The New York Amsterdam News continued its winning streak in Chicago this month at the 2024 convention of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), winning an award for our series on the impact of bail reform. Executive and Investigative Editor Damaso Reyes, who reported and penned the series, also received the NABJ’s prestigious Ida B. Wells Award. The award “recognizes an individual who has provided distinguished leadership in increasing access and opportunities for Black journalists and improving the coverage of communities of color in American media.”
“Time and time and time again, when no one else would give me an opportunity, the Black press was there. When no one else would give me an opportunity to tell stories about my community, the Black press was there,” Reyes said during his acceptance speech.
“I am thrilled that our peers in the Black press are recognizing the transformative work we are doing and the impact our journalism is having,” said Elinor R. Tatum, publisher and editor-in-chief of the AmNews.
“These recognitions are testament to the transformative work every member of our newsroom and business department is doing to provide the community we serve with the racial justice journalism they need to be informed and active participants in our democracy,” said AmNews President and Chief Revenue Officer Siobhan “Sam” Bennett.
The 2024 NABJ honors are just the latest in a string of recognition for the paper. Earlier in the summer, the BlackLight investigative unit of the AmNews won a Deadline Club award for Digital Video Reporting for “Be-Loved,” our first documentary film, which explores the life and impact of a Harlem-based credible messenger fighting to reduce gun violence in his community.
“This is such a raw and open discussion about gun violence and generational trauma that had us glued to the screen,” the judges wrote. “The perspective in this short documentary is often underrepresented when it comes to violence in communities that are neglected by elected officials. The journalists made the most of incredible access to this community and the multiple voices that propelled the story. ‘Be-loved’ is someone we won’t forget.”
AmNews Science Reporter Helina Selemon won a Solutions Journalism Network award for her reporting on the links between climate change and excess heat and gun violence.
“We loved this story for the way it brought to life a big issue with a surprising link to climate change,” the judges said. “The article found evidence for the link between gun violence and rising temperatures, using data and insights to make that link, presented visually in graphs and charts. It had a human element[,] too, with different people and voices. It could have just focused on the evidence and the issues but instead it moved the story toward solutions, ticking all the pillars of solutions journalism. It had wide reader appeal and was an exemplary piece of solutions journalism.”
The AmNews is also winning for more than just our journalism. Tatum was recognized by Editor & Publisher as one of its “15 over 50,” which recognizes news leaders for “their strong leadership skills, transformational mindsets, commitment to journalistic and publishing excellence[,] and ability to lead during challenging times.”
They also named Reyes and Digital Editor Josh Barker to its 2024 class of “Editors Extraordinaire” and named the newspaper as part of its group of “News Media to Watch,” noting that the “Amsterdam News is all about listening to its community. In 2023, [the] Amsterdam News hosted community events and collaborations, resulting in a 30% increase in print circulation from one partnership alone. To better communicate, the publication reconceived the 114-year-old legacy print newspaper with gorgeous internally designed front covers and long-form investigative journalism from its BlackLight investigative unit.”
News Editor Aaron Foley was selected as a 2024 Maynard 200 fellow and will receive “two weeks of customized workshops, hands-on coaching[,] and peer networking sessions in March and July. The in-person training weeks are followed by a year-long, one-on-one mentorship phase, wherein each Fellow is paired with an industry expert for dedicated coaching.”
Tatum was invited to speak at the Borealis’ Racial Equity in Journalism (REJ) Fund’s Kaleidoscope Live event, where she talked about the vital role the Black press plays in our society. Alicia Bell, director of the REJ Fund, also spoke warmly of the AmNews during the Knight Media Forum earlier this year. “What I saw from the Amsterdam News was a dedication to creativity,” she said, referencing our collaboration for a special issue “Black Future News.”
ProPublica also selected the AmNews as one of three partners for its Local Reporting Network. The partnership provides three years of funding for the paper to hire a data investigative reporter who will work on the Beyond the Barrel of the Gun and Black to Nature reporting projects.
All of these awards, recognitions, and partnerships show that the 114-year-old newspaper is set to thrive in the digital age.