Kansas City Star’s Henneberger wins national award for commentary and column writing
Kansas City Star editorial writer Melinda Henneberger has earned the national Mike Royko Award for Commentary and Column Writing in the 2019 News Leaders Association Awards.
The award, announced Tuesday, recognizes excellence in writing that expresses a personal point of view.
“Melinda Henneberger writes with fearlessness and intelligence, whether she is calling to account a popular governor attempting to sidestep scandal, or revealing the news that she had been raped three-plus decades ago and didn’t report it to police,” the judges wrote. “Her columns, often driven by passion and infused with logic, leave readers feeling more enlightened with each building paragraph.”
This is the first year for the NLA Awards, which combine the American Society of News Editors and Associated Press Media Editors Awards. Considered among the most prestigious in journalism, the awards honor the best in print, digital, photo and video content. The contest drew more than 500 entries in 11 categories.
Colleen McCain Nelson, vice president and editorial page editor at The Star, called it a well-deserved honor for Henneberger, who she described as “a dogged reporter, an insightful opinion journalist and a fearless writer.”
“Rather than simply commenting on the news, Melinda digs deeper, combining original reporting with a unique perspective on the politics and people of Kansas City and the surrounding region,” Nelson said. “She is unafraid to speak truth to power, to ruffle feathers or to share deeply personal experiences that help put current events in context. Like Mike Royko, Melinda brings a sharp wit and unflinching candor to her commentary, and she has been a stellar addition to The Star Editorial Board.”
Henneberger will receive $2,500 for winning the The Royko Award, which is sponsored by the Chicago Tribune in memory of the legendary columnist who died in 1997. The award will be presented to Henneberger in September.
Finalists in the category were Nestor Ramos of The Boston Globe and Matt Bai of Yahoo News.
“I’m so grateful to the judges, to Star readers, to my wonderful editor Colleen Nelson and all of our talented colleagues on the opinion team she’s built at a paper I’m so proud to get to write and fight for every day,” Henneberger said. “This means a lot.”
The Star’s staff was a finalist for the NLA’s Al Neuharth Breaking News Reporting Award for its coverage of the duck boat that sank in Table Rock Lake last July, killing 17 people.
The winners of that category were the Capital Gazette and Baltimore Sun for coverage of the June 2018 mass shooting at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland, that claimed five lives. The other finalist was the Miami Herald for its coverage of the collapse of a pedestrian bridge at Florida International University.
ASNE President Nancy Barnes said this year’s entries were exceptional.
“Newsrooms small and large are steadfastly reporting on the most important stories of the day, calling out abuses of power and wrong-doing, and delivering journalism that makes a difference,” Barnes said.
APME president Angie Muhs, editor of The State Journal-Register in Springfield, Illinois, said the winners “rose to the top from a group of outstanding entries.”
“They told powerful stories that shone light on injustices or dangers faced by vulnerable people, and in many cases, their journalism led to change,” Muhs said.
This story was originally published April 2, 2019 at 10:18 AM.