Detroit Free Press reporter Andrea May Sahouri wins 50th annual McCree award

Detroit Free Press Criminal Justice Reporter Andrea May Sahouri is among the winners of the 50th annual Wade H. McCree Advancement of Justice Award, the Michigan Press Association Foundation announced Monday.

Sahouri won for her coverage of racist abuse among a private security police force at Detroit's Renaissance Center. The investigative report featured interviews with victims and analysis of hundreds of pages of court documents.

"The Free Press is so proud of this investigation by Andrea May Sahouri," said Nicole Avery Nichols, editor and vice president of the Detroit Free Press. "This work exposed institutional failings and a system that caused harm to metro Detroiters. We are already seeing the impact of this reporting in the form of policy changes that make the Renaissance Center a safer space."

Other winners include Kara Berg of the Detroit News, Lauren Gibbons of Bridge Michigan and Heather Catallo of WXYZ. A panel of three judges representing law and media selected the 2024 winners.

The Michigan Press Association Foundation honors journalists with the annual awards "based on the significance and informative level of journalism, as well as the impact on changing and improving the legal and law enforcement systems," according to the foundation. The awards' namesake McCree served as a judge and solicitor general.

"Thanks to the Michigan Press Association Foundation for their continuous support of journalism that inspires change," Avery Nichols said.

The Detroit Free Press previously won the McCree award in 2023 for coverage of juvenile detention conditions, wrongful convictions, laws on mental illness and substance abuse and the Oxford High School shooting.

The MPAF presented the awards at the 2024 Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame dinner Sunday at the Kellogg Center.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Free Press Reporter Andrea May Sahouri wins McCree award