MLK50: Justice Through Journalism won two 2026 National Headliners awards, one of the oldest and largest contests honoring journalistic excellence in the U.S.
In the Independent Community/Local News Site category, MLK50 won second place. The award recognizes overall journalistic excellence. Enterprise reporter Michael Finch II also won a second-place award in the online beat reporting government and political coverage category. He earned it for his series of stories on developers being propped up by city tax breaks despite running complexes with unlivable conditions. Finch also received a 2025 Best in Business honorable mention for the same work. That award is given by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing.
The Atlantic City Press Club has been handing out Headliner awards for more than 90 years. In 2022, MLK50 won a first-place award in the online beat coverage category for coverage of the residents of Southwest Memphis’ fight to stop the Byhalia Connection Pipeline.
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