporting: “Westside Shooting” by Madeleine Valera, which looked at the spate of recent gun violence in Wai‘anae.
- Government Reporting: “How Far Is Too Far? Parents Push The Limits Of Harassment In Hawaii Schools” by Megan Tagami.
- Online News Reporting: “Locked Gates Trapped Lahaina Fire Victims” by Marcel Honoré.
- Online Feature Reporting: “The Long Road Home” series by Brittany Lyte that followed several Lahaina families on their journey to rebuild their lives.
- Best Multimedia Presentation: “Guardians of the Deep” by Nathan Eagle, April Estrellon, Kawika Lopez and Amy Pyle, which explored the work of marine scientists in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.
- Data Journalism Story or Series: “Government Workers In Hawaii Get Paid Not To Work As Misconduct Investigations Drag On For Months Or Years” by Christina Jedra
- Column Writing or Blog/Features or Sports: the “Blast From The Past” series by Jessica Terrell
- Editorial Opinion: “Pay-To-Play Politics Is Staring Us In The Face. What Are We Going To Do About It?” by Chad Blair, Richard Wiens and Patti Epler
SPJ Hawaii Excellence in Journalism 2024 awards were emceed by Keoki Kerr, a former television reporter now with the Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association, and Mahealani Richardson of Hawaii News Now.
Entries were judged by the Louisville Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and the Hawaii Pro Chapter judged Louisville’s contest.
Read the full list of awards:
