Pittsburgh City Paper wins 2022 Pittsburgh Black Media Federation awards

Black people leaving Pittsburgh for greener pastures has been a concerning issue for many community members, elevated in recent years by a 2019 Gender and Equity report that revealed that the city is one of the worst in the country for health and economic outcomes of Black women.

In July 2021, Pittsburgh City Paper writer Dani Janae explored the topic with her feature story, "Why are so many Black women talking about leaving Pittsburgh?," in which she reported from a special city council meeting regarding the departure of Black Pittsburghers, and spoke to three Black women who have left or were planning to leave the city.

Today, the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation has announced that her story has been named the first-place News Feature winner in this year's 2022 Robert L. Vann Media Awards, a competition celebrating "the coverage of African American and African diaspora communities, individuals, and issues." City Paper was included among outlets under the "Excellence in Written Journalism: Non-daily Newspapers/News Services" category.

Taking second place for News Feature is former City Paper writer Kim Rooney's report on "How newsrooms, police departments, and social media fail missing people of color."
Jared Wickerham, City Paper staff photographer, won first place in Spot News Photography for his photograph of activist Dannielle Brown.

And, City Paper columnist Tereneh Idia was announced as the first-place winner for Columns/Blogs for the third year in a row for her columns: "Didn't we almost have it all? Contemplating Black arts in Pittsburgh," "The global (and local) politics of Black beauty," and "The soul of a country."

Founded in 1973, PBMF is a nonprofit organization consisting of Black professional journalists, public relations specialists, and journalism professors and college students. The journalism awards competition was launched by PBMF in 1988 to honor Robert L. Vann, the Pittsburgh Courier publisher committed to journalism and creating a voice for the Black community.

While City Paper always appreciates being honored for our writing and artistic talents, hearing that our stories resonated with our readers, and from the people we write about, is more important than any award we've ever received. We are grateful for your continued support.