Stet NewsOur operation won first place for best community news coverage and best newsletter
Stet News staff members won first prize for community news coverage and best newsletter in the 75th Florida Press Club awards, announced Saturday in Ocala.
Why it’s important: This statewide recognition for excellence in journalism – and feedback from our readers – tells us our work for you matters.
Stet co-founder Joel Engelhardt took first and second place for community news coverage.
- Joel won first place for his West Palm Beach stories last year, including the failed plan for a marina on the West Palm Beach waterfront and Vanderbilt’s interest in opening a campus here.
- He won second place for his coverage of Riviera Beach, including the city’s $665 million redevelopment plan and the proposal to rezone a yacht repair yard.
- Joel competed in the contest’s largest circulation category.
Stet staff’s first-prize-winning newsletters included exclusive coverage of the Margaritaville hotel planned in Riviera Beach, the Vanderbilt story and a developer’s intention to build twin 25-foot condo towers on Broadway in Riviera Beach.
- The prize covered entries from all news outlets.
Stet News also took second place in all size categories for best independent news site.
The contest’s top award, the Frances DeVore Award for Public Service, went to The Villages Daily Sun for telling the stories of the 172 people who died from Hurricane Ian, documenting 15% more deaths than the government found and that 90% were senior citizens, disabled, homeless or migrant workers. (See the stories.)
Keynote speaker Vivienne Serret, a University of Florida journalism student, told of her work exposing the extraordinary spending of former UF President Ben Sasse.
Many Stet contributors and friends were honored.
- Joe Capozzi, a Stet stalwart, won four first-place awards.
- Stet contributors Jane Musgrave, John Pacenti, Sharon Geltner and Janis Fontaine all took home awards for their work for other South Florida publications.
- Independent nonprofit news sites The Florida Trident and Florida Bulldog also won.
See the full list of awards here.
Congratulations to all of the winners and thank you to the readers who support our work.
