The Intermountain Jewish News won 11 Rockower Awards for Excellence in Jewish Journalism for articles written in 2020.
The awards were announced at the American Jewish Press Assn.’s annual meeting June 24, 2021, on Zoom.
All entries in the annual contest are judged blindly.
This was the first time in AJPA history that newspapers in both small and large circulation categories were combined into a single competitive category. The IJN competed against all subscription-based weekly and biweekly newspapers of all sizes, circulations and resources.
Chris Leppek, IJN assistant editor, won five awards; Andrea Jacobs, IJN senior writer, won five awards; and Rabbi Hillel Goldberg, IJN publisher and editor, won one.
“We are pleased to present to our readers the excellent coverage they have come to expect,” commented Shana R. Goldberg, IJN assistant publisher.
Leppek won:
- First place, excellence in North American Jewish history, “Remembering ‘LH’: Leopold H. Guldman, German immigrant and founder of Golden Eagle Department store,” Generations, June 26, 2020;
- First place, excellence in business reporting and trends, “West Side: Still room for families? Impact study on urban growth on Denver’s West Side Jewish community,” Jan. 1, 2020;
- Second place, writing about Jewish heritage and Jewish peoplehood in Europe, “Spain and Portugal re-invite the Jews: Spain’s citizenship proposal to Jews expelled by the Inquisition,” L’Chaim®, Feb. 28, 2020.
The judge’s comments:
[quote]Most of us know about the Spanish Inquisition and the expulsion of Jews from Spain and Portugal in the late 15th century, ending hundreds of years of Sephardic life on the Iberian Peninsula. Less known perhaps is that both Spain and Portugal began programs in 2015 allowing descendants of these expelled Jews to re-apply for citizenship. Chris Leppek’s terrific story focuses on applicants in Colorado and New Mexico and their personal story in applying for a second citizenship. With so much focus of American Jewry (and the Jewish press) on its Ashkenazic roots, this deep dive into these individual stories and their Sephardic connections shines a light on this other side of our Jewish experience.[/quote]
- Second place, education reporting, “Denver day schools stream along: Jewish day schools prepare for COVID,” March 3, 2020; and
- Honorable mention, “Pueblo’s Temple Emanuel: first a bomb threat, now an arson fire and attempted burglary; two attacks on historic temple in Pueblo, Colorado,” March 20, 2020.
Jacobs won:
- First place, excellence in writing about women, “Suffering, strength, pride: Dysia Sonenreich: memories of a Holocaust survivor,” L’Chaim®, Sept. 18, 1920;
- First place, education reporting, “Hard lessons: Most of the Nazi Doctors volunteered,” interview with Matt Wynia, head of CU’s Bioethics and Humanities Center, July 3, 2020;
- Second place, excellence in writing about women, “A Denver Tale: how COVID-19 prevented daughter Michele Stark Hailpern from being with her dying mother Lotty Stark,” April 24, 2020; this story also garnered second place in the category “Writing About COVID-19.”
The judge’s comments:
[quote]That the pandemic forced nursing homes to suspend visitation is well known and was the subject of numerous articles. But this deep dive into a unique situation a mother and daughter found themselves in is unusual. Lotty Stark, a dementia patient, was a Holocaust survivor whose illness haunted her with “memories” of that horror. Until the COVID lockdown, daughter Michele visited every day and realized the staff saw her mom only as a patient and didn’t understand how the Holocaust was mixed in. Lotty’s story and Michele’s pain are a poignant look at a tragic situation that brought tears to my eyes. This piece ran April 24 and noted that Lotty had tested positive for COVID. She died on April 25. This lovely piece of reporting and writing became her memorial.[/quote]
- Honorable mention, excellence in health care, “Comforting the sick at Rose: Rabbi Jeffrey Kaye cares for the sick and dying during COVID,” April 10, 2020.
Rabbi Hillel Goldberg won an honorable mention in the Louis Rappaport excellence in commentary category for three pieces, “Be careful what you pray for,” “Can only a black person explain the black experience?” and “2020: A year of benefits and better habits.”
Copyright © 2021 by the Intermountain Jewish News
