The Tallahassee Democrat earned more national recognition June 18, winning top awards in the 2025 Best of USA TODAY Media competition for its rapid and empathetic coverage of the Florida State University mass shooting and claiming one of the USA TODAY Network’s highest individual honors.
In a competition between more that 200 news operations, the Democrat’s staff won in the Breaking News category for its coverage of the FSU shooting on April 17, 2025, an international storyline that brought in reporters, editors and visual journalists across the newsroom.
“The Tallahassee Democrat painted a vivid picture of horror, resilience and unity in its coverage of the Florida State University shooting,” judges wrote. “The photos, videos and written narratives demonstrated the newspaper’s sourcing and deep connection to the community.”
Also, photojournalist and visual storyteller Alicia Devine was named “Journalist of the Year,” recognizing her body of work documenting the community through powerful photography and storytelling. And she won Best Photography for a small newspaper.
“Operating effectively as a one-person visual team in Tallahassee, she manages the full production pipeline — coordination, field reporting, shooting, editing, and delivery — across relentless deadlines that span days, nights, weekdays and weekends,” a panel of judges wrote.
“Despite the volume and pace of requests, she consistently delivers work of remarkable technical quality and narrative depth, defining the paper’s visual identity.”
Moreover, Devine was a finalist for the Beat Reporting category, for her work documenting the physicians, nurses and the rest of the trauma team in the community hospital, Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare, called “Hidden Heroics in the ER.”
“Alicia Devine has a strong eye for emotion,” the judges wrote. “This photo collection from Devine and the Tallahassee Democrat is full of sorrow and joy – and getting into the ER was a big win that resulted in some powerful images.”
The awards highlight the newsroom’s continued focus on urgent, community-centered reporting and enterprise visual journalism, Democrat executive editor William Hatfield said.
“It’s really hard to put into words how honored I am to serve alongside this team of journalists,” he said. “I’ve been in Tallahassee for more than a decade, and I still marvel at what they do each day.”
“We’re also so grateful to all those who have the courage to share their stories, and for the subscribers who make this work possible.”
The annual awards program honors the best journalism across the USA TODAY Network, spotlighting standout work in reporting, visuals, design and digital storytelling from newsrooms nationwide.
The Democrat was among other Florida newspapers in the USA TODAY Network that snagged awards for work last year, including reporter Rick Neale’s space industry coverage for Florida TODAY in Brevard County and John Torres, that paper’s opinion editor, for his work on an overturned murder conviction.
The awards come during a season of accolades for the capital city news team that has served the community for more than a century. For the sixth time in eight years, the Tallahassee Democrat won the Gold Medal in Public Service Journalism in the recent Florida Society of News Editors contest for Division B, which covers the state’s medium-sized newspapers and news operations.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee Democrat team wins top honors in USA TODAY Media awards
Reporting by Staff report, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Staff report, Tallahassee Democrat | USA TODAY Network
