ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Michigan Public has been recognized with nine SPJ Excellence in Journalism Awards from the Detroit Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Michigan Public reporters were recognized with seven First Place awards, one Second Place award and one Fourth Place award.

The Excellence in Journalism awards were judged by a jury of veteran journalists from an outstate chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Nearly 300 awardees were announced Wednesday night by SPJ Detroit at its Excellence in Journalism banquet at the San Marino Club in Troy, Michigan.

First Place Awards:
• Community/Local News Reporting: Ronia Cabansag – Stateside Podcast: A bittersweet Ramadan for Sudanese Michiganders
• Environmental Reporting: Lester Graham - Lester Graham: body of work
• Feature Reporting: Doug Tribou, Caoilinn Goss, Tyler Scott – Mornings in Michigan
• General News Reporting: Sarah Cwiek – The painful legacy of Detroit’s rape kit backlog
• Health Reporting: Kate Wells – Kate Wells: body of work
• News/Public Affairs program: Stateside with April Baer
• News Special and Documentary: Lester Graham, Rebecca Williams – The Bird Connection: Change and decline in our world

Second Place Award:
• Social Media Strategy: Paulette Parker, Ronia Cabansag, Adam Yahya Rayes – Hosted short-form videos

Fourth Place Award:
• Digital Media Presentation: Mia Goldstein, Jodi Westrick, Michigan Public Newsroom – Voter Voices

Michigan Public’s Adam Yahya Rayes was also recognized as a Young Journalist of the Year finalist.