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CultureMap and Houston Public Media honored with national journalism awards
CultureMap real estate contributor Ralph Bivins and Houston Public Media reporter Andrew Schneider were among the winners in the The National Association of Real Estate Editors (NAREE) 64th Annual Journalism Awards, recognizing excellence in reporting, writing and editing stories about residential and commercial real estate.
The awards were announced at the 48th Annual Real Estate Journalism Conference at the Westin Oaks hotel Friday night. More than 250 real estate journalists from around the nation are attending the conference, which ends Saturday with a home tour in The Woodlands and a tour of the new Exxon Mobil headquarters, currently under construction.
Bivins received a Bronze Award in the Breaking News category for his report on plans by Hines to build a 41-story skyscraper in downtown Houston. Bivins, a longtime real estate writer and founder of popular real estate blog, Realty News Report, was also honored last year and in 2011 for articles he wrote for CultureMap.
Scheinder received a Bronze Award in the Best Broadcast Report for a story on KUHF-FM (News 88.7) about new apartment construction in Houston with no relief on rents. “In Houston’s explosive rental market, this reporter provided a useful guide to those moving into the city and feeling overwhelmed. It revealed a tilt in the market toward high-end construction, putting greater pressure on young professionals," judges noted.
A panel from the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University selected the winners.
Josh Salman, a reporter at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, received NAREE's Platinum Award for Best Individual Entry for an investigative piece that led to an FBI investigation of a real estate fraud scheme by a government-sponsored non-profit.
Salman and Michael Ratliff of Multi-Housing News were named Gold Award Co-Winners of the Ruth Ryon Award for Best Young Journalist for journalists 30 years old and younger. Nick Timiraos of the Wall Street Journal won the Bronze Award in the Young Journalist category.
The President's Gold Award for Best Freelance Collection went to Mary Umberger, a freelance writer whose work frequently appears in the Chicago Tribune and New Home Source. Sarah Tilton, a freelancer for the Wall Street Journal, earned the Silver Award for her freelance work and Kenneth Harney, The Washington Post Writers Group and Inman News, took the Bronze Award.