Bristol Herald Courier wins Scripps Howard Award for Community Journalism with 'Addicted at Birth' package

The Bristol Herald Courier has won a Scripps Howard Award in the Community Journalism category for its "Addicted at Birth" package about how the opioid epidemic hurts babies. Judges commented: "The newspaper, with a circulation of 16,500, investigated the problem from all angles, outlined solutions and educated the community. The impact is wide-ranging for taxpayers, hospitals, families and schools. The Bristol Herald Courier not only reported what’s happening but foreshadowed what the community could face in the future."

The 65th annual awards were announced yesterday. The Scripps Howard Foundation, which is the philanthropic arm of E.W. Scripps Co., will present more than $170,000 to the winners in a live ceremony in Cincinnati on April 19. The event will be live streamed on Facebook and YouTube.

Tulsa-based online-only news outlet The Frontier was a runner up in the Community Journalism category for "Shadow Land: How Rape Stays Hidden in Oklahoma".

Also of rural interest, GateHouse Media was the runner up in the Multimedia Journalism category for "In the Shadow of Wind Farms". And the Malheur Enterprise in Vale, Oregon, was a runner up in the Distinguished Service to the First Amendment category for "Deadly Decisions – The Fight for Records".