Wausau Pilot & Review named as finalist for national reporting award

Wausau Pilot and Review is a finalist in the 2020 LION Awards, which celebrates the best of independent online media across the U.S. and Canada.

This is the second year for the awards, which invited nearly 30 judges from across the industry to evaluate 169 entries from LION members.

Wausau Pilot & Review is a finalist in the breaking news category for the newspaper’s reporting on the Oct. 3, 2019 shooting at Pine Grove Cemetery that left one person dead and two people injured.

Online newspapers from across the country are considered for the awards, which recognize excellence in journalism, business and technology. An independent group of judges reviewed the award applicants in detail over the past month. Wausau Pilot & Review earned top honors in investigative reporting in the 2019 awards.

“We are incredibly grateful to be named in this category,” said Shereen Siewert, Wausau Pilot & Review publisher. “Reporting accurately and reliably on news as it happens, with sensitivity to victims and families, is crucial to our mission. This is one of the key reasons that local journalism is so important to our communities.”

Wausau Pilot and Review launched in March 2017 and is the city’s sole nonprofit, hyper-local online news publication. The newspaper is competing for the award with newspapers in Tucson, Ariz.; Reno, Nev.; and Bethesda, Md.

This year’s group of judges includes Madeleine Bair, Heather Bryant, Sterling Cosper, Kat Duncan, Rick Edmonds, Patricia Gaston, Rodney Gibbs, Sommer Ingram Dean, Jiquanda Johnson, Damon Kiesow, Yvonne Leow, Frank LoMonte, Ben Monnie, Josh Moore, Meghan Murphy, Alexandra Nicolas, Gonzalo Peon, Aron Pilhofer, Rachel Rohr, Mary Sanchez, Linda Shaw, Mazin Sidahmed, Craig Silverman, Chrissy Towle, Ryan Tuck, Sisi Wei and Yumi Wilson. 

Winners will be announced on Thursday, Oct. 22 during a virtual awards ceremony sponsored by the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute and Google News Initiative.

The mission of LION Publishers is to foster the viability and excellence of locally focused independent online news organizations and cultivate their connections to their communities through education and action.