The Star’s Melinda Henneberger wins national Mike Royko award for columns about detective
For the second time in four years, Melinda Henneberger, The Star’s opinion editor, has won an award for commentary from the News Leaders Association.
Henneberger won the Mike Royko Award for Commentary and Column Writing, which recognizes excellence in writing by an individual that expresses a personal point of view. The award is sponsored by the Chicago Tribune in memory of former columnist Mike Royko, who died in 1997.
Henneberger won for a series of columns about former Kansas City, Kansas, police detective Roger Golubski, who has been accused of preying on vulnerable Black women.
“Melinda Henneberger comes out swinging and does not let up. She is relentless, shattering the silence that robbed a retired law-enforcement officer’s victims and their families of justice,” wrote judges from the News Leaders Association. “Her outrage is controlled, and to the point.”
Henneberger won the same award in 2019. She has also been named a Pulitzer Prize finalist for three straight years.
“Melinda is not only a world-class journalist but also a tremendous champion for the rights of victims who haven’t received justice,” said Mike Fannin, Star president and editor. “We’re proud of the stellar, award-winning work she brings to The Star.”
Henneberger said she hoped the recognition “brings more attention to the fact that victims of Roger Golubski and the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department are still waiting for justice.”
“Specifically, they are still waiting for Mayor Tyrone Garner to keep his promise to push for a top-to-bottom investigation of corruption at the department where he spent his career. They are still waiting for Wyandotte County District Attorney Marc Dupree to look at every case that Golubski ever touched. They are still waiting for the FBI to prove all of those convinced that no one will ever be indicted because Golubski has too much on too many, to have been wrong to worry.”
The News Leaders Association is comprised of American news editors. The organization is the combined successor of the American Society of News Editors and the Associated Press Media Editors.
