Hawaii News Now receives six SPJ Excellence in Journalism Awards

News admin July 31, 2026 0 Comments

Hawaii News Now receives six SPJ Excellence in Journalism Awards

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hawaii News Now received six Society of Professional Journalists Excellence in Journalism Awards at a ceremony Wednesday night.

Every year, the organization’s Hawaii chapter hosts a dinner honoring the work of talented journalists across the state.

Awards were given in nine categories, including Internet, Magazine, Newspaper, A-Mark prize for Investigative reporting, News Media, Newsletters/Podcasts, Radio, Student, and Television. Each subcategory consisted of first-, second-, and third-place winners.

Entries were judged by members of SPJ chapters in San Diego and East Tennessee.

Hawaii News Now took home six awards, two of which fell under the A-Mark Prize for Investigative Reporting category.

Winners in this category receive cash awards totaling up to $15,000 per state. The Hawaii News Now team won more than $10,000 in prize money.

This year’s banquet also highlighted the 2026 SPJ summer interns: Malia Manuel of Honolulu Civil Beat, Kiani Vidaurri of Hawaii Business Magazine, Kayla Luke Colon of Honolulu Magazine, and Terina Garcia of Hawaii News Now.

The six awards earned by Hawaii News Now are listed below:

A-Mark Prize for Investigative Reporting

1st Place: “Hawaii’s Kidney Donation Gap”

Allyson Blair, Darin Akita, Monet Sadural

3rd Place: “Internal memo warned that officers were arresting sober drivers for DUI, but practice continued”

Lynn Kawano, Peter Tang, Monet Sadural

General News/Enterprise Reporting

1st Place: “Purple Heart veteran forced to self-deport from Hawaii”

Annalisa Burgos, Darin Akita, Ryan Smith, Sydney Brammer

Health Reporting:

1st Place: “Hawaii’s Kidney Donation Gap”

Allyson Blair, Darin Akita, Monet Sadural