Social Justice News Nexus recognition

—SJNN Fellowship and Professional Partnership stories have been published and aired by outlets including: WBEZ, Univision Chicago, the Chicago Reader, the Guardian, the Chicago Reporter, This American Life, the Chicago Tribune, Crain’s Chicago Business, Bustle, 90 Days 90 Voices, Pacific Standard, In These Times, The Progressive, Truthout, Catalyst Chicago, Austin Weekly, Lumpen Radio, Midwest Energy News, Hoy, The Gate, New America Media, Contratiempo Magazine, and more. 

—SJNN Fellowship projects have received three grants from the Fund for Investigative Journalism and a grant from the Fund for Environmental Journalism.

—SJNN Fellowship and Professional Partnership projects have received and been finalists for numerous journalism awards, including the below:

2017 Spanish-Language Emmy Awards: a professional partnership with Univision Chicago investigating asbestos in Chicago Public Schools garnered an Emmy in two categories: 

Categoría #4 por logro sobresaliente por la recopilación de noticias – Serie de investigación
-¿Amenaza de asbestos en escuelas públicas de Chicago? Productores: Adriana Cardona-Maguigad, Jessica Fernández, Meredith Francis, Kari Lydersen, Alexa Mencia, Nora Younkin. Reportero: Enrique Rodriguez.

Categoría #12-a por logro sobresaliente en programa especial
Amenazas ambientales en barrios minoritarios. Productores: Adriana Cardona-Maguigad, Jessica Fernández, Meredith Francis, Kari Lydersen, Alexa Mencia, Nora Younkin. Reporteros: Enrique Rodríguez y Viviana Ávila.

2015 Sigma Delta Chi Award from the Society of Professional Journalists: Adriana Cardona-Maguigad, Ira Glass, Cate Cahan, Kari Lydersen, Bill Healy and Nancy Updike, Puerto Rico to Chicago Drug Treatment Pipeline (April 20, 2015), Social Justice News Nexus.

2015 Illinois Press Association, Best of the Press Award: LaRisa Lynch’s two-part series about mental health and substance abuse coverage under the Affordable Care Act, for the Austin Weekly News.

2015 Urban Health Journalism Prize, New York Academy of Medicine, FINALIST: Deborah L. Shelton, Guilty of Mental Illness (April 27, 2015), Chicago Reporter.

2015 Peter Lisagor Awards from the Chicago Headline Club:

Best Feature Story or Series:
Adriana Cardona-Maguigad, Puerto Rico Exports Its Drug Users to Chicago (April 2015), Hoy, The Gate, Chicago Public Media and Social Justice News Nexus.

Best In-Depth News Story of Series (Broadcast/Radio): Adriana Cardona-Maguigad, Puerto Rico Exports Its Drug Users to Chicago, 544: Not It! (April 2015), Chicago Public Media, Social Justice News Nexus, This American Life.

Best Feature Reporting (Broadcast/Radio):
Adriana Cardona-Maguigad, Puerto Rico Exports Its Drug Users to Chicago, 544: Not It! (April 2015), Chicago Public Media, Social Justice News Nexus, This American Life.

Best In-Depth Reporting in a General-Interest Publication (Non-Daily), FINALIST:
Adrienne Hurst, “Black, Autistic and Killed by Police” (December 17, 2015), Chicago Reader.

2017 Peter Lisagor Award Finalists:

Best Photography: Chicago Reader: “The residents of Rezkoville’s tent city battle the elements — and personal demons.” Lloyd DeGrane, Kari Lydersen, Danielle A. Scruggs.

Best Investigative/Public Service Reporting: The Guardian online: “Homeless but Employed: The Chicago Restaurant Workers Living Under a Bridge.” Kari Lydersen, Lloyd DeGrane, Nicole Flatow.

2018 Peter Lisagor Award Finalists: 

Best Multimedia Collaboration — ALL MEDIA: 
The Chicago Reporter, “Women in Prison Punished More Harshly Than Men Around the Country,” by Jessica Pupovac (professional partner, in collaboration with NPR also); Kari Lydersen; Cailin Crowe, Sydney Boles, Natalya Carrico. (MSJ students were Cailin Crowe, Sydney Boles and Natalya Carrico) 

Best In-depth Reporting in a General-Interest Publication, Magazine or Magazine Section: In These Times magazine, “The Visa Loophole That Big Ag Construction Firms Love to Exploit,” by Steve Franklin, Kari Lydersen, Jessica Villagomez, Eunice Wang, Kristine Sherred, Joseph Bullington. (MSJ students were Eunice Wang, JessicaVillagomez and Kristine Sherred) 

Best Public Affairs Programming — BROADCAST RADIO: WBEZ Chicago Public Media, “Curious City: How Pollution Seeped into the Lives of East Chicago Residents,” Kevin Stark, Katherine Nagasawa, Jesse Dukes, Olivia Richardson, Bashirah Mack,  Alexandra Salomon. (A related interactive piece was also done with MSJ students Siobhan Neela Stock, Rowan Lynam and Shelby Fleig). 

Best Feature Reporting — BROADCAST: RADIO: WBEZ, “Retired Homicide Detective Builds a Family of Foster Kids,” by Richard Steele, Bill Healy, Sofi LaLonde, Cate Cahan.