The Spotlight Award is the top honor given by the Society of Professional Journalists’ Keystone State Professional Chapter. It recognizes a journalist or team whose published investigative story or series scooped other media outlets and put the public’s right to know in the spotlight.
On Thursday, that award went to “Alcoa Mines Australia’s Forest,” a three-part investigation by Jamie Wiggan and Quinn Glabicki into the ecological toll of bauxite mining on a unique Australian forest by a Pittsburgh-based global metals company. The series, which involved a multi-week reporting trip to Australia backed by the the Pulitzer Center’s 2025 Richard C. Longworth Media Fellowship, also won this year’s A-Mark Prize for Investigative Journalism in Pennsylvania.
Winner: Spotlight Award — Wiggan and Glabicki, for “Alcoa Mines Australia’s Forest.“
Public Source earned eight additional honors in the contest:
Winner: Web Use — Natasha Vicens, for “Alcoa Mines Australia’s Forest.“
Winner: Enterprise Reporting — Charlie Wolfson, for “The Homeownership Wall.“
Winner: Business and Labor Reporting — Rich Lord, for “Job One.“
Winner: Online Breaking News — Stephanie Strasburg, Maddy Franklin and DS Fleegle, for “CMU students protest free speech restrictions.“
Winner: Photo Story — Glabicki, for “On the ground with the volunteers tracking ICE across the Pittsburgh region.“
Winner: Feature Photography — Strasburg, for “People dance during a DJ night at HAVEN, a mostly volunteer-run independent music venue in a former church in Central Oakland.“
Winner: Best Newsletter — Public Source staff. (Sign up to see it!)
Second Place: Education Reporting — Franklin, for “Gagging Academia.“
Those honors add to a range of recognition Public Source has received so far this year, reflecting the spectrum of work we produce for the Pittsburgh region. From accountability journalism to enterprising local storytelling to visuals that reflect the communities we serve, judges from local, state and national contests have taken note.
Our neighborhood zines project stood out in particular, drawing recognition for its revenue model, its visual design and its strength as a product overall.
We’re grateful to the organizations that review submissions and choose among many worthy entries, and to the judges who give their time to that work.
The list below reflects recognition Public Source received so far in 2026 and will be updated periodically.
LION notes ‘outstanding’ neighborhood zines
As news moved relentlessly in a digital direction, Pittsburgh’s Public Source has committed to being tangible, community-oriented and street smart. The newsroom’s growing array of neighborhood zines was honored this week at the Independent News Sustainability Summit in San Diego with this year’s LION Publishers’ Sustainability Award for product of the year in the category of medium-to-large newsrooms.
Winner: Product of the Year — Judges said the zines — now numbering five with more in the works — “are not only an outstanding, successful print product made for and with neighborhoods; they are also the forefront tool of a larger multimedia strategy that involves different outlets like social media, digital copies, and in-person events.
“The key distinction is their very thoughtful and intentional approach, which prioritizes beautiful design and high journalism standards to foment trust with their communities, which ultimately converts readers into new donors who support their wider journalism mission.”
LION (for local, independent, online news) Publishers works to help independent news publishers toward financial sustainability.
A-Mark Prize for Investigative Journalism in Pennsylvania
Winner: First Place — Wiggan and Glabicki, for “Alcoa Mines Australia’s Forest.” The prize includes $5,000 for the reporters and $2,500 for Public Source.
The A-Mark Prize for Investigative Journalism in Pennsylvania recognizes the resource-intensive work of in-depth investigative reporting across the state. The prize went to “Alcoa Mines Australia’s Forest.” It’s awarded by the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association Foundation and the A-Mark Foundation.
A-Mark is a nonprofit that funds journalism organizations and grants awards for outstanding reporting, and this prize is part of its national program recognizing the best investigative work in each state. Eligible entries surface information that the people or institutions involved would rather keep out of public view, and judges weigh factors including the depth of research, the reporters’ persistence in the face of obstacles, use of public records and documents, breadth of sourcing, and the story’s impact on public policy.
Neighborhood zines earn recognition across contests
Our neighborhood zines project — pairing print storytelling with community-based reporting — has landed multiple awards.
- Winner, New Revenue Stream Award (under 250,000 unique monthly visitors), Local Media Association Digital Innovation Awards
- Finalist, Product of the Year (medium/large revenue tier), LION Awards — winners announced in September 2026
- Finalist, Excellence in Visual Achievement, Multimedia, Golden Quill Awards
Explore our zines here: North Side | Brookline, Carrick & Overbrook | Oakland | Bloomfield, Garfield & Friendship | Homewood & Larimer
Golden Quill Awards, Press Club of Western Pennsylvania
Public Source had a strong showing at this year’s Golden Quill Awards, with three wins and finalist recognition across nine additional categories.
Winner: Excellence in Collaboration — “Pittsburgh at Work,” a partnership between Public Source and Technical.ly.
Winner: Excellence in Visual Achievement, Spot News, Feature, Sports Video or Video Essay — “Leaving Pittsburgh,” by Dean Bog and Public Source staff.
Winner: Excellence in Written Journalism, Traditional Feature — Bill Zlatos for “Death of an ‘elder orphan’ warns that aging alone may become more dangerous.”
Finalists:
- “The Homeownership Wall” by Wolfson, Excellence in Written Journalism, News Feature Division I
- “Thousands counter Trump’s military parade in No Kings protests in Pittsburgh” by Strasburg and Glabicki, Excellence in Visual Achievement – Photo Essay
- Portrait of musician Shyheim Banks, who performs as Treble NLS, by Strasburg, Excellence in Visual Achievement – Personality Profile Photo
- “Alcoa Mines Australia’s Forest” by Wiggan and Glabicki, Excellence in Written Journalism, Public Affairs/Government and Excellence in Visual Achievement, Digital Presentation
- “When Care is Compulsory” by Venuri Siriwardane, Excellence in Written Journalism, Medical/Health
- “Know your Pittsburgh labor history?” by Bella Markowitz and Jake Vasilias, Excellence in Written Journalism, History
- “‘Zombies to Cabaret’: How Perry High’s arts scene is driving school spirit” by Lajja Mistry, Excellence in Written Journalism, Division 1 Traditional Feature
- “ICE, immigration and local response” by Glabicki, Excellence in Written Journalism, Division 1 Enterprise/Investigative
Robert L. Vann Media Awards, Pittsburgh Black Media Federation
Winner: Excellence in Written Journalism – Daily Newspapers/News Services, Public Affairs — “Gene Walker’s career path to public education,” by Mistry.
Winner: Excellence in Written Journalism – Daily Newspapers/News Services, Health and Medical — “Neither autism nor tragedy will stop Penn Hills man from saving lives,” by Lord.
Associated Press, Best of AP
“Clairton After the Blast,” a joint project of Public Source and The Associated Press, received an honorable mention in the Best of AP awards.
SEJ Awards for Reporting on the Environment
“There’s something wrong under New Freeport” received an honorable mention for the Kevin Carmody Award for Investigative Reporting, Small division, from the Society of Environmental Journalists.
Society for Features Journalism, Excellence in Features Journalism
Gregory Laski won first place in the Division 1, Inclusion category for “Black Sewickley residents preserve their surprising history through story and film.”
2026 Nonprofit News Awards (INNYs)
“Alcoa Mines Australia’s Forest” was a finalist for the Insight Award for Visual Journalism, Medium division.
Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association Foundation Advertising Contest
Public Source took second place, Division I, Best Recruitment or Commercial Ad.
Halle Stockton is the editor-in-chief and co-executive director at Pittsburgh’s Public Source. Contact her at halle@publicsource.org with any questions or comments.
