WASHINGTON – Dan Freedman of Hearst Newspapers and Sam Brodey of MinnPost are co-winners of the 2018 David Lynch Memorial Regional Reporting Award.
They won the prize for stories on sexual harassment in the congressional delegations they cover. The judges said Freedman and Brodey “exemplified the ideal traits of regional congressional reporting,” serving as an accountability watchdog of their delegations and finding deep local implications in one of the defining stories of our time. The panel also cited Nick Grube of the Honolulu Civil Beat for honorable mention.
The Lynch Award honors daily print journalism that explains how actions in Congress touch the local community. Judges look for thorough and incisive coverage, clear writing, and the reporter’s ability to explain complex subjects to a hometown audience.
Freedman and Brodey (who recently moved to The Daily Beast) will share a $2,000 prize. They will be honored tonight at the 75th annual dinner of the Washington Press Club Foundation. The foundation co-sponsors the annual award with the Standing Committee of Correspondents, the governing body of the Congressional press corps.
The late David Lynch was a longtime member of the Congressional Press Galleries. He covered Congress for the Buffalo News and for bureaus that served dailies from New England to Alaska. After Lynch’s death in 1998 from colon cancer, his family, friends and colleagues raised money to establish the award in his name.
The judges were: Tom Ferraro, formerly of Thomson-Reuters; Seung Min Kim of The Washington Post; Paul Singer of the New England Center for Investigative Reporting; David Lightman of McClatchy Newspapers and Carl Weiser of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Links to Freedman: https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Esty-under-scrutiny-over-handling-of-alleged-abuse-12791993.php
https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Esty-staffers-dismayed-by-her-response-to-abuse-12802787.php
https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Source-says-Esty-downplayed-investigation-of-12805660.php
https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/DC-Buzz-Esty-interview-Part-II-12826476.php
Information: John Mulligan, Senate Press Gallery (202) 224-0241