The Johnson County Post’s coverage of Prairie Village’s fractious debate over housing and zoning was among the works cited for awards this year by the Kansas Press Association.
KPA this week unveiled winners for its annual Awards of Excellence. The Post, overall, earned four citations in three different categories, including awards for:
- Juliana Garcia, First Place in the “Government/Political Story” category;
- Mike Frizzell, First Place in the “Spot News Photography” category;
- Juliana Garcia, Third Place in the “Education Story” category;
- and Mike Frizzell, Third Place in the “Spot News Photography” category.
“We’re thrilled to have our reporters’ hard work and diligence recognized by the KPA,” said Jay Senter, Post publisher. “We’ve invested heavily in building out a newsroom that can provide consistent, reliable and revelatory coverage of Johnson County communities. These awards are a testament to how far we’ve come in working toward that goal — but we’re not done yet!”
Juliana Garcia wins two awards for local news coverage
Juliana Garcia, who has been a staff reporter for the Post since 2020, earned a first-place citation in the “Government/Political Story” category for her story detailing the long and complex history of Prairie Village’s housing debate.
Read “Prairie Village’s housing recommendations have split the city — How did we get here?”
In awarding Juliana first place, the KPA judges wrote: “Efforts to address a housing crisis in an affluent Kansas City suburb has erupted in chaos. Considering how divisive this topic has become for locals, paired with misinformation, the reporter smartly takes readers through this tale from early efforts to address housing, the history of Prairie Village to present day challenges. By presenting the facts clearly and thoroughly, readers looking for clarity may walk away from this article better informed.”
Juliana also earned a third-place citation in the “Education Story” category for her on-the-spot coverage of a student walkout last spring at Shawnee Mission North High School.
Students were protesting a teacher’s comments made in an op-ed that were critical of the district’s approach to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Read “Shawnee Mission North students walk out in protest over teacher’s anti-‘woke’ op-ed”
Of that story, the judges wrote: “Unusual breaking news story of a student walkout over a controversial teacher blog, followed by a counter protest. The reporter handled both sides well, given the readership is likely split on this.”
Mike Frizzell wins two awards for breaking news photos
Mike Frizzell, who has regularly contributed freelance reports on crime, traffic and other emergency incidents for the Post for several years now, also earned two KPA citations, both in the “Spot News Photography” category.
He earned First Place for his pictures taken at the scene of a large Lenexa apartment fire last October that displaced residents of at least 20 units.
“Great quality photo with great coloring in tough conditions,” the judges wrote in giving Mike the award.
Mike also earned a third-place citation in the same category for his pictures covering a Shawnee warehouse fire last summer.
“Good job of being on the spot and coming up with a good-quality action photo,” the judges said.
The Post competes in KPA’s largest division
With nearly 7,500 paying subscribers, the Post competes in KPA’s largest division, reserved for publications with a circulation of at least 5,601.
Other publications in this division include the largest daily newspapers covering the state of Kansas, including The Kansas City Star, Wichita Eagle, Topeka Capital-Journal and Lawrence Journal World, as well as newer online-only publications, like the Wichita Beacon and Kansas Reflector.
KPA’s Awards of Excellence in all categories and divisions will be given out during the organization’s annual conference in Lawrence on June 6-7.
