Jim Mulder, The Post-Standard and Syracuse.com Win Major New York Journalism Awards

Jim Mulder from www.syracuse.com and The Post-Standard was honored as New York’s 2022 Journalist of the Year in the Journalism Association of New York’s annual statewide competition.

The competition selects a single New York journalist for outstanding work in 2021.

Mulder’s work included surveillance coverage of problems in nursing homes, analysis of upheaval in local hospitals regarding finances and Covid, and public health scourges such as rising suicide deaths.

Here is what the JANY judges said:

Jim Mulder unearths stories that can literally save lives. As a health care reporter for The Post-Standard in Syracuse, he reported on appalling conditions in nursing homes and hospitals. He blasts those responsible for the obstruction and gleans shocking details about conditions at these institutions from government inspection reports, employee statements to investigators, and lawsuits. He brings his stories to readers with details of the tragic neglect and abuse that harmed elderly patients. Mulder’s tenacious reporting underscores the importance of credible local news to a community.

Mulder was a reporter for The Post-Standard and syracuse.com for 44 years.

“Jim’s work is so important to some of the most vulnerable members of our community,” said Trish LaMonte, vice president of content for syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. “His reporting skills and passion are unmatched, and recognition as the best in the state is well-deserved.”

The JANY, a new iteration of the former New York State Associated Press Association, has presented this award five times in its history, and syracuse.com and Post-Standard reporters have won four.

The group also re-nominated The Post-Standard as a Newspaper of Distinction and recognized Syracuse.com for best digital presence among news outlets in their market size.

The newsroom and its staff won 25 awards in total.

“These awards are a tribute to the important work our reporters do every day for the Central New York community,” said LaMonte. “Our whole team should be proud of this kind of recognition.”

Dennis Nett received the Bruce Cromie Award for Best Cinematography of the Year among nominations from newsrooms of all sizes across the state. The winner is a photo of Syracuse’s Frank Anselem getting punched in the face on his way to the basket against Florida State.

Here are the other winners from syracuse.com and The Post-Standard:

ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT REPORT

First place: Chris Baker,”A Police Escort, 2 Private Jets, and a Last-Minute Miracle: Inside the Mad Dash to Bring the Foo Fighters to Syracuse about the Foo Fighters show at the Lakeview Amp that almost didn’t happen.

BUSINESS WRITING

First place: Rick Moriarty, “What is Destiny of Syracuse Mega Mall? » – a two-part analysis of Destiny USA’s financial problems and likely solution.

COLUMN

Second place: David Haas, “Beyond the Front Door” for a series of word and photo reviews of fascinating buildings in Syracuse and their stories.

DIGITAL PRESENCE

First place: Syracuse.com

DIGITAL TALES

First place: Douglass Dowty, N. Scott Trimble and Lauren Long, “Police Lies, A Batched Investigation and a Homicide Confession: ‘I’m Going to Jail for Something I Didn’t Do'” for their story about Syracuse police missteps that led a man to confess to a murder he did not commit.

EDITORIAL WRITING

First place: Marie Morel for a collection of editorials.

CORPORATE REPORTS

Second place: James T. Mulder and Michelle Breidenbachfor their investigations into the poor conditions and safety issues at the Van Duyn Nursing Home.

Judges’ Comments: Good comprehensive reporting on a disturbing story. The stories of residents – and those of their loved ones – give real texture to the raw facts.

MAIN PICTURE

Second place: Scott Schild, ‘Vaccine Mandate’ for a photo of a child holding a sign during a protest against Covid vaccine mandates.

REPORTAGE

Second place: Teri Weaver, for his story about the incredible coalition of people who worked to turn the State Fairgrounds into a Covid vaccine clinic.

TITLE WRITING

First place: Michelle Breidenbach and Tim Knauss, “Stimulus Makes Some CNY Restaurants Fat While Others Go Hungry”

INVESTIGATION + CUSTODY REPORTS

First place: Douglas Dowty“Police lies, a botched investigation and a homicide admission” – his investigation into the conduct of the Syracuse police that led an innocent man to confess to murder.

Judges’ Comments: The final product shows the reader just how flawed the system can be – and how easy it is for someone to go to jail for something they didn’t do, when the police are eager to find the “bad guy”. ”

Second place: Tim Knauss, “The real death toll from Covid in nursing homes; the Staggering Heartache in New York. History has revealed the true Covid death toll among nursing home residents – a number of New York officials have tried to hide. The story also captured the human loss in Syracuse families.

Judges’ Comments: We’ve all heard of the number of COVID-related deaths that occurred in New York City nursing homes early in the pandemic, but apparently we really had no idea how serious the situation was. The reporter has done an outstanding job reporting the facts, but also putting a face to some of the COVID deaths that have occurred in the nursing home setting. Not only did it help us understand what the families went through, but it also exposed the seriously underappreciated demographics.

PHOTO STORY OR ONLINE GALLERY

Second place: Dennis Nett, for a photo essay on a Corcoran Middle School team learning baseball against the odds.

PODCAST:

First place: Matt Parrino and Ryan Talbot, for “Shout”, their Buffalo Bills podcast.

PUBLIC SERVICE

Second place: Marnie Eisenstadt, for her multi-part investigation into the inability of local law enforcement officials to protect tenants from illegal evictions.

DISTINCTIVE DIARY

First place: The Post-Standard (of Syracuse)

Judges’ Comments: Outstanding local reporting, visual layout/presentation, photos and publicity, from retail to institutional during this pandemic year!

SPORTS CHRONICLE

First place: Brent Ax for a series of columns demanding accountability from Syracuse University sports officials.

SPORTS PICTURES

First place: Dennis Nett, “Eye on the Prize” for Syracuse’s Frank Anselem basketball photo.

Second place: Scott Schild, “Looking Forward”

SPORTS HISTORY

First place: Nate Mink, “Every day is a gift” for his feature film about former Syracuse football player Jim DaRin disabled by a factory job explosion in 1977.

Judges’ Comments: Nate Mink’s touching story about former Syracuse football player Jim DaRin is very well done. A moving report about a guy who lost his sporting career in an industrial accident, but now clings to life as we all should. Nate did a great job of getting the details right and getting out of the way to let the story tell the story in a really strong way. Nice job also getting the old photos to help complete the writing.

Second place: Chris Carlson, “College rookies try their hand at baseball and learn more”

SPOT NEWS COVERAGE

First place: Douglass Dowty, Patrick Lohmann and Chris Libonati, for a series of breaking stories about a murder at the Skyline apartments.

NEWS PICTURE

Second place: Katrina Tulloch, ‘conviction overturned’ for when Anthony Broadwater learned his rape conviction had been overturned.

VIDEO

First place: Katrina Tulloch, “How Anthony Broadwater Spent 40 Years Wrongly Convicted of Raping Alice Sebold”