The Colorado Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists has announced the winners of the 2023 Top of the Rockies Excellence in Journalism Contest.

The awards were presented April 22 at The Slate Hotel in Denver.

The contest for professional journalists has been administered for more than a decade by the Colorado Professional Chapter on behalf of SPJ chapters in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming. 

Top of the Rockies is a regional, multi-platform contest for reporters and news organizations in the four states. The contest grew from a Colorado-only contest on the heels of the closure of the Rocky Mountain News in 2009 to ensure a robust and competitive field. 

The 2023 contest had more than 1,750 entries from more than 100 news media outlets and freelancers, a 12% increase over the number of entries in 2022. The entries were judged by journalists in Illinois and Ohio.

“We are pleased to see so many news media outlets competing in Top of the Rockies,” said Deb Hurley Brobst, the contest’s coordinator. “We are seeing top-notch journalism from journalists throughout the region, no matter what the staff size.”

Entrants compete in four divisions based on newsroom staff size: extra-large newsrooms, large newsrooms, medium newsrooms and small newsrooms. 

To view the full list of winners, click here.

Also, Colorado SPJ presented its 2023 individual awards for journalistic excellence. The awards and their recipients:

Journalist of the Year — Carol McKinley of The Denver Gazette.

Keeper of the Flame (lifetime achievement) — Marianne Goodland of Colorado Politics and Linda Kotsaftis, formerly of Rocky Mountain PBS and KUSA-9News.

Educator of the Year — Corey Hutchins of Colorado College.

First Amendment Award — Mark Silverstein of the ACLU.