Pittsburgh Union Progress staff members won three Golden Quill Awards, and one of those nabbed a best-of-show award, during the 60th Golden Quills dinner Tuesday night at Rivers Casino on the North Shore.

 The digital strike “paper” is produced by news workers who have been on strike against the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for the past 19-plus months. The publication had six total finalists in this year’s awards.

The Golden Quills competition honors professional and student excellence in print, broadcast, photography, videography and digital journalism in Western Pennsylvania and nearby counties in Ohio and West Virginia.

PUP winners:

Excellence in Written Journalism — Division 2

Lifestyle 
“Building Community Is at the Heart of Millvale’s ‘They Bar,’ Harold’s Haunt”
Natalie Duleba   

Excellence in Journalistic Craft Achievement

Spot News Photo and best-of-show Ed Romano Memorial Award for Photography

 “Anti-trans Speaker Met With Protests” (second photo down)
Alexandra Wimley   

Sports Photo

“Deer Lakes Stuns Four-time Defending Champion OLSH for Thrilling 61-60 Win” (bottom photo) 
Emily Matthews

The Press Club also honored Jim Parsons, retired news director of WTAE-TV, with its President’s Award, and presented its Service to Journalism awards to the now-closed publication Gazette 2.0 and its editor/publisher/owner, Sonja Reis, as well as to Jason Togyer, executive director, founder and editor of Tube City Community Media Inc.

During the dinner, The Press Club also recognized Chatham University sophomore Madison Stokes of Harrisburg, winner of the 2024 Bob Fryer Memorial Scholarship, and Duquesne University sophomore Kaitlyn Hughes of Bethel Park and Chatham University senior Abigail Hakas of Upper St. Clair, both winners of the 2024 Press Club of Western Pennsylvania Scholarship — the first time there’s ever been a tie.

Hakas gave union PUP and its people, with whom she has worked including on collaborative coverage of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter’s trial with the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle, a powerful shoutout for “all the work PUP’s reporters are doing to fight for the future of journalism. Our future.”

For the full list of winners and more, visit https://www.westernpapressclub.org/about-the-quills.

Pittsburgh Union Progress

The PUP is the publication of the striking workers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Pittsburgh Union Progress

The PUP is the publication of the striking workers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.