WFYI wins journalist of the year, best podcast and other awards from Indiana SPJ

WFYI and IPB News staffers earned 14 awards Friday night from the Indiana Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists for their multiplatform work in 2023 including coverage of failures in the healthcare system, local arts, the environment, and parents’ struggles to access quality education for their children.

WFYI investigative education reporter Lee V. Gaines was named SPJ’s Indiana Journalist of the Year. Gaines’ reporting on failures by the state to hold schools accountable when they violate rules for restraining and forcibly isolating students brought outcry from public officials. State audits that followed the publication of the series Uncounted backed up the reporting. 

A law passed this year was written in response to Gaines’ work that found some schools weren’t accurately reporting how often they restrain and seclude students.

Gaines’ coverage also spanned other issues, including how schools struggle to educate students about the dangers of fentanyl for a series with NPR, and the fight over children’s access to books in Indiana libraries.

WFYI's Cultural Manifesto won best podcast. Producer and host Kyle Long reveals histories of music, the experiences of artists and often connects each to social movements in the weekly show. Last year, Long produced episodes about the history of Indianapolis hip-hop, uncovered a never-before-heard 1964 recording of jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery performing at the city's Circle Theater, and continued a series on the relationship between music and activism.

Reporters, editors and producers for WFYI, its regional public health reporting collaborative Side Effects Public Media, and IPB News — a collaboration of the state’s nine public media newsrooms and a shared statewide team based at WFYI — were recognized by out-of-state judges, selected by SPJ.

Other awards

Coverage of children’s issues, first place, Lee V. Gaines and Dylan Peers McCoy for “Parents fight for their children's education”

Radio feature story, first place, Lee V. Gaines and Dylan Peers McCoy for the series “Families fight for special education services in Porter County.”

Radio in-depth reporting, first place, Lee V. Gaines for “Indiana isn’t holding schools accountable for forcibly isolating and restraining students.”

Radio in-depth reporting, second place, Darian Benson and Brittani Howell for “Voices of Recovery and Hope.”

Radio in-depth reporting, third place, Lauren Chapman for “What fueled Indiana’s slate of anti-LGBTQ+ bills in 2023?”

Best podcast, third place, Kendall Antron, Darian Benson, Abriana Herron and Drew Daudelin for WFYI News Now.

Environmental reporting for television, second place, Rebecca Thiele and Alan Mbathi for “Lack of data, info leaves Indiana doctors unprepared for more tick diseases.”

Investigative reporting, second place, Lee V. Gaines for the series “Indiana isn’t holding schools accountable for forcibly isolating and restraining students.”

Investigative reporting, third place, Farah Yousry and Brittani Howell for “Lost in the Medicaid rolls as the unwinding continues.”

Medical or science reporting, third place, Elizabeth Gabriel for “Indiana loses $4.2 billion due to untreated mental illness. How did we get here?”

Best use of social media, second place, Farah Yousry and Kendall Antron for “Devastating consequences of Medicaid unwinding for people with disabilities: Side Effects Deep Reads.”

Radio continuing coverage, third place, Adam Yahya Rayes and Tony Sandleben for United Auto Workers strike at General Motors.