Palm Seashore Publish schooling reporter Katherine Kokal has gained one of many Press Membership of Florida’s prime awards, the Lucy Morgan Award for In-depth Reporting, for her work that broke a nationwide story and introduced change about questions on sports activities registration varieties concerning the menstrual historical past of feminine athletes. .
She additionally positioned third within the 2023 Florida Press Membership Excellence in Journalism competitors among the many winners of the opposite “particular award” – the Frances DeVore Award for Public Service for a similar reporting, analyzing long-standing questions concerning the kind in a post-Roe v. Wade lawsuit. Kokal’s tales have brought on reactions and alter on the native, state and nationwide ranges.
The Florida Excessive College Athletic Affiliation, after discussing the questions, finally voted to remove them in a particular assembly in February 2023 after Gov. Ron DeSantis’ chief of workers spoke with FHSAA govt director Craig Damon, final weekend. The Palm Seashore County College Board additionally eliminated them from its sports activities uniform.
Publish investigation:Florida asks scholar athletes about their durations. Why some discover it “stunning” after Roe
Concurrently the FHSAA vote, Democratic U.S. Reps. Adam Schiff of California and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of West Palm Seashore launched laws that might have jeopardized federal schooling cash for public colleges that mandated the questions on their varieties. Kokal discovered that 34 states, together with Florida, requested highschool athletes about their durations and required them to show within the solutions to their colleges.
“This reporter has introduced new views to a longstanding invasion of privateness, exhibiting a fearless willingness to query and confront what some could really feel uncomfortable asking. We’d like extra of this,” mentioned an unnamed decide.
Kokal additionally gained second place in instructional writing within the largest circulation class.
Extra:Congress will deal with banning questions on college students’ menstrual historical past with the Mother and father’ Invoice of Rights
Palm Seashore Every day Information actual property editor receives prime honors
The Publish’s longtime Palm Seashore Every day Information actual property editor Darrell Hofheinz gained a first-place award for enterprise writing amongst his three honors.
Hofheinz’s enterprise writing award acknowledged Palm Seashore-focused tales he wrote concerning the unstable actual property scene within the late spring and early summer season of 2022; development delays on the Palm Home Lodge renovation challenge; and the Architectural Fee’s vote to kill a controversial design for an oceanfront mansion, a call that delighted disgruntled neighbors. His profitable entry was rated within the medium circulation class.
Palm Seashore Every day Information editorial cartoonist David Willson took third place for his work, which was honored amongst entries in all broadcast classes.
Hofheinz’s different awards included a second-place award for presidency information writing within the medium circulation class and a third-place award for normal information writing in a phase that mixed entries within the medium and largest circulation classes .
The awards acknowledged works produced between June 1, 2022 and Might 31, 2023.
The press membership, which is celebrating its 73rd 12 months, offered the awards at a dinner ceremony on Jan. 27 in Clearwater Seashore.