Lucille Lannigan Albany Herald’s first Emerging Journalist winner

JEKYLL ISLAND — Albany Herald reporter Lucille Lannigan was one of two journalists who were honored as winners of the Georgia Press Association’s Emerging Young Journalist Award, which recognizes journalists younger than 30 with less than five years of experience writing professionally for a newspaper. Lannigan shared the honor with Jesse Fraga of The Macon Telegraph.

Lannigan was the first Herald journalist to win the prestigious award.

The Georgia Press Association announced the winners of the 2025 Better Newspaper Contest on Friday at the Jekyll Island Club here during the group’s 138th annual convention.

“It’s an honor to be recognized by my peers in this way,” Lannigan said. “Not only is my work being recognized, but this means overlooked issues and stories in southwest Georgians are getting recognition as well. As my journalism peers left for jobs in big cities for national publications, I set off for Albany, Georgia, unsure of what kind of work awaited me. I was met with tremendous opportunities for growth and to truly serve the community I lived in through boots-on-the-ground journalism.

“While my name might be on the plaques, the awards equally belong to the southwest Georgians named in my stories. Without their trust and openness, I wouldn’t have been able to amplify these crucial stories on agriculture, civil rights, health care and other issues impacting this region. I couldn’t have done this without the help of veteran reporter Alan Mauldin and Editor Carlton Fletcher who continue to share their wealth of knowledge and many, many contacts with me. I feel lucky to get to do this work and always want to emphasize the importance of local journalism and of supporting your local newspaper, especially now. Strong newspapers build strong, informed and empowered communities.”

In addition to the Emerging Journalist award, Lannigan also won two first-place and one second-place award. Sports Editor Joe Whitfield won a pair of second-place and one third-place award.

Editor Carlton Fletcher said of Lannigan, “I nominated Lucy for this award because I, frankly, have never seen a young journalist more eager and willing to seek out not only compelling and timely articles, but also the people who are most impacted by the stories she writes. She goes where the stories are, no matter the location, and she shows no fear in interviewing high-profile individuals or the less noticeable common folk who do not typically seek attention. Lucy is fearless in her search, and she frequently puts ‘getting the story’ above her own personal interests.”

Lannigan’s first-place awards came in Business Writing and Enterprise Story categories, and her second-place award was in the Feature Writing competition.

Whitfield, whose stint as a professional photographer shows in his work, earned second-place finishes in Sports Feature Photo and Sports Feature Writing categories, while his third-place award was in the Sports Feature Photo category.

The Albany Herald also earned a third-place finish for General Excellence in the Class B category.

“That’s a tribute to all the people who work at the newspaper,” Fletcher said. “Like in any job, there are times when it seems the only feedback we get is of the negative variety. Earning recognition in this manner reaffirms for us why we chose this profession.”

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution won the prestigious Freedom of Information Award for doing the most during 2024 to uphold the principles of the First Amendment and to protect the public’s right to know. Judging for the award was done by the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

The AJC and reporters Carrie Teegardin and Danny Robbins worked for more than a year to uncover the shocking depth of a crisis in management, safety and criminal activity in the state prison system. The newspaper overcame attempts by the commissioner of the department of corrections to shield data and accounts of shocking behavior by inmates and officers, leading to a federal investigation. Finally, in early 2025, Georgia officials acknowledged a crisis and appropriated $600 million to address staffing, facilities, contraband and safety.

The photograph chosen as the Photo of the Year was taken by Katie Goodale of The Augusta Chronicle of a diver in mid-flight. The photo won the Sports Photo award for Division A. All first-place winners in photo categories are considered for Photo of the Year.

Winners in the Georgia Press Association contests were honored for their outstanding achievements in newspaper journalism and advertising. Entries were judged in six divisions based on circulation. There were 482 awards presented in 42 categories to 74 newspapers in the editorial contest. There were 2,213 total entries in the contest.