“Guardians Of The Deep,” a series of stories that took Civil Beat readers to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands with scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has won a National Headliner Award for online beat reporting in health and science.
The award, announced today, recognized journalists Nathan Eagle, April Estrellon and Kawika Lopez.
Last fall, Eagle accompanied the team of marine biologists on a 25-day research expedition as they assessed the health of one of the few remaining places in the world that is truly wild.
In their comments, judges commended Eagle for turning “readers into explorers, taking them along on an oceanic expedition to remote Hawaiian islands to try to solve the mystery of a just discovered ‘devil weed‘ threatening coral reefs in the Pacific.
“They’re with him, too, as scientists discover the re-emergence of a small island wiped away by a hurricane and he points out how the political tides will affect environmental research and protections.
“With his writing, photos and videos, he shares the thrill, discoveries and importance of environmental/scientific research.”
On Eagle’s return, Estrellon and Lopez collaborated on the layout and presentation of the multi-part project.
Founded in 1934 by the Press Club of Atlantic City, the National Headliner Awards program is one of the oldest and largest annual contests recognizing journalistic excellence. This years awards honored the best print, radio, television and online journalism in the United States published during 2024.
Civil Beat’s coverage of climate change is supported by The Healy Foundation, Marisla Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation and the Frost Family Foundation.
