The Star Tribune took six first-place prizes Wednesday in one of the oldest and largest annual contests recognizing journalistic excellence in the United States.
The National Headliner Awards recognized the Star Tribune for both its coverage of George Floyd's death and the aftermath, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. The Headliner Awards were founded in 1934 by the Press Club of Atlantic City, N.J.
"It has been a uniquely challenging year for our newsroom, but these national honors reflect how devoted our staff is to serving the public with compelling, vital journalism," Star Tribune Editor Rene Sanchez said.
The Star Tribune and the Los Angeles Times were top winners in the contest, with six first-place awards each.
Star Tribune staff members were awarded first place in the Breaking News daily newspaper category for coverage of Floyd's death on Memorial Day 2020, which occurred after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes.
The death of Floyd, a Black man, was filmed by a bystander and posted on social media, prompting widespread unrest in the Twin Cities and a global reckoning on race. A Hennepin County jury last month returned two murder convictions against Chauvin, who is white.
Headliner judges said the Star Tribune "demonstrated why journalists and journalism are critical to a community," and stated that the newspaper's journalists "provided multilayered, contextual coverage even as they were targeted by protesters and the police."
Star Tribune reporter Libor Jany, who covers the Minneapolis police, won a first-place award for local news beat coverage in a top 20 media market. The judges said Jany "exemplifies beat coverage," noting he was the first to tweet both Floyd and Chauvin's names in "what would become an international story."
