The Colorado Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists has given six awards to deserving journalists in the state for their exemplary work upholding and promoting the ideals of SPJ. The awards were announced at a reception May 4 at the Denver Press Club.

Fred Brown

Journalist of the Year

Fred Brown’s journalism career is impressive, with his commitment to the profession showing through his work at The Denver Post, in SPJ both on a national and state level, on SPJ’s national Ethics Committee, and by teaching journalism ethics at the University of Denver. He was national president of SPJ in 1997-98, was on the committee that rewrote SPJ’s Code of Ethics in 1996 and 2004, is an Honored Alumnus of Colorado State University and is a member of the Denver Press Club Hall of Fame. The list of his contributions to journalism and accolades for his work is a long one. Brown does so much for journalism that it’s difficult to keep up with all of his work. He is tireless in promoting and bettering journalism in a world that perhaps doesn’t appreciate journalism as much as it used to. 

Sandra Fish, reporter at The Colorado Sun

Journalist of the Year

Sandra Fish has covered government and politics in Iowa, Florida, New Mexico and Colorado. She was a full-time journalism instructor at the University of Colorado for eight years, and her work has appeared on CPR, KUNC, The Washington Post, Roll Call and other outlets. Recently, she was the one making news when she tried to attend the Colorado Republican Assembly in Pueblo and was barred from covering the event. She had press credentials and wanted to attend to provide The Colorado Sun’s readers with information they had a right to know about. The decision to keep Fish from the meetings caused a backlash from media outlets after the organization singled out one journalist. Fish’s resilience in the face of political pressure and commitment to seeking the truth and reporting it, no matter the obstacles, makes her an example for all journalists. 

Deb Hurley Brobst, retired reporter/editor at Colorado Community Media and retired professor at Metro State College

Keeper of the Flame

Deb Hurley Brobst has dedicated her professional life to fanning the fires of passion for our journalism calling. Brobst nurtured and guided young journalists as chair of the journalism department at Metro State College, as managing editor of four community weeklies, and through activities for the Society of Professional Journalists, both nationally and in Colorado. Brobst not only set an example for the staff at Evergreen Newspapers and at Colorado Community Media with her own reporting, she helped teach many of them the basics of reporting and how to negotiate the many minefields involved in community journalism. In her many years in the profession, she endeavored to hold government officials accountable, to provide coverage of events that were part of the fabric of the community, to tell the community about what it needed and wanted to know, and to tell stories of the many characters living in the area. 

Gail Binkly, publisher/editor of the Four Corners Free Press

Keeper of the Flame

The Four Corners Free Press closed its doors in January after 20 years covering the Four Corners/Cortez area. Gail Binkly dedicated herself to putting out the monthly newspaper throughout that time, and after a loss of advertisers, fewer subscribers and other issues that many in our profession feel, she closed the paper. As Binkly said in her farewell editorial, “Real reporting is hard work, folks. It doesn’t consist of just going to a meeting or hearing a rumor and then putting some personal rant on a website.” The Free Press has won numerous awards over the years from SPJ’s Top of the Rockies and the Colorado Press Association. Binkly has been a tireless advocate for ethical journalism and the First Amendment in her 25 years as a journalist and, previously, as an assistant professor of mass communications at the University of Southern Colorado in Pueblo.

Justin Wingerter, BusinessDen reporter

First Amendment Award

BusinessDen reporter Justin Wingerter fought for the First Amendment and the right for the public to access documents this year after he got court records on a civil lawsuit between two companies over a high school sports recruiting app. The day after he received the public records, a Denver District Court judge ordered Wingerter to return the documents and delete any copies or be held in contempt of court. He and his editors at BusinessDen refused. What’s more, BusinessDen filed a motion to vacate the order, and Wingerter published a story on the lawsuit anyway. Happily, Wingerter did not go to jail for contempt of court. Wingerter has tirelessly pursued the truth and the public’s right to know as he has covered litigation, white-collar crime and other news.

Kareem El Damanhoury, professor at the University of Denver

Educator of the Year

Kareem El Damanhoury has been instrumental in guiding journalism students at the University of Denver. In addition to teaching classes for journalism majors and for the broader undergraduate population at the school, he is the founder and director of the student media platform DU Media, which has garnered SPJ, Emmy, Telly, Broadcast Education Association and Colorado Broadcasters Association awards. He is a published author of books on visual analysis and media strategies of the Islamic State and Al Qaeda, including “Photographic Warfare: ISIS, Egypt, and the Online Battle for Sinai.” El Damanhoury also works as a producer for CNN International, providing information for news consumers around the world. His research and teaching often intersect, and he has worked with the Colorado Media Project on media literacy. He and a colleague are piloting an effort to help middle school students identify and combat fake news.