The awards, published on April 28 by the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, are presented each year to Pennsylvania journalists whose work "displays relevance, integrity and initiative in serving readers, and furthers First Amendment values."
Editorial Designer Lucy Chen won first place in the News Page Design Category for her print layout on Kimberly Rooney's story on Critical Race Theory.

Columnist Tereneh Idia won second place in Columns for three of her 2021 pieces: 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.

Former managing editor Ryan Deto also won second place for his News Beat Reporting on the Pittsburgh police, which included his report on a protester injured by a police projectile.

9. Pittsburgh Fatties Social Club sets out to create a more fat-friendly city

8. A famous Pittsburgh haunting to get big screen adaptation from New Line Cinema

7. GetGo apologizes, explains reason behind recent Moon Township closure

6. The essential day tripping towns from Pittsburgh

5. How the pandemic has shifted Pittsburgh’s housing market

4. How a new Pittsburgh-based HGTV home renovation show almost made me buy a painting of a duck

3. Parking chairs to city steps: The best memes of Bernie sitting in his chair in Pittsburgh

2. Criminal-justice advocacy coalition backs “slate of eight” for Common Pleas judge races in Allegheny County

1. Tiny dicks descend on Pittsburgh

Excellence in Written Journalism, Enterprise/Investigative“
"America the Unprotected,” Cody McDevitt

Pittsburgh City Paper was also a finalist in the following categories:

Till the World Ends

by Dani Janae, staff writer

One of the last things I did before COVID hit was perform some of my poems for Locals Only at Thunderbird. The show was organized by local drag and video artist Gia Fagnelli. Locals Only is a show that is curated to feature primarily Pittsburgh artists and creatives. Normally, I would perform a couple times a month, then take a couple months off to regroup, and I had a few more appearances lined up that got canceled or moved online. That night, I got the pleasure of meeting and seeing the artist Moody Ting perform on sax. When she opened playing Britney Spears, I knew I was in for a great night.

Here Comes the Groom

by Zack Durkin, advertising representative

Right before closures started to affect the world, my fiancé and I had just put down the final deposit on our wedding for May. Luckily, we were already planning a small intimate event. But when it was clear that restrictions were going to go far beyond the two-week period we had all originally anticipated, we knew we had to reschedule. We also knew we did not want to wait much longer, and since our venue was outside, we found a date that fell right in September. Our small group of guests came fashioned in masks, showered us in socially-distanced love, and gave us a hell of a party to remember before we shut ourselves back up for the rest of the pandemic.

Staying Paws-itive

by Amanda Waltz, senior staff writer

After we adopted our dog Villanelle in January 2020, my husband was so excited to take her out to a brewery. On the first warm day in mid-March, we took her to Grist House in Millvale. The place was packed. She was very nervous and shaky, but we wanted to socialize her with other dogs and people. One angelic dog whisperer pet her while she talked about her own rescue's struggles with anxiety. Not long after this, the shutdown happened, so Villanelle's socialization was put on hold. Instead, she has spent the last year bonding with us, aka sleeping on the couch for hours and begging for bites of food (she especially likes apples and carrots). Getting to know her and seeing her true personality come out has made this pandemic more bearable.

Don't Go, Bucs

by Owen Gabbey, advertising representative

Leading up to COVID, my main stresser was telling Pirates season ticket holders that there was nothing to worry about and that baseball games wouldn’t be getting canceled. That aged poorly.

Other than that, about a week before the pandemic hit, I went to a Cleveland Cavaliers game with a bunch of friends. We somewhat strangely took a bus trip there with a bunch of college students (my friend had an in with a professor who was leading a group trip there; I don’t know, still kind of confused on the details there). So my experience was public transportation, overcrowded restrooms, and arguing with a stadium employee who claimed I didn’t pay for my chicken tenders. How much I’d give right now to be arguing with a stadium employee that claimed I didn’t pay for my chicken tenders.

Up Hill Battles

by Kimberly Rooney, staff writer

The last weeks before quarantine were weeks of dissonance. I was starting a new job — my first full-time job after graduating — in a field relating to my undergraduate degrees, but I was letting go of the hundreds of hours I’d put into improving my milk aerating and latte art skills as a barista. I was meeting new coworkers and reconnecting with college friends, but I was trying to keep space for the friends I’d met through the coffee shop.

I was refuting every person I met who spread COVID-related conspiracy theories about China or repeated racist stereotypes, and I was walking without my headphones on as anti-Chinese attacks began. I was relearning how to ride a bike and even made it to the top of the Shady Avenue hill without shifting to a lower gear. I was checking my hometown on Johns Hopkins’ COVID-19 map every day because there was no other way I could check on my birth parents’ health. I was cherishing a last night out at the Cage with a friend because my life was changing, and I knew it would take a while to adjust.

Spring Brake

by Kaycee Orwig, photo intern

For me, the world started shutting down a year ago this week, when Pitt announced our move to online learning and the Pittsburgh Marathon announced its cancellation. It felt bizarre, as a less than a week prior I was in the Peterson Events Center photographing sweaty college wrestlers tussle on wrestling mats. Not a mask was in sight, but sure enough a week later, my spring break would turn into a half semester of virtual learning, and all of my college friends would move back to their respective homes. We didn’t know what we were doing, and our professors sure as hell didn’t, either. As an extrovert in a pandemic, the first month or two were rough, but I was lucky. I had a place to go home to, and a big family to support me. This past year, as crazy as it was, has been alright to me and has taught me a lot.  

Empty Court

by Jared Wickerham, staff photographer

At the end of February, beginning of March, I was photographing a couple of tennis tournaments that I’ve worked for over the last six years. The Oracle Challenger Series was wrapping up on a Sunday as the word about COVID-19 circulated, and the BNP Paribas Open was set to start the next day. Ball kids were given gloves to wear, and hundreds of hand sanitizer stations were ordered for the larger tournament when the first case was discovered in Orange County. The OCS tournament finished around 3 p.m. on Sun., March 8. A few hours later, it was confirmed that the BNP Paribas Open would be canceled due to COVID-19, not yet declared a pandemic. That tennis tournament ended up being the first major North American sporting event to cancel amidst growing coronavirus cases.

Intermission

by Lisa Cunningham, editor in chief

I had an unusually busy week a year ago, which in retrospect, feels like somehow I knew something was coming which pushed my normally shy and workaholic self out of the house and office to do so many things at once. And looking back at my Facebook memories, I'm grateful now to have those photos to remind me. On March 8, I went out to eat at Shaka in Federal Galley and then saw Prime Stage Theatre's play The Outsiders at the New Hazlett Theater with Barratou, my oldest and dearest Pittsburgh friend. (This is also the last time I've seen a friend outside of work since the pandemic began because I'm still going into the office at least several times a week and taking every precaution I can to stay safe. An entire year since I've last hung out with a friend!)

On the following day, I was thrilled to get to see the inspirational "Me Too" activist Tarana Burke in person at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, a talk moderated by Pittsburgh's own brilliant Deesha Philyaw. But it was on March 10 while watching the musical The Band's Visit at The Benedum Center that I knew things were about to change. Even though the play was a delight, I can still remember being painfully aware of every single audience members' cough that occurred in the crowded theater during the show. Two days after I published my review on our site, PNC Broadway was forced to cancel the rest of the performances because of the pandemic, and the Benedum Center sadly hasn't been able to reopen since. Fingers crossed, I'll get back there soon.