The Chilkat Valley News won eight 2019 Alaska Press Club awards this year. The annual conference and awards ceremony was canceled this year due to COVID-19 concerns and the results were released Saturday on the organization’s website.
Each year, journalism professionals from across the country judge entries from Alaskan newspapers, radio stations and television stations.
Former CVN reporter Jenna Kunze won five awards for her reporting in 2019. Her awards included first place in the small-print publications Best Reporting on Health or Science category for “Pollen Apocalypse made worse be rising global temperatures.”
“This story benefitted by the reporter’s efforts to reach out to a wide array of sources and provide deeper context than other entries,” said judge Bob Ortega.
She also won first place in the small-print publications Best Public Safety Reporting category for “Local smokejumper details record season,” first place in small- and large-print publications Best Sports Reporting category for “ALCAN 200 celebrates 50 years of speed,” second place in the small-print publication Best Arts Reporting category for “Afterthoughts: Laid to rest in marbles,” and third place in the small-print publications Best Short Feature category for “Town beaver’s lair discovered.”
Kyle Clayton won first place in the small-print publications Best Profile category for “Rocket-fuel making student wins state tech award,” second place in the small-print publications Best Culture Reporting category for “Is an ancient species of Fremont squash growing in a Haines garden?” and second place in small-print publication Best Public Safety Reporting category for “Man killed in car wreck had earlier contact with police.”
“This fine piece of detailed reporting offers a step-by- step series of exponentially revealing moments in a tragic escapade,” said judge Cynthia Sewell.