Kansas City Star reporters earn two first-place awards in national contest
The Kansas City Star has won two first place awards in the National Headliner Awards, a prestigious contest sponsored by the Press Club of Atlantic City, N.J.
“The Wolves of Jefferson City,” an investigative series of stories by Jason Hancock, won first place in the category of local news beat coverage or continuing story.
Hancock, who covers the Missouri statehouse, broke the story that the House speaker had been exchanging sexually charged text messages with a 19-year-old intern. Speaker John Diehl resigned, as did a state senator following more stories. By the time Hancock was done, the remaining power structure in the General Assembly was scrambling to change how it treats interns and women.
Reporter Laura Bauer also won a first-place award in the contest for feature writing on a variety of subjects.
Among Bauer’s entries was a three-part series about Govi, who had been known since 2010 in Kansas City as the boy in the attic. Law officers found Govi, who has Down syndrome, alone and emaciated in darkness. Bauer worked with Govi’s new family to tell the story of a little boy who only wanted to be loved and to have a mom of his own.
The Star
This story was originally published April 11, 2016 at 1:57 PM with the headline "Kansas City Star reporters earn two first-place awards in national contest."