Hackney wins second 2015 SPJ award

SPJ Sunshine State Awards logoAt an awards ceremony in Miami on August 15, Sarasota News Leader Opinion Editor Robert Hackney won second place for editorial writing in the 2015 Sunshine State Awards, sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Florida Pro chapter.

In their comments, judges stated that Hackney’s “Independence Day editorial is a refreshing, hard-hitting political commentary, rarely seen in any newspapers in this country.”

In May, Hackney won third place for editorial writing-weekly publications in the Green Eyeshade Awards, the SPJ competition for the 11 southern states, including Florida.
This is Hackney’s second award in the Sunshine State competition — he also won second place for editorial writing in 2013 — and second award in the Green Eyeshade competition, having won second place for editorial writing-weekly publications in 2014. This is the third year in a row that Hackney has won an award for his editorial writing at either the state or regional level.