A WUSF News multimedia series exploring America’s growing housing problem in Hillsborough County was among the journalism recently named among the best work in public media for 2018.
“Growing Unaffordable: America’s Housing Crunch in Hillsborough County” won second place in the News Series category of the PRNDI Awards, which highlights the best journalism by local public media stations across the country. It’s sponsored by the recently renamed Public Media Journalists Association.
The series, reported by WUSF reporters Cathy Carter and Stephanie Colombini and former reporter Roberto Roldan, also won a second-place Radio Public Service honor in the Society of Professional Journalist’s Green Eyeshade Awards. That competition includes journalists working in 11 Southeastern states.
The trio spent months talking with residents and others affected by the lack of affordable housing in Hillsborough County. They found professionals, families and seniors are all facing a reality where city skylines continue to grow, but places they can afford are getting harder to find.
Carter also was honored with first-place honors in the PRNDI contest, for her sports feature: “A Fighting Chance: Tampa Police Coach Kids In Boxing And In Life.” That story looked at a Tampa Police program where officers teach boxing skills to kids and teens who mostly live in public housing communities.
The Green Eyeshades award also highlighted the work of WUSF’s All Things Considered anchor Lisa Peakes. She won second place in the contest’s radio Newscast category. This is the third consecutive year Peakes has been honored in this category.
