CANTON – North Country Public Radio has been honored with three major national journalism awards for its reporting in 2022.

The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) presented NCPR with three 2022 Sigma Delta Chi Awards for Excellence in Journalism: Best Public Service in Radio Journalism, Best Radio Feature Reporting, and Best Regional Political Reporting.

The SPJ Awards are among the oldest and most prestigious in the country, honoring print, digital, and broadcast journalists.

The entire NCPR news team won Best Public Service in Radio Journalism for its ambitious series on affordable housing issues in the North Country. The SPJ judges said they were “impressed with how this series looked at the issue from multiple sides, included diverse viewpoints, and addressed the unique needs of the region.” The award was given regardless of radio station size – NCPR won against newsrooms large and small.

“This honor shows how much NCPR puts into its news coverage,” said NCPR News Director David Sommerstein. “Despite a smaller staff and fewer resources, we accomplish national caliber work every day. This award shows we really are the ‘newsroom that punches above its weight.’”

NCPR, working with freelancer Zach Hirsch, also won Best Regional Political Reporting for Hirsch’s in-depth, enterprising work on North Country Rep. Elise Stefanik and her pivot from bipartisanship to becoming one of Donald Trump’s most loyal supporters. SPJ judges called the work “terrific reporting” that offers “a strong piece on misinformation.” This reporting was made possible by NCPR donors who contributed to the station’s Daylight Reporting Fund, which is dedicated to investigative reporting.

NCPR’s Report for America core reporter, Lucy Grindon, won the award for Best Radio Feature Reporting for her investigative story about substandard housing for undocumented immigrants working on many of New York’s dairy farms. The SPJ judges said the story “shed light on a significant issue often invisible to the public.”

“For years, NCPR reporters have produced stories at a level on par with much larger newsrooms with much greater resources,” said NCPR Station Manager Mitch Teich. “These awards are evidence of what can be done with a staff that truly cares about the region and the people it covers. And it shows NCPR’s many supporters that their investment in us is well-spent.”