Four Spectrum editors won two Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Region 1 Mark of Excellence awards last weekend. The the results were announced at the annual SPJ Region 1 awards ceremony, held this year in Bristol, Rhode Island.
Managing editor Grant Ashley, senior media editor Moaz Elazzazi, investigative reporter Kyle Nguyen and former senior news and features editor Kayla Estrada won the “Breaking News Reporting” award for their coverage of the shooting in Tops for May 14, 2022 in Buffalo East Side.
Nguyen separately won the “In-Depth Reporting” award for his four-part series on the delayed construction of the Air Buffalo student housing complex.
“I definitely tried to manage my expectations,” Ngyuen said of her two awards. “To see our Tops coverage win the award means a lot to me. Kayla, Grant and Moaz are models of courage and hard work ethic, especially on a night of adversity like that.”
Estrada says she hopes the award will help bring “more awareness and resources” to the East Side community.
The Spectrum competes with schools in Region 1 of the SPJ Brand of Excellence, which includes universities such as Syracuse, Harvard and Columbia.
“We may not have as many resources as the Columbia or Syracuse newspapers, but we have passion and grit,” Elazzazi said. “The Spectrum has a long history of producing great journalism and it’s an honor to be a part of that legacy.”
Matt Parrino, The Spectrum’s assistant writing workshop instructor, said the four editors set an example for their colleagues on how to seek the truth, cover a tragedy and inform their audience through their reporting.
“I am so proud of all of them and the countless ways that all staff members have contributed to strengthening our environment,” Parrino said. “Not only did Grant, Kyle, Kayla and Moaz produce award-winning journalism that results in a few plaques we hang on the wall, they also added to a project that Spectrum editors have been writing about for decades.” .
The editors’ stories now advance to the national level of the SPJ Mark of Excellence Awards, where they will compete against winners from the other 11 regions. National winners will be announced in late spring, according to the SPJ website.
Victoria Hill is the Senior News Editor and can be reached at victoria.hill@ubspectrun.com
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Photo: Paul Hokanson / Athletics UB
