The Tennessean and USA Today win prestigious Peabody Award in public-service journalism

Sandy Mazza, Nashville Tennessean
·2 min read

The Tennessean and USA Today won the esteemed 84th annual Peabody Award for outstanding public-service journalism, The Peabody Awards Board of Jurors announced Thursday.

The honor recognizes 34 of the most powerful and socially relevant storytelling projects on television, online media and radio in 2023.

The winning public-service category story, "The Post Roe Baby Boom: Inside Mississippi's Maternal Health Crisis," is part of USA Today's "States of America" documentary video series.

It takes an in-depth look at a statewide baby boom in the aftermath of the state's 2022 decision to ban abortion.

Danielle Dreilinger, a USA TODAY Network reporter then based at The Tennessean, told the story of Dr. Lakeisha Richardson, one of only two obstetricians to care for pregnant mothers and deliver babies in the Mississippi Delta.

"I'm on call 24/7 so I'm delivering my own patients. I don't have a hospitalist or a midwife who can catch a baby for me while I'm in clinic or if I'm out after hours," Richardson said, in the documentary. "So It's running back and forth a majority of the day."

Dreilinger also interviews mothers who have endured traumatic pregnancies or traveled out of state for an abortion as a result of the challenged health care system, and she presents the perspective of a minister who opposes abortion.

"From major productions to local journalism, the Peabody Awards shine a light on the stories that matter and are a testament to the power of art and reportage in the push for truth, social justice, and equity," the Peabody Award Board of Jurors said, in a statement. "In this episode of USA Today’s "States of America," Danielle Dreilinger, a journalist for The Tennessean, shines a spotlight on the harrowing deficiencies of that system with a report on the Mississippi Delta, an impoverished region with historically high rates of maternal and infant mortality."

Local television station NewsChannel 5's investidative reporter Phil Williams also won a Peabody Award, in the news category, for its "Hate Comes to Main Street" piece on controversial former Franklin alderman Gabrielle Hanson.

On Tuesday, The Tennessean photojournalist Nicole S. Hester was named a Pulitzer Prize finalist in breaking news photography for her coverage in the aftermath of the Covenant School shooting.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: USA Today and The Tennessean win prestigious Peabody Award