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News and Awards

The Marshall Project Honored in 10 Categories by the Society for News Design

The competition honors the best in visual journalism and design in the world.

An illustration shows, clockwise from bottom left: a person's feet representing someone arriving to court; a view of the exterior of a municipal court; the Cuyahoga County Court; a person going through a revolving door; elevator buttons; and a judge looking at a stack of papers. Two pieces of paper float throughout the illustration.
An illustration from “What Happens During Cuyahoga County’s Criminal Arraignment Process?” from The Marshall Project.

The 46th Annual Creative Competition for the Society for News Design has honored The Marshall Project with 10 awards for its staff visual journalism published in 2024.

The competition honors the best in visual journalism and design in the world, with a judging panel consisting of global experts.

“It is an honor for The Marshall Project’s product, design, multimedia, audience and reporting teams to receive this recognition,” said acting Editor-in-Chief Geraldine Sealey. “We take extraordinary care and pay attention to the smallest details to create visual experiences that will resonate, inform and live up to our mission of creating an urgency around the criminal justice system in the U.S.”

The judges recognized The Marshall Project’s human approach to its journalism, in its notes about “Your right to a lawyer can cost you thousands,” which was recognized in the Social Story Design category. The piece made a serious topic more accessible, the judge’s notes said. The social media team’s work was also highlighted in the judge’s remarks, which noted that The Marshall Project’s brand was recognizable even without needing to see a logo.

This year, The Marshall Project earned Awards of Excellence for the following projects in the following categories:

Your Right to a Lawyer Can Cost You Thousands” for the category Social Story Design (stories/reels/video). The team is honored with a Bronze Medal. (Chris Vazquez, Audience Engagement Producer; Caleb Bedillion, Reporter; Weihua Li, Reporter; Lauren Gill, Freelance Journalist)

The Bronze Medal for Staff, Social Media Portfolio (Ashley Dye, Audience Director; Kristin Bausch, Audience Engagement Producer; Chris Vazquez, Audience Engagement Producer; and TMP staff.)

The Hardest Case for Mercy” for Award of Excellence: Multiple illustrations (single subject). (Joe Sexton, Freelance Reporter; Susan Chira, Editor; Dadu Shin, Freelance Illustrator; Jovelle Tamayo, Multimedia Editor; Elan Ullendorff, Director of Product; Aithne Feay, Software Engineer; and Ryan Murphy, Software Engineer)

What Happens During Cuyahoga County’s Criminal Arraignment Process?” for Award of Excellence: Multiple illustrations (single subject). (Diana Nguyen, Freelance Illustrator; Jovelle Tamayo, Art Director; Ryan Murphy, Software Engineer; Ilica Mahajan, computational journalist; and Rachel Dissell, Signal Cleveland journalist.

Love Beyond Bars” for Award of Excellence: Photo Series Design (multiple dates). (Camille Farrah Lenain, Freelance Photographer; Celina Fang, Photo Editor; Carla Canning, Freelance Reporter; and Akiba Solomon, Editor)

Love Beyond Bars” for Award of Excellence: Social Story Design (carousels). (Kristin Bausch, Audience Engagement Producer; Camille Farrah Lenain, Freelance Photographer; Celina Fang, Senior Multimedia Editor; and Carla Canning, Freelance Reporter)

I Recorded a Whole Hip-Hop Album on a Death Row Telephone” for Award of Excellence: Features/Arts. (Chris Visions, Freelance Illustrator; Marci Suela, Multimedia Editor and Akiba Solomon, Editor)

Trump, Biden, and the Truth on Crime” for Award of Excellence: Social Story Design (stories/reels/video). (Chris Vazquez, Audience Engagement Producer; Weihua Li, Reporter; and Jamiles Lartey, Reporter)

The Hardest Case for Mercy” for Award of Excellence: Page Design: Social Issues. (Joe Sexton, Freelance Reporter; Susan Chira, Editor; Dadu Shin, Freelance Illustrator; Jovelle Tamayo, Multimedia Editor; Elan Ullendorff, Director of Product; Aithne Feay, Software Engineer; and Ryan Murphy Software Engineer)

Award of Excellence: Portfolios World’s Best: Individual: Social Media Portfolio. (Kristin Bausch, Audience Engagement Producer; Angela Hollowell, Freelance Photographer; Camille Farrah Lenain, Freelance Photographer; Marissa Leshnov, Freelance Photographer; Meredith Rizzo, Freelance Illustrator; Jovelle Tamayo, Multimedia Editor; Carla Canning, Freelance Reporter; Lakeidra Chavis, Reporter; Shannon Heffernan, Reporter; Weihua Li, Reporter; Christie Thompson, Reporter; Shoshana Walter, Reporter)