‘Top of the Rockies’ contest covers Colo., N.M., Wyo. and Utah
The 2022 Top of the Rockies journalism contest awards were announced at a reception Saturday, April 9 at the historic Denver Press Club in downtown Denver.
“Seventy-five media outlets plus a dozen freelancers from Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico entered this year’s contest, submitting 1,507 entries, an increase of 15% over the 2021 contest,” according to a PSA from the SPJ pro Chapter. The contest is sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists’ professional chapters in the four states and is administered by the Colorado Pro chapter.
“Top of the Rockies showcases the best in journalism from 2021, and it is evident that journalists in the four-state region are doing excellent work,” said Deb Hurley Brobst, the contest coordinator. “Every year, I am thrilled at the strong news reporting, feature writing, photography and design that is taking place in cities of all sizes in our region.”
The Southern Ute Drum earned a total of nine awards at this year’s recognition ceremony. Graphic Specialist, Robert L. Ortiz took home a total of four awards, including a First-Place award for Feature Page Design, “Rally and Round Dance for MMIR” — Third Place for Single Page Design, “Sharing songs of the Bear dance” and another Third Place in Feature Page Design, “Ignacio graduation makes a comeback.”
Drum staffers, Robert L. Ortiz, Fabian Martinez and Trennie Collins won second place in Sports Photography for their coverage of “Skating for suicide awareness and mental health.”
Former Drum Reporter/Photographer, McKayla Lee earned a Third-Place win in Best Solutions Journalism for her coverage, “I Rise Above’ mural unveiled” and another Third-Place win in Spot News Photography for “Heritage presented at library.”
Southern Ute Drum Editor/Media Manager, Jeremy Wade Shockley won awards in both writing and photography — bringing home a Second-Place win in the Science and Technology News category for “Ignacio acquires first electric vehicle charge station.” Shockley also earned a Third-Place win for his Mental Health Feature titled, “Horse Empower brings families closer, fosters communication” and Third Place in Feature Photography for his photo essay titled “Sister tribes gather for Bear Dance.”
The Southern Ute Drum has been an active member of the Society of Professional Journalist (SPJ) for over ten years, in addition to long standing affiliations with the Colorado Press Association (CPA) and the Native American Journalist Association (NAJA).