During her visit to Ben Davis this past Thursday, alumnus Lauren Chapman informed the Spotlight staff that she was in the running for Indiana Journalist of the Year.

“Can you imagine some geek from the west side of Indianapolis winning that?” Chapman joked with the current staff.

Friday night, the Society of Professional Journalists named Chapman the state’s top journalist. Chapman is a 2011 graduate of Ben Davis. She was Spotlight editor her senior year, was the runner-up for Indiana high school journalist of the year and currently works for Indiana Public Broadcasting.

In naming her the state’s top journalist, judges wrote this about Chapman:

JUDGE’S COMMENT: In a very, very close competition, Lauren Chapman wins for her dogged, relevant, detailed, human coverage of Covid. It’s the story that affected (and still does) almost everyone in her area, the USA and the world. From guidelines (and their changes), to tragic facts about infections and deaths, charts and maps she provided the info people needed — and she worked to dispel misinformation. Further, she built a digital tracker to report racial and gender groups in coverage — and she made it available to other reporters in the state. Her work was crisp, concise, easy to grasp. 

Another former Spotlight editor also excelled in the 2021 awards list from SPJ. Breanna Cooper, a 2015 BD grad, won two first place awards and eight overall.

Cooper won first in non-deadline writing and arts and entertainment writing. Here are her awards with judges comments.

NON-DEADLINE STORY OR SERIES (publication circulation below 30,000)

1ST PLACE

TYLER FENWICK, BREANNA COOPER, OSEYE BOYD

Poverty: ‘It takes a toll’

Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper

JUDGE’S COMMENT: The thorough examination of the complex but incredibly important issue of poverty earned top honors in this competitive category.

COVERAGE OF SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES (publication circulation below 30,000)

2ND PLACE

BREANNA COOPER

Indianapolis Public Library leadership accused of racism

Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper

3RD PLACE

BREANNA COOPER

‘It makes our jobs harder’: police in emergency rooms

Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper

FEATURES WRITING (magazines and non-daily newspapers)

2ND PLACE

BREANNA COOPER

Possible son of Thomas Jefferson called Indiana home

Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper

3RD PLACE

TYLER FENWICK, BREANNA COOPER AND OSEYE BOYD

Diabetes: A crisis in plain sight

Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT WRITING (publication circulation below 30,000)

1ST PLACE

BREANNA COOPER

Film review: ‘Mass’ a haunting, powerful slow burn

Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper

JUDGE’S COMMENT: Cooper’s writing is crisp and engaging. Cooper conveyed the film’s tension starting with the first line and kept my attention until the last sentence. Excellent work.

2ND PLACE

BREANNA COOPER

Civic Theatre production features all-Black ensemble in 30 years

Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper

BEST NEWSLETTER 

2ND PLACE

BREANNA COOPER

Indianapolis Recorder newsletter

Cooper recently left the Indianapolis Recorder to work as a press secretary in the Indiana Statehouse.