The Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting has been named the recipient of regional awards from the Society of Professional Journalists.
The annual Green Eyeshade awards honor the best online, radio, print and television journalism in the Southeastern United States.
KyCIR won first place for best online investigative reporting for R.G. Dunlop's stories on U.S. Congressman Ed Whitfield and his questionable ties to high-powered lobbyists. The Palm Beach Post newspaper earned second place awards in that category.
A WFPL News/KyCIR joint investigation into a troubled tiger exhibit in Southern Indiana earned second place honors in the radio investigative reporting category. That project was produced by former reporters Erin Keane and Kristina Goetz.
Our partners at WFPL also received citations in the Green Eyeshade contest.
WFPL's "At Risk" series by Devin Katayama won second place for best documentaries on radio. Meanwhile, WFPL's political reporter Ashley Lopez received a second place award for public service in radio journalism, honoring her work last year with WGCU News and the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting.
The awards celebrate the best journalism in the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia.
There were no other Green Eyeshade winners in Kentucky.
These are just the latest honors for KyCIR. Last month, Jim McNair received accolades from the Associated Press for his investigation into a politically-connected mobile home company and its history of environmental and housing issues. McNair received the "Best Long Form Enterprise Radio Reporting" award from the Kentucky AP.
The "Troubled Tiger Exhibit" series received top awards in the Indiana AP contest. And earlier this year, KyCIR won a Sidney Award for its series on the state's system of jailers without jails. That award goes to the best "journalism in the service of the common good."