Dallas Morning News reporter wins Poynter award for short writing, other staff recognized

Dallas Morning News reporter Maggie Prosser won a Poynter Journalism Prize on Tuesday for her story about how a grieving mother commemorates her daughter who died from fentanyl poisoning.

Prosser, who covers public safety, won the Roy Peter Clark Prize for Excellence in Short Writing, which honors stories of less than 800 words in any medium. The story was part of a newsroom initiative to chronicle the impact of fentanyl on North Texas.

“Last year, The Dallas Morning News and nearly 60 journalists spent months chronicling the impacts of fentanyl in our community,” said Executive Editor Katrice Hardy. “So much of this work, from inside schools to hospitals to the battle at the border and for law enforcement, was all aimed at educating our community to save lives. Maggie Prosser’s poignant and painstakingly woven short story was a powerful window into one mom’s life after losing her daughter to an overdose.”

Prosser specifically thanked the story’s subject for her openness.

“This is an absolute honor, but all of the recognition goes to Kathy Travis — one of the strongest women I’ve had the privilege of meeting and knowing,” she said. “Over nearly a year of reporting, Kathy was patient, kind and generous with her time and Jessica’s story. She always believed in the power of these 425 words, and I’m extremely grateful to Poynter for acknowledging what Kathy knew all along.”

Poynter also recognized The News staff as a finalist for the Deborah Howell Award for Writing Excellence for its coverage of the Allen mall shooting. Megan Cassidy and Gabrielle Lurie of the San Francisco Chronicle won for their 18-month investigation of the link between migrants from Honduras’s Siria Valley to San Francisco’s drug crisis. Wright Thompson of ESPN was also a finalist for his story about Joe Montana.

“The finalist nod to this newsroom for the tragic Allen Mall shooting is another example of our journalists never losing focus on always informing and staying committed to our purpose no matter what this community is going through,” Hardy said.

The Poynter Journalism Prizes have been awarded annually for 45 years. The awards have changed institutional homes and names over the course of their existence, most recently being housed at the News Leaders Association. This is the first year the Poynter Institute has hosted the awards.