PITTSBURGH – Dave Sutor and David Hurst, reporters with The Tribune-Democrat, took first place in the Enterprise/Investigative journalism category at the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation’s Robert L. Vann Media Awards Dinner Thursday for their work on the 2023 project “Rosedale: 100 Years.”
The in-depth report revisited the aftermath of the Aug. 30, 1923, shooting of six police officers by a Black man – an incident that led Mayor Joseph Cauffiel to order the banishment of all Black and Mexican people who had not lived in Johnstown for at least seven years.
Sutor received a plaque for the award from Deborah Todd, president of the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation, during the dinner Thursday night at the University of Pittsburgh’s O’Hara Student Center ballroom in the city’s Oakland section.
Judges said that The Tribune-Democrat’s Rosedale project “does a great job revisiting a banishment order that directly impacted African Americans living in (Johnstown) 100 years ago.
“One of the successes is that the stories help to re-create and capture the impact on the Rosedale community.
“The stories highlight the important role of journalism as the being the first recorder of history, and sometimes the only record for some communities.”
The Vann awards event recognized “the best in print, broadcast, photography and online journalism coverage of the African American and African diaspora communities of Western Pennsylvania,” the federation said in a news release. More than 40 western Pennsylvania journalists and four community pioneers were honored for contributions to the Black community.
“We congratulate all the Vann winners, who work diligently to bring truth to storytelling and show that the stories of diverse and minority communities are valuable,” Todd said.
The other finalists in the Enterprise/Investigative journalism category were Mike Wereschagin, of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, for “Newly released transcript reveals UPMC doctors’ exchange”; and Michael Korsh, of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, for “Left to Rot.”
All entries were published or broadcast between Jan. 1, 2023, and Dec. 31, 2023. The entries were judged by active or retired professional journalists or communications professors in Texas, Illinois, Kansas and Northern Virginia.
The PBMF presented special awards to organizations and individuals who were selected by federation members:
• Lou Ransom, a retired award-winning editor and journalist who for many years served as managing editor of the New Pittsburgh Courier and as a community editor/editorial page writer and business writer for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, was honored as a Legacy Award winner for his focus on community and mentorship.
• Mark Clayton Southers, the founder and producing artistic director of the Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company, where he has produced more than 160 full-length and one-act plays, was honored as Communicator of the Year, recognizing his messaging on the importance of diversity and inclusion to strengthening the community through the arts.
• Cynthia Mendoza, with the Brown Mama Monologues, a project of theater and social engagement that aims to amplify the voices and concerns of Black and Brown mothers, was honored with the Trailblazer Award.
• Future Kings Mentoring, a mentoring and self-development program started by three young adult Black men – Terrell Galloway, Sean Spencer and Isreal Williams – that aims to foster community uplift and cultivate the next generation of Black male leaders – earned the Community Champion Award.
In addition, PBMF held a Salute to WESA, honoring the Pittsburgh-area public radio station for its longstanding commitment to diverse journalism coverage.
“Independent journalism is needed now more than ever,” said Vann Media Awards Chair Ervin Dyer, “so the media federation can appreciate all of the work the journalists and their media organizations are doing to cover minority communities and the range of issues and concerns connected to those communities.”
In 1988, PBMF launched its journalism awards competition, named for the late Robert L. Vann, the legendary publisher of the Pittsburgh Courier.
The intent was to honor his personal commitment to journalism and to create a voice for the Black community.
Founded in 1973, PBMF is a nonprofit organization whose members are professional journalists, public relations specialists, and professors and college students in schools of journalism or related programs.
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