The 2017 SPJ Florida Sunshine State Awards finalists have been selected in each category with the first, second and third-place finishers to be announced at the Sunshine State Awards ceremony on July 22, 2017, in Miami, Florida.

SPECIAL CATEGORIES

James Batten Award for Public Service

• Sarasota Herald Tribune – Maggie Clark, Medicaid
• Tampa Bay Times – Laura Reiley, Farm to fable
• WUFT.org – Staff, Project: Blue

Gene Miller Award for Investigative Reporting

• Fusion – Staff of Fusion, Dirty Little Secrets
• Sarasota Herald Tribune – Josh Salman, Emily Le Coz, Elizabeth Johnson, Bias on the bench
• Tampa Bay Times – William R. Levesque, Nathaniel Lash, Anthony Cormier, Breakdown of Oversight

Diversity Award

• The Daytona Beach News-Journal – Lola Gomez, Living in the Shadows – Lola Gomez
• The Florida Times-Union – Tia Mitchell, Tia Mitchell Diversity Award
• WTSP-TV – Emerald Morrow, Diversity Matters

First Amendment Foundation Freedom of Information Award

• Sarasota Herald Tribune – Josh Salman, Emily Le Coz, Elizabeth Johnson, Bias on the bench
• The Villages Daily Sun – Staff, Redefining Justice
• WLRN News – Rowan Moore Gerety, Rowan Moore Gerety: Say My Name, School Suspensions and Pulse 911 Records

Integrity Florida Award for Public Corruption Reporting

• Miami Herald – Michael Sallah, Jay Weaver, Opa-locka: City for Sale
• Sarasota Herald Tribune – Lee Williams, Prosecutor Pub Crawl
• The Florida Times-Union – Christopher Hong, Nate Monroe, Steve Patterson, Corrine Brown Connections

Journalist of the Year

• The Palm Beach Post – Pat Beall, Pat Beall
• WLRN News – Sammy Mack, Sammy Mack
• WPBF 25 News – Terri Parker, Terri Parker Reports

To see the complete list of all categories and finalists, link HERE.