Colorado Sun journalists earn 24 awards in four-state Top of the Rockies contest
Coveted Public Service recognition ranked among the outlet’s eight first-place finishes, seven seconds and nine thirds
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Journalists at The Colorado Sun claimed 24 awards for their work in 2024, including eight first-place finishes, in the Top of the Rockies Excellence in Journalism competition that includes more than 80 media outlets from Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming.
The winners, judged from among more than 1,850 entries by members of the Los Angeles Press Club, were celebrated at a reception during the annual convention of the Colorado Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists on Saturday night in Denver.
The Sun, which competes in the “extra-large newsroom” division of outlets with 15 or more fulltime staffers, won the prestigious Public Service award in its category for a series written by reporter Jennifer Brown, with translation assistance from visiting journalist Ernesto Cabral. “Long Road to Asylum” examined the backlog in Colorado’s immigration court as recent migrants faced removal proceedings. Additionally, the series won a second-place honor for Investigative Reporting.
☀️ PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD
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The Sun’s 24 total awards marked the most among Colorado media outlets entered in the largest division. The Colorado Springs Gazette notched 22, including seven firsts; the Denver Gazette won 15, with nine of those being first-place awards; Colorado Public Radio took home 12, with half of those firsts. The Denver Post had one first among its three total awards.
Media outlets didn’t necessarily enter all categories.
“We’re thrilled about this recognition from our colleagues, and we’re grateful to our fellow Coloradans for making our work possible,” Sun publisher Larry Ryckman said. “We’re particularly proud of the top public service award. As a nonprofit, public service is at the core of everything that we do.”
Brown also took first for best Mental Health Feature on high suicide rates among rural Colorado’s “cowboy up” culture and added a second-place finish in the Social Justice category for her examination of racism amid Aurora’s controversy around a Venezuelan gang “takeover.”
The Sun had a strong showing among Agriculture or Environment entries, with Olivia Prentzel scoring a first in news for her look at a Colorado cattle rustling investigation, while Tracy Ross won the top feature award for her profile of a rancher turning a profit through conservation. Ross also took second in the news category for her look at conflicting interests in Colorado’s wolf reintroduction program.
The Sun also scored well in visual categories.
“What’d I Miss?”, the collaboration by cartoonists R. Alan Brooks and Cori Redford, took first place in editorial cartooning — for the third year in a row. The strips that comprised their winning entry can be viewed here, here and here. Their cartooning colleague, Jim Morrissey, took third place for a collection that can be seen here, here and here.
Also in the opinion realm, columnist Mario Nicolais took second place for his collection of three pieces, here, here and here. Meanwhile, Diane Carman took third for her columns here, here and here.
Kevin Jeffers took first place in Feature Page Design for his Colorado Sunday cover “We are not going away,” while colleague Danika Worthington took second for another Colorado Sunday cover, “Lost and found.” In Spot News Photography, former Sun shooter Hugh Carey took second for his photo accompanying a story on Colorado tourism.
Sun writer John Ingold scored a second-place award in the Short-form Feature competition for his compelling and entertaining look at health care costs built around a $2,000 popsicle, and added a third-place award for his Health News story about how a dentist discovered the benefits of fluoride. Ingold’s collaboration with the Kaiser Family Foundation and others on the series “Diagnosis: Debt” finished third for Public Service.
In Breaking News, the team of Prentzel, Ross and David Krause took third for their wildfire coverage. Brown did the same with her tender Health Feature on a young heart transplant recipient.
Other staffers honored with third-place finishes were led by Michael Booth in Investigative Reporting for his epic saga of a Colorado crop fraud case. In Science and Technology News, Shannon Mullane was recognized for her piece on the Colorado River — and hamburgers. Kevin Simpson took third in Climate Reporting for his look at a new line of defense against wildfires.
The Sun’s team of freelancers also made their mark, starting with Nancy Lofholm’s first-place award for Politics News for her coverage of the Tina Peters trial in Grand Junction. Dan England took second for his Mental Health Feature on the connection between injury and depression among athletes.
“The competition continues to grow each year, and we are honored to highlight outstanding journalism throughout the four-state region,” said contest coordinator Deb Hurley Brobst. “These are hard-working journalists who deserve recognition of their efforts.”
Top of the Rockies is a regional, multi-platform contest for reporters and news organizations in the four-state area. The contest grew from a Colorado-only contest on the heels of the closure of the Rocky Mountain News in 2009 to ensure a robust and competitive field. Entries compete in four divisions based on newsroom size.
