The cat's out of the bag now: Kentucky is home to one of journalism's rising stars

Grant Gerstner after being presented first place in print reporting 
at the CFINR annual awards ceremony. (Photo via the Era)

Grant Gerstner, the editor of The Oldham Era and the Henry County Local for Paxton Media, won "one of the nation’s most prestigious journalism awards during a May 19 ceremony in Washington, D.C., when he received first place in the print reporting category during the Center for Integrity in News Reporting’s annual awards ceremony," reports the Oldham staff.

Gerstner's award-winning series followed the path of a controversial data center build planned in Oldham County. He succeeded in out-writing competition from "major publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post and others," they add. He is the first Kentucky-based reporter to win the award, which comes with a $25,000 prize.

The CFINR judges praised Gerstner's reporting as remarkably fair and thorough. The Era reports, "The judges singled out the work for what is often hardest in small-market reporting: covering a contested local issue from start to finish without taking a side, and trusting the reader to understand the trade-offs."

Era and Local Publisher Jane Ashley Pace praised Gerstner's work as an example of the important part media can play in a community, saying, "Grant's coverage became a trusted source of information and proves why local newspapers like the Era are so important."

Gerstner graduated from South Oldham High School in 2019,  the Era reports. "He later joined the Era and Local in 2024 after graduating from the University of Louisville."

Gerstner told reporters, "Winning this award is the honor of a lifetime, and it is made all the sweeter by the fact that my reporting followed one of the largest issues in the history of my hometown."