The Lens Earns 11 Honors at Press Club of New Orleans Journalism Awards
The winners include three first places
Category
News
Timely coverage of the people, policies, and events shaping New Orleans and Louisiana. This category delivers clear, factual reporting that keeps readers informed about local government, community issues, and stories that matter most to everyday residents.
Louisiana communities are left in the dark on toxic air — and industry helped keep it that way
The state’s air monitors are often miles from its biggest polluters and residents have little way of knowing what they’re breathing. That’s no accident.
Behind The Lens: ICE detention, court access and federal intervention in Louisiana (Audio)
Reporter Delaney Nolan and editor Katy Reckdahl examine the surge in ICE activity across Louisiana.
Black and white Louisiana churches split over $250B Meta data center
As Meta’s massive AI data center, the most expensive in the nation, transforms rural Richland Parish, Louisiana's Black and white churches are divided over whether technological progress represents a God-given opportunity or a powerful new force likely to deepen inequities.
Science Is Under Attack. But Scientists Are Speaking Up
If a new federal rule is enacted, the administration could deny research grant applications related to life-saving issues like vaccine safety, climate science, and LGBTQ+ health.
Honor student jailed, barred from graduation after unsubstantiated social media threat allegation
A police search of the 14-year-old’s phone uncovered no proof of a threat, sparking outrage from local activists over the school’s response.
Veto of Louisiana bill leaves exonerees facing payment caps
Greg Bright served 27.5 wrongful years in the Louisiana State Penitentiary. He is now facing financial hardship, because his innocence compensation ended in September.
Baton Rouge Immigration Court opens to public— and denies it was ever closed
As witnesses from Baton Rouge join a federal lawsuit, a Louisiana immigration judge instructs her staff to allow the public to observe court hearings. Denials were never court policy, she asserts.
New immigration rules require almost-unattainable evidence for many abuse survivors
Advocates say stricter immigration documentation requirements ignore the realities of abuse, prompting concerns that victims will be denied protection.
A New Orleans Katrina kid takes the head office at Warren Easton
Incoming principal Kendall McManus-Thomas returns to Easton as a pathbreaker who grew up in pre-Katrina schools, experienced the disaster and all of its chaos as a displaced high school student, and went on to become the first Black man to head up Franklin High School.
