JUNE 6 • 2024 | 21
J
N

T

he 2024 Society of Professional
Journalists (SPJ) Detroit’s
Excellence in Journalism Awards
took place on May 15 and, once again, the
Detroit Jewish News brought
home a host of awards.
In the Community/Local
News reporting category, Stacy
Gittleman and Keri Guten
Cohen won the third-place
award for their “Diversity
Day Fallout” story, a follow-
up story gaining insight from
students, parents and officials
after a diversity day panel at
Bloomfield Hills High School
backfired.
In the Cover Design
category, the ever-talented
Michelle Sheridan won the
third-place award for “A Mural
for Idan.” For the Inside Page
Design (Newspapers Only)
category, Sheridan took
home the first- and second-
place awards for “A Heartfelt
Thank You” and “
A High Tide
of Hate?” respectively. In the Magazine
Spread Design category, Sheridan won the
third-place award for “The Mural Magic of
Solomon Souza.”
In the Education Reporting
category, Danny Schwartz won
the third-place award for “To
Be Jewish on Campus,” which
detailed the experiences of
Jewish students and staff on
several college campuses in
Michigan since Oct. 7.
In the General Column
Writing category, Marni Raitt
won the second place award
for “Coming Home — Again,”
“The Chosen Ones” and “The

Great Gefilte Fish Fiasco.”
Mike Smith won the third-
place award for his Looking
Back pieces, “Velvet Peanut
Butter,” “The Jewish Catskills”
and “50 Years Since the U.S.
Left Vietnam.” Alan Muskovitz
took home the fourth-place
award for “Breakin’ Up with
My Landline,” “80 is the New
40” and “Can You Relate?”
In the General News
Reporting category, Keri
Guten Cohen and Don
Cohen won the first-place
award for “March for Israel,”
highlighting 900+ Detroiters
who traveled to the National
Mall in Washington, D.C., to
proclaim their support for
Israel, though not all of them
made it to the rally due to a
bus driver boycott. “Well-written, very
descriptive and the sidebar piece covered
an unexpected twist,” the judges wrote.
Stacy Gittleman took home the second-
place award for “We’re All Spartans Now,”
which detailed the experiences of Jewish
students, parents and staff after the
February 2023 mass shooting at Michigan
State University.
In addtion, in the Headline Writing
category, David Sachs took home the
first-place award for several
headlines including: “A High
Tide of Hate?; “A Hero in
War and Peace; In Tune with
the Law; A Heartfelt ‘Thank
You’; A ‘Mezuzah’ in the
Heart of Detroit.” The judges
wrote, “Great play on words,
effectively summarizing each.”
Mazel tov to our hard-working Detroit
Jewish News family on their SPJ awards!

Jewish News
Wins Big Again

Stacy
Gittleman

Michelle
Sheridan

Marni Raitt

Keri Guten
Cohen

Danny
Schwartz

Mike Smith

Don Cohen

Alan
Muskovitz

David
Sachs

JN STAFF