Journalism Alumna Wins National Award for Outstanding Reporting

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Journalism alumna Ginny Monk received the Insight Award for Explanatory Journalism during the 2023 Nonprofit News Awards held in Philadelphia in August. Her four-part series Notice to Quit, published by the Connecticut Mirror in December 2022, examined the impact of evictions on children and their families.

The Institute for Nonprofit News’ national awards honor excellence in journalism, leadership and community service across the nonprofit news industry. Judges praised Monk’s project for its comprehensiveness, community outreach and impact, and they observed that the stories encouraged state lawmakers to pass legislation with stronger tenant protections during the 2023 session.

The institute received 440 entries from 160 news organizations this year and issued 28 awards across 11 categories. Monk, a 2017 graduate of the School of Journalism and Strategic Media, is CT Mirror‘s children’s issues and housing reporter and a Report for America corps member. Connecticut’s housing crisis in the wake of the pandemic was a catalyst for Monk’s investigation. One of the early symptoms of that crisis was evictions, which spiked as the federal eviction moratorium and the state’s emergency rental assistance program expired.

“We love to see our alumni recognized for their good work,” said Bret Schulte, chair of the School of Journalism and Strategic Media. “Ginny is an incredible journalist, and projects like this, as well as a children’s coloring book she created about evictions, shows how creativity and heart can complement the civic duty of journalism.”

Monk’s series told the stories of children and parents experiencing eviction and homelessness. During her reporting, she found that eviction disproportionately affects women and children, particularly women of color. She spent months finding and getting to know the people featured in the series, and she interviewed eviction prevention specialists, attorneys, researchers, landlords and court officials.

Notice to Quit was produced as a project for the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism’s 2022 National Fellowship and its Kristy Hammam Fund for Health Journalism. It was also supported by the Center’s Engaged Journalism Initiative.

This story also appeared in the University of Arkansas News publication.