O’odham Action News Wins Journalism Awards

By Dalton Walker

O’odham Action News was once again recognized for its storytelling.

News staff combined to win seven awards from the Indigenous Journalists Association. The awards were announced in early July and presented at IJA’s national conference, held this year in Portland, Oregon, in late July.

Each year, IJA selects the best journalism done by Native outlets and Native journalists in categories for media and article type. Last year, OAN received a batch of awards, including the Elias Boudinot Free Press Award.

This year was a first for Zoe Hernandez. She’s a student worker at OAN and captured first place in the Student Best Editorial/Column category for her coverage on a cultural teacher gathering in October.

“The moment I found out that my work had been chosen for first place for the Best Editorial/Column in the student category was very exciting for me,” Hernandez said. “It is a reminder that the passion I have for working with O’odham Action News shows in the work that I do. I look forward to seeing what growth I make as a reporter for OAN.”

News reporter Chris Picciuolo’s video coverage of a missing and murdered Indigenous people rally at the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix was awarded third place in the Best Feature Story/Television category. In the near-three-minute video, Picciuolo interviewed Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community members advocating for change.

“Any time the O’odham Action News newsroom can be recognized for our hard work just reaffirms our dedication to lifting the voices of SRPMIC members,” Picciuolo said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to have the story amplified; however, I wish that MMIP was a topic that I, or anyone else, didn’t ever have to cover.”

Student reporter Andreea Miguel won first place in Best Sports Coverage for her profile of basketball player Kristine Scabby. Miguel also won second- and third-place awards in the Student Sports category and second- and third-place awards in the student Best Editorial/Column category, for a total of five awards.