The COVID-19 pandemic saw professional journalists worldwide trying to disseminate timely, consequential information to the public. This responsibility was just as weighty for student journalists. But despite the mounting pressure, Kentucky Kernel Media reigned triumphant over a trying year, raking in several state and national awards. Overall, the media organization and its staff won nearly 100 awards during the 2020-2021 school year.
Bryan Greene, 25, and Lakell Gates, 11, play basketball on the court in Duncan Park in Lexington, Kentucky, on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2020. Photo by Arden Barnes, courtesy of Kentucky Kernel.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 16, 2021) May 2020 journalism graduate and former Kentucky Kernel editor-in-chief Bailey Vandiver placed fourth in the Explanatory Reporting Competition of the 2020-2021 Hearst Foundation’s Journalism Awards Program. In addition to being recognized among top journalists in the nation, Vandiver has received a $1,000 scholarship.
Vandiver’s story, titled “Lexington’s East End: A changing neighborhood,” encompasses the lives of the citizens of Lexington’s East End and how they envision the future of their home. Vandiver specifically wanted to collect the stories from the historically Black neighborhood to open a discussion on the effects of revitalization and gentrification to the neighborhood.