Star wins two first-place awards in prestigious national journalism contest

For the second time in three years, The Kansas City Star has won two first-place honors in the prestigious National Headliner Awards.

The awards, sponsored by the Press Club of Atlantic City, N.J., were announced Friday.

Jason Hancock won first place for political coverage for his work on Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens and his administration’s culture of secrecy, including its use of an app that automatically destroys messages after they've been viewed.

The Star’s series “Why so secret, Kansas?” received first place for public service performed by publishing material in a daily newspaper. The series revealed that Kansas has one of the darkest state governments in the nation and its secrecy permeates nearly every aspect of service.

The series was reported by Laura Bauer, Judy L. Thomas, Max Londberg, Kelsey Ryan, Bryan Lowry, Andy Marso, Steve Vockrodt and Hunter Woodall. Growth editor Leah Becerra, photojournalist Jill Toyoshiba and artist/designer Neil Nakahodo also worked on the project.

This story was originally published April 13, 2018 at 10:29 AM with the headline "Star wins two first-place awards in prestigious national journalism contest."