Just a week after scoring three Golden Quills and a best-in-show award from the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh Union Progress’ Steve Mellon won another first place at Pittsburgh Black Media Federation’s Robert L. Vann Media Awards dinner Wednesday night at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, Downtown.
Mellon’s “Hightower’s unique pictures of Black life are now part of Pitt’s archive” won the award for Excellence in Written Journalism/Daily, History/Culture/Arts/Entertainment. The story was one of three PUP finalists in the 36th annual competition.
At the start of the program, themed “Night of Excellence,” PBMF gave a shoutout to PUP’s dedication to journalism and pledged to donate a portion of the evening’s proceeds to the strike publication.
Vann award winners can be found here:
According to a PBMF news release, the theme “A Night of Excellence” “is a reminder that integrity and the pursuit of access to information and truth allow journalists to not only report on government corruption, wars on the defenseless, and crimes against humanity, but also on local community heroes, regional politics, the arts, and more.
“The evening is also a reminder that journalists must seek the highest standards of fairness and inclusivity in their reporting, recognizing that democracy is multilayered and that journalists must continue to pursue knowledge and a deeper understanding of communities that are different from their own.”
In honor of PBMF founding member Elaine Effort, two organizations — Girl Scout Troop #52208 and Omega Dr. Carter G. Woodson Academy — received the inaugural Elaine Effort Community Champion Award, named in tribute to Effort’s dedicated service to community. The pioneering award-winning journalist died in November.
PBMF bestowed its Legacy Award to Olga George, who is press secretary for Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, a longtime advocate of New Horizon Theater, an independent producer with WQED, and a former KDKA-TV assignment editor. But another of her most important roles has been her longtime leadership of PBMF’s Frank Bolden Urban Multimedia Workshop, where, for 30 years, she trained hundreds of youths in journalism as a way to help them gain self-confidence and pride in their abilities.
Emmai Alaquiva, an Emmy Award-winning film director and photographer, received the Communicator of the Year Award, and Ciora Thomas, founder of Black trans-led nonprofit Sisters/Pgh, was honored with the Trailblazer Award.
In addition, the evening featured a salute to Point Park University’s Center for Media Innovation, recognizing its commitment to exceptional journalism and civic engagement from media organizations local and regionally.
High school students Ryann Johnson, Binti Mberwa and Makayla Schoedel were recognized for their participation in PBMF’s Black History Month Essay Contest.
The PUP is the publication of the striking workers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
