The WATERSHED project, created by a 13-member team of University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC) undergraduate student journalists, is a finalist in the 2023 Online Journalism Awards (ONA) Student Journalism Awards competition in the Student Team Portfolio category.

The project is the result of a six-month investigation of Florida’s water quality for the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act and the Florida Water Resources Act, landmark federal and state water laws passed in 1972. They pursued the question of whether water quality is worsening today, after the success of those laws.

The Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting provided a grant to fund the project and students applied to be part of the special Pulitzer class, led by UFCJC Environmental Journalist in Residence Cynthia Barnett. They published in-depth multimedia stories, most supported by data analysis, that painted a complex picture: While Florida has come a long way toward cleaning up pollution in the past half century, the state’s water challenges are becoming more acute today due to a combination of human pressures and climate change.

The series was published on WUFT News, over five days in August 2022, in advance of other national projects that marked the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act in October 2022.

The ONA Online Journalism Awards honor exceptional science reporting, community-centered journalism, investigative data journalism, climate change reporting and general excellence. Prize money for five of the awards totals $52,000, thanks to 3M, the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication, UFCJC, McKinsey Publishing and SmartNews.

Winners will be announced in two parts, virtually on Aug. 17 and at an in-person event on Aug. 28 in Philadelphia.

Posted: July 28, 2023
Category: Alumni News, College News, Student News
Tagged as: Cynthia Barnett, ONA, Online Journalism Awards, Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting, Watershed