Review-Journal staff wins top honors in Battle Born journalism contest

The Las Vegas Review-Journal staff won top honors in seven categories, including for its coverage of the murder of fellow investigative journalist Jeff German, at Saturday’s Battle Born Journalism Awards.

Held by the Las Vegas chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, the third annual awards were judged by the Los Angeles Press Club, and included nearly 140 entries from Nevada’s print, digital and broadcast journalists. Reporters, photographers, videographers and staff members with the Review-Journal won first place in seven of the contest’s 14 categories.

“We deeply appreciate the work of the Las Vegas chapter of SPJ to run this competition,” Review-Journal Executive Editor Glenn Cook said. “The Review-Journal’s performance in this year’s Battle Born Journalism Awards is indicative of the great work done by our staff every day.”

Reporter Jason Bracelin won first place in Feature Reporting, Written Journalism for his article on how the Review-Journal staff investigated and reported on the murder of German.

“In a suspenseful, gut-wrenching account of the brutal murder of veteran investigative journalist Jeff German and arrest of the suspect, Bracelin brilliantly conveys the horrors of fellow reporters and their dogged pursuit of the suspect while objectively reporting the story,” a judge wrote of the entry.

The Review-Journal staff also won first place in Spot News Reporting for its coverage in the immediate aftermath of German’s murder, which authorities have said was at the hands of a county administrator who was angry over German’s articles about his conduct as an elected official.

The newspaper swept the web presentation category, with Review-Journal Director of Digital Design Tony Morales placing in the first-, second- and third-place awards. Morales’ first-place award was for the Review-Journal’s homicide tracker, which logs every killing in Clark County dating back to 2017 in an interactive map. The second-place award in the category went to Morales and photographer Chase Stevens, for a feature on Las Vegas’ burlesque culture, and the third-place award went to Morales, graphic artist Wes Rand and former graphic artist Severiano Galvan for a monthly report on the statistical breakdown of Raiders’ games.

Reporter Briana Erickson won first place in the Human Rights Reporting category for an investigation into a housing charity for homeless and low-income residents that has faced allegations of mismanagement and poor tenant conditions.

“This investigation rose above many strong entries by exposing mismanagement of efforts meant to help vulnerable citizens,” a judge wrote.

Multimedia reporter James Schaeffer and video anchor Jenn Auh both won first place for Spot News Reporting, Video Photography, for their coverage of a stabbing spree on the Strip. The two also won third place in the category for their coverage of the arrest of former Clark County public administrator Robert Telles in connection with German’s murder.

Reporter Eli Segall won first place for Reporting Using Public Records for his coverage on real estate deals in Las Vegas failing to generate taxes that support schools and low-income housing in Nevada.

Other awards went to L.E. Baskow and Stevens, who won first and second place, respectively, in Feature Reporting, Still Photography.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240.