Cicero Independiente receives McCommons Award for Distinguished Community Journalism

Cicero Independiente journalists have been named the recipients of the Rollin M. “Pete” McCommons Award for Distinguished Community Journalism. The award recognizes the group for their investigative series, “The Air We Breathe: Environmental concerns in the majority Latinix town of Cicero, Illinois,” that they reported on in collaboration with MuckRock, a non-profit collaborative new site.

The McCommons Award, established by Grady Thrasher and Kathy Prescott to honor Pete McCommons, publisher and editor of Flagpole Magazine in Athens, annually recognizes impactful coverage on issues that affect a community. 

Cicero Independiente is a newsroom guided by what community members want to see and learn more about. For years, residents have complained of a number of different environmental concerns including bad air quality and toxic smells. In late 2022, Cicero Independiente started exploring these concerns with our photojournalism fellowship cohort but it wasn’t until March 2023, in collaboration with MuckRock, that they began investigating these long-ignored concerns. The newsroom was honored for its powerful investigative series, “The Air We Breathe,” which highlighted concerns about industrial pollution in Cicero, Illinois, a predominantly Latinx community.

This investigative series has inspired local residents to get involved in advocacy efforts, including demanding more transparency from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency about their work to address air quality and hold polluters accountable. Reporting has been shared at environmental coalition meetings and public meetings with elected officials, and has become an organizing demand to local activists.

“This is a really big deal for us,” said Irene Romulo, development and community engagement director. “When we first launched our newsroom, we knew we wanted to meet the information needs of our community and strengthen people’s sense of belonging in our town. By centering our community, we’ve been able to celebrate the resilience of the people who live here, share life-saving resources and show how investing in community-driven investigations can have a huge impact.” April Alonso, digital editor, accepted the award at Grady Salutes.

Kyser Lough, chair of the McCommons Award Committee and an assistant professor in the Department of Journalism shares, “Their work stands as an outstanding example of journalism that not only reports the news but also drives meaningful impact. The Cicero Independiente team’s attention to detail and community-centered reporting, combined with their thoughtful and strategic multimedia (and multilingual) storytelling exemplifies their commitment to serving and informing the public.”

Grady College Dean, Charles Davis praised the effort, stating, ‘The Air We Breathe’ embodies the reporting that the McCommons Award was created to honor. From using citizens to monitor air quality, to filing dozens of Freedom of Information requests, this inspiring newsroom laid bare the inescapable fact that a local polluter was making life intolerable for thousands of residents.”

The Rollin M. “Pete” McCommons Award for Distinguished Community Journalism, sponsored by the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, goes to small- or niche-market media outlets that have produced single or packaged stories on issues affecting their community and can offer how these stories may have impacted their community. These media outlets can create bonds with its citizens, increase diversity, offer greater depth and context, and find ways to capture local priorities, concerns and perspectives.

This year’s McCommons Award honors reporting conducted in the calendar year 2023. Likewise, next year’s award will recognize reporting conducted in the calendar year 2024. Awards are spaced out so that direct community impact can be evaluated. Nominations are now open for the 2024 award, and can be submitted on the McCommons Award for Distinguished Community Journalism webpage.

Author: Lauren A. Pike, lauren.pike@uga.edu