PMP Newsroom wins two Golden Quill Awards

The Pittsburgh Media Partnership Newsroom won two Golden Quill Awards this week, earning recognition for public-service reporting produced by its early-career journalists.

The newsroom, an initiative of the Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University, hires and supports early-career journalists while producing accountability and enterprise reporting to share with outlets across Southwestern Pennsylvania.  

It produces stories not reported elsewhere and then distributes them via the Pittsburgh Media Partnership, a collaborative of more than 40 local news outlets. The winners:  

+ Excellence in Written Journalism, PublicAffairs/Politics/Government – Division 3 for “State funds flowing to early childhood education centers, continue to face impact of budget impasse,” by Erin Yudt.

+ Excellence in Written Journalism, Science/Environment – Division 3 for “Swaths of Allegheny National Forest might be on the chopping block — here’s what it means,” by Abigail Hakas.  

Hakas expanded upon that earlier reporting through a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, a nonprofit journalism organization that provides financial support for in-depth reporting on critical, underreported issues. Hakas is now managing editor for The Latrobe Bulletin.

The newsroom also earned finalist recognition. “Data center boom,” through several stories reported by Yudt, Hannah Frances Johansson and Hakas, was a finalist in the public affairs, politics, and government category. Hakas also was a finalist in science/environment for “‘Livers of the rivers’ are making a comeback in Southwestern Pennsylvania’s waters,” and Yudt, Michelangelo Pellis, and Hakas were finalists in medical/health for “Another epidemic: health officials warn of stronger substance sweeping drug market.”  

The newsroom gives early-career and aspiring journalists the opportunity to produce meaningful accountability and enterprise reporting while helping local news outlets strengthen coverage of regional issues

Since the newsroom launched in October of 2024, its stories have been republished nearly 400 times by outlets across Pennsylvania, as well as Texas, Georgia, and Ohio.

The Golden Quill Awards, presented by the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania, honors professional and student excellence in journalism across the region and nearby counties in Ohio and West Virginia.  

A complete list of winners is available at westernpapressclub.org.

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The PMP Newsroom is a regional news service that focuses on government and enterprise reporting in southwestern Pennsylvania. Find out more information on foundation and corporate funders here.

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Header image: The PMP Newsroom won an award for its reporting on the implications of increased timbering in Allegheny National Forest.