Tampa Bay Times columnist Stephanie Hayes wins Paul C. Tash Award
Stephanie Hayes sparkles (often figuratively, sometimes literally).
Over two decades with the Tampa Bay Times, Hayes has wowed readers with her deep reporting, moving prose and unparalleled range. Last week, for those qualities, she was recognized with the Paul C. Tash Journalist of the Year Award.
The award, in its second year, is “bestowed annually to a single journalist at the Times Publishing Co. who best exemplifies the integrity, high journalistic standards and service to readers that were trademarks” of the company’s former chairman.
At a company-wide meeting on April 4, Chairman and CEO Conan Gallaty praised Hayes for her ability to cover difficult topics aggressively, carefully and with a sense of humor, offering levity to readers when most needed.
“The Times is fortunate to call Stephanie Hayes one of our own. Her columns delight readers, and her writing talents extend well beyond our pages,” Gallaty said of Hayes. “She trains and encourages others throughout our newsroom, always putting her heart into her work. Stephanie lives up to the spirit of Paul Tash’s legacy.”
Hayes, now a syndicated columnist, first joined the newsroom as an editorial assistant at 19, trading a job at the mall for a chance to work with writers. In the beginning, there were errands — picking up cakes, refilling the stapler — but soon Hayes’ ambitions won over. She found opportunities to write whenever and wherever she could and transitioned into a role as a full-time reporter in 2005.
Since then, Hayes has worked beats ranging from higher education, to pop culture and night life, and obituary features. In 2014, she was named the deputy features editor and in 2016 edited a series that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
At the end of 2019, eager to return to writing, Hayes pitched a new title: humor columnist. She started the job in March 2020. Then the pandemic began.
There was irony in the timing, like the universe playing a painful joke, but Hayes leaned in. Through her columns, published twice a week, she digested her changing world and helped readers do the same. She’s been doing it ever since.
“I think it’s important to give people an outlet to laugh, even when things are hard and scary,” Hayes said earlier this year. “It’s OK to find those little moments of humor that get us through the day.”
Over the last year, Hayes’ columns took a more serious tone. Through hours spent at school board meetings, she turned a sharp eye to book banning efforts across Florida and wove together deep reporting with thoughtful commentary. After Hurricane Idalia, Hayes wrote a memorable piece on a flock of flamingoes who had made their way to Pinellas County beaches post-storm. And when her dad died in November, a column about her father and the days that followed his death offered a poignant portrait of grief, resonant to anyone who’s experienced loss.
“Stephanie is an amazing columnist with such a distinctive voice and irreverent wit,” said Times Executive Editor Mark Katches. “Her heartbreaking column about the death of her father stands as one of the most memorable stories published in the Times last year.”
Beyond her work, Hayes is known by colleagues for her generosity, mentorship and fashion sense. You can get her writing delivered directly to your inbox by signing up for her newsletter, Stephinitely, here.
Finalists for the award were Douglas C. Clifford of the Tampa Bay Times, Mike Vogel of Florida Trend and Lee Clark Zumpe of Tampa Bay Newspapers.
