The Reentry Project wins national journalism award for community engagement

Last fall The Reentry Project hosted “The Reentry Blueprint: Stories and Solutions from the Formerly Incarcerated” at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. The event was intended to advance the conversation on reentry in Philadelphia by providing a platform for formerly incarcerated people to present effective models that address the challenges facing others with criminal histories. Photograph by Kriston Bethel.

The Reentry Project — a solutions-oriented reporting collaborative focused on reducing recidivism in Philadelphia — took top Community Engagement honors in the APME Awards for 2018 which were announced Monday.

The honor was granted “For leveraging innovative partnerships across news organizations, and creating a project of stunning breadth and clear engagement with the community,” according to APME, adding: “The journalism was exceptionally strong; the infographic especially impressive.”

“The annual contest honors excellence and innovation in journalism, and reflects the Associated Press Media Editors’ mission of fostering newsroom leaders, empowering journalists to succeed, and cultivating ideas that work,” according to the announcement.

“This award recognizes not only the hard work of the Reentry Project news organizations but also that of the reentry community in Philadelphia,” according to Jean Friedman-Rudovsky who served as project editor for The Reentry Project.

“Had organizations such as The Center for Returning Citizens, Frontline Dads, Inc, the Reentry Think Tank, The Reentry Coalition and others not trusted us, or been open to partnering on events and our project more broadly, we would not have been able to have the impact we did,” according to Friedman-Rudovsky, now executive director of Resolve Philadelphia and editor of Broke in Philly.

The nomination for the award was submitted by the Philadelphia Media Network, one of the reporting partners making up the project which also included: Generocity, Billy Penn, Next City, The Notebook, The Philadelphia Citizen,
PhillyCam, El Sol, WHYY, WURD Radio, El Zol, Muhlenberg College and the Klein College of Media and Communication at Temple University.

The infographic highlighted in the citation was produced by summer intern and Klein College journalism student Julie Christie. View it here: jcjourno.com/LifeAfterIncarceration

The Reentry Project was previously named best Non-Traditional News Provider of 2017 by the Philadelphia News Awards presented by the Pen and Pencil Club — the nation’s oldest press club.

The Reentry Project was supported by the Solutions Journalism Network, Knight Foundation and Klein College.

For 18 months ending earlier this spring, The Reentry Project was produced by the same team now bringing you Broke in Philly, collaborative reporting on economic justice.

Broke in Philly is produced by Resolve Philadelphia, a new hub for the city’s general interest, community and ethnic newsrooms to produce collaborative solutions reporting and community engagement on urgent social challenges.

Learn more about The Reentry Project: Sharing solutions together