By SERA KING / Headline Surfer
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Headline Surfer was a big winner in the Florida Press Club's 2020 statewide journalism competition with two first-place awards for COVID-19 coverage and sports writing, and a third-place award for top independent news site.
Overall, nine Headline Surfer stories were recognized as "award-winning" in the contest.
Two South Florida newspapers garnered top honors in the Florida Press Club’s annual journalism competition Saturday announced online for the first time in a zoom meeting by Anne Geggis, FPC president, from her Fort Lauderdale home.
The ongoing pandemic forced Geggis to hold the annual awards event online. The FPC is the first state journalism competition to honor Florida press corps’ coverage of the deadly pandemic, for which Headline Surfer was among the winning entries.
Here is how Headline Surfer fared overall in the competition:
Writing, COVID-19, Class C, First Place, Henry Frederick, Headline Surfer:
Writing, Sports Writing, Class C, First Place, Henry Frederick, Headline Surfer:
• Denny Hamlin avoids carnage to win his 2nd Daytona 500 in the longest race in nearly a decade
Online, Independent News Site, Class A-C, Third Place, Henry Frederick, Headline Surfer
• Special Report: How Safe Are We In East Central Florida?
The Miami Herald was awarded the Florida Press Club's Frances DeVore Award for Public Service for “Covid Cruises,” its coverage of how the deadly pandemic spread at sea, infecting thousands.
The Sun Sentinel’s “Teenage Time Bombs: A Generation in Danger” won the club’s Lucy Morgan Award for In-Depth Reporting. That series detailed how a growing number of emotionally disturbed students sit in the state’s classroom and many of them have access to guns.
"For nearly 70 years, the Florida Press Club, originally called the Florida Women’s Press Club, has been honoring the best in Florida journalism," Geggis wrote in an email to the winners. "Honorees have expanded into digital-only publications, but what draws the judges’ eyes has remained consistent decade after decade: Engaging storytelling."
"For nearly 70 years, the Florida Press Club, originally called the Florida Women’s Press Club, has been honoring the best in Florida journalism," Geggis wrote in an email to the winners. "Honorees have expanded into digital-only publications, but what draws the judges’ eyes has remained consistent decade after decade: Engaging storytelling."
About the Byline Writer:
Sera King is associate publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet serving greater Daytona Beach, Sanford, and Orlando, FL via HeadlineSurfer.com since 2008. She also is a byline writer, videographer & cartoonist for the media outlet. King received her bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Ana G. Mendez University in Orlando.
Headline Surfer LLC is published by Henry Frederick, Central Florida's award-winning journalist.
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