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<h1>YES! Wins 4 Excellence in Journalism Awards</h1>
 <p><strong><br></strong>On June 18, YES! won four <span style="height: 1.5em;">Northwest Excellence in Journalism </span>awards <span style="height: 1.5em;">for stories reported in&nbsp;2015. </span><span style="height: 1.5em;">This is the largest competition of its kind, with 2,300 entries from Alaska, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Oregon.</span></p>  <p><span style="height: 1.5em;">Check out our winners:</span></p>  <p><strong>First Place</strong><br><strong>Government and Politics Reporting</strong></p>  <p><a href="/peace-justice/can-seattle-wipe-out-racism-juvenile-justice-grassroots-plan-20151111" target="_self" title="" rel="noopener noreferrer"><figure><img src="/wp-content/uploads/imports/6fc5c8da76174e068dd4d233d36233ce.jpg"></figure></a></p>  <p><a href="/peace-justice/can-seattle-wipe-out-racism-juvenile-justice-grassroots-plan-20151111" target="_self" title="" rel="noopener noreferrer">&ldquo;Can Cities End the School-to-Prison Pipeline? Relentless Organizers Are Tallying Wins&rdquo;<br></a><span style="height: 1.5em;">By Marcus Harrison Green</span></p>  <p>&nbsp;</p>  <p>In 2015, King County boldly declared its intention to eliminate racial disparities in juvenile justice. But, as Marcus Harrison Green revealed through extensive interviews and research, policy changes won&rsquo;t be enough unless they challenge the psychology of racism directly.</p>  <hr style="width: 50%;" width="50%"><p><strong>First Place<br></strong><b style="height: 1.5em;">Social Issues Reporting</b></p>  <div><span><b>Third Place<br></b></span><b style="height: 1.5em;">Environment, Nature &amp; Science Reporting</b></div>  <div><a href="http://http//reports.yesmagazine.org/unsurrendered/" target="_self" title="" rel="noopener noreferrer"><figure><img src="/wp-content/uploads/imports/c17be2f301014c4d97de1f029ccca94e.gif"></figure></a></div>  <div><a href="http://reports.yesmagazine.org/unsurrendered/" style="height: 1.5em;" target="_self" title="" rel="noopener noreferrer">&ldquo;Unsurrendered: One Tribe Stands Up to Three Oil Pipelines&rdquo;</a></div>  <div><span style="height: 1.5em;">By Stephen Miller, Tony Manno, and&nbsp;</span><span style="height: 1.5em;">Erika Lundahl</span><span style="height: 1.5em;">.</span></div>  <p>&nbsp;</p>  <p>The Unist&rsquo;ot&rsquo;en clan stands in the way of three oil and gas pipelines. What makes this blockade unique is the land: a territory never given up by treaty. Our reporters visited northern British Columbia and the Athabasca Tar Sands to witness firsthand the effects of fossil fuel extraction and the efforts of those fighting to keep it in the ground. YES! Magazine&rsquo;s first immersive digital project, &ldquo;Unsurrendered&rdquo; tells the story of this unique resistance effort through vivid imagery, videos, research-driven storytelling, and the words of those on the front lines.</p>  <div><hr style="width: 50%;" width="50%"><div><span><b>Second Place</b></span></div>  <div><span><b>Online News Video</b></span></div>  <div><a href="/new-economy/think-students-cant-declare-bankruptcy-think-again-20150923" target="_self" title="" rel="noopener noreferrer"><figure><img src="/wp-content/uploads/imports/0294b609aca74201b4e9b4c53362fe07.jpg"></figure></a></div>  <div><a href="/new-economy/think-students-cant-declare-bankruptcy-think-again-20150923" style="height: 1.5em;" target="_self" title="" rel="noopener noreferrer">&ldquo;Why Student Debtors Can&rsquo;t File for Bankruptcy&mdash;Or Can They?&rdquo;</a></div>  <div><span style="height: 1.5em;">By Yessenia Funes,&nbsp;Araz Hachadourian,&nbsp;Jennifer Luxton, and&nbsp;James Trimarco.</span></div>  <p>&nbsp;</p>  <p>After years of reporting on debt, we knew we needed to tell the story behind the prohibition against bankruptcy for student loan debts. The topic&rsquo;s complexity and technical nature presented challenges, which we tackled by presenting it as an animated cartoon and heaping on visual gags.</p>  &nbsp;</div>
<p>This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org">Yes! Magazine</a> at <a href="https://dev-wp.yesmagazine.org/democracy/2016/06/21/yes-wins-4-excellence-in-journalism-awards">https://dev-wp.yesmagazine.org/democracy/2016/06/21/yes-wins-4-excellence-in-journalism-awards</a>.</p><link href="https://dev-wp.yesmagazine.org/democracy/2016/06/21/yes-wins-4-excellence-in-journalism-awards" rel="canonical"/><p>Yes! Magazine is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of ... . Learn more at <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org">Yes! Magazine</a></p><img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://dev-wp.yesmagazine.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=11763&ga4=G-74QJNNY44Z" style="width:1px;height:1px;">

YES! Wins 4 Excellence in Journalism Awards
 On June 18, YES! won four Northwest Excellence in Journalism awards for stories reported in 2015. This is the largest competition of its kind, with 2,300 entries from Alaska, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Oregon.  Check out our winners:  First PlaceGovernment and Politics Reporting    “Can Cities End the School-to-Prison Pipeline? Relentless Organizers Are Tallying Wins”By Marcus Harrison Green     In 2015, King County boldly declared its intention to eliminate racial disparities in juvenile justice. But, as Marcus Harrison Green revealed through extensive interviews and research, policy changes won’t be enough unless they challenge the psychology of racism directly.  First PlaceSocial Issues Reporting  Third PlaceEnvironment, Nature & Science Reporting    “Unsurrendered: One Tribe Stands Up to Three Oil Pipelines”  By Stephen Miller, Tony Manno, and Erika Lundahl.     The Unist’ot’en clan stands in the way of three oil and gas pipelines. What makes this blockade unique is the land: a territory never given up by treaty. Our reporters visited northern British Columbia and the Athabasca Tar Sands to witness firsthand the effects of fossil fuel extraction and the efforts of those fighting to keep it in the ground. YES! Magazine’s first immersive digital project, “Unsurrendered” tells the story of this unique resistance effort through vivid imagery, videos, research-driven storytelling, and the words of those on the front lines.  Second Place  Online News Video    “Why Student Debtors Can’t File for Bankruptcy—Or Can They?”  By Yessenia Funes, Araz Hachadourian, Jennifer Luxton, and James Trimarco.     After years of reporting on debt, we knew we needed to tell the story behind the prohibition against bankruptcy for student loan debts. The topic’s complexity and technical nature presented challenges, which we tackled by presenting it as an animated cartoon and heaping on visual gags.