Spotlight Delaware has been named a 2025 News Organization of the Year by the Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association, thanks to a strong showing in regional journalism awards announced this month.
Spotlight shares the award with the Baltimore Beat in Division D after the two publications won the most first- and second-place prizes in the annual contest honoring excellence in local coverage.
Spotlight Delaware’s nonprofit newsroom also won three first-place awards in the Delaware Press Association’s 2026 Communications Contest, marking an especially rewarding spring for the startup that launched just over two years ago.
“These awards confirm something that more and more people in Delaware already know – that Spotlight Delaware is seen as a must-read source of free, fair local news,” said Spotlight’s founder, CEO and Publisher Allison Taylor Levine.
The MDDC contest judges also named Spotlight reporter Nick Stonesifer as “Rookie of the Year,” for his “well-researched, well-written and important work.” The judges praised Stonesifer’s impressive hand with Freedom of Information Act requests, as well as his “focused work ethic.”
“He was holding institutions and their leadership accountable,” the judges said. “The health care stories were looking out for segments of his communities that often don’t have a voice, or aren’t heard. And the story about the suicide rate among farmers was an eye-opener.
“He has a bright future in the business.”
Spotlight Editor-in-Chief Jacob Owens agreed. “Nick has become a backbone for editorial coverage in our newsroom, as his ability to fact-find and create story ideas independently has led to coverage not otherwise being provided in the state and not being generated by an editor,” Owens said.
In total, Spotlight’s entire staff earned awards in the MDDC or DPA contests.
In particular, MDDC judges also awarded former Spotlight reporter José Ignacio Castañeda Perez the second-place prize in a new category, the A-Mark Prize for Investigative Journalism.
Judges praised his work on a series of articles that “blends FOIA information with consistent follow-up reporting on how local police departments responded to ICE outreach, placing these proposed partnerships in the context of the broader national and state debate over whether they should be encouraged or even allowed.”
Other MDDC Division D awards included:
- 1st place, Best Event – Delaware Legislative Summit 2025
- 1st place, Best Editorial News Graphic – Elsa Kegelman (GOP finance questions)
- 1st place, Best Use of Interactive Media – David Stradley, Brianna Hill (Wilmington rent stabilization)
- 1st place, Editorial Series – Editorial Staff (The Meyer Plan)
- 1st place, Continuing Coverage – Brianna Hill (Gibraltar Estate rehab raises concerns)
- Editorial Staff – nominee for James S. Keat FOIA Award
- 1st place, Local Government – Maggie Reynolds (Georgetown homeless population spurs resident ire)
- 1st place, State Government – Nick Stonesifer (As home improvement fraud arrests rise, convictions remain elusive)
- 1st place, Public Service – Karl Baker, Tim Carlin (Get Involved feature)
- 1st place, Medical/Science Reporting – Nick Stonesifer (As ChristianaCare’s profits rise, free care remains stagnant)
- 1st place, Education Reporting – Julia Merola (How a Wilmington Educator is taking guessing out of classroom reading)
- 1st place, Impact of Trump administration on local communities – José Ignacio Castañeda Perez (ICE enforcement upends lives for rural DE immigrants)
- 2nd place, Business Reporting – Jacob Owens (ChristianaCare explores mega merger)
- 2nd place, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Coverage – José Ignacio Castañeda Perez (Our Delaware: The Haitian community)
- 2nd place, General Web Site Excellence – Jacob Owens, Angela Reives, Elsa Kegelman
- 2nd place, Local Government – Brianna Hill (Should Wilmington ban new corner stores?)
- 2nd place, Medical/Science Reporting – Nick Stonesifer (Farmers face higher risk of suicide)
- 2nd place, Environmental Reporting – Mike Smith (State planning chief: Sussex growth is “unsustainable”)
In the Delaware Press Association contest, three Spotlight reporters won first-place awards for coverage in specialty categories:
- Continuing Coverage – Karl Baker (Port of Wilmington board battle)
- Feature Story [Online Publication] – José Ignacio Castañeda Perez (Delaware abuse victim rescued from ICE deportation)
- Expanded Obituary – Jacob Owens (Mike Castle dies at 86)
Other DPA prizes included:
- 2nd place, Health Reporting – Nick Stonesifer (Farmers face higher risk of suicide);
- 2nd Place, Business Reporting – Jacob Owens (ChristianaCare explores mega merger with N.J.’s Virtua Health);
- 2nd place, Agriculture Reporting – Maggie Reynolds (Delaware soybean farmers remain optimistic amid dropping prices);
- 2nd place, Continuing Coverage – Brianna Hill (Wilmington Land Bank scrutiny)
- 3rd place, Agriculture Reporting – Olivia Marble (Trump admin cutting solar spending. Some Delaware farmers are celebrating)
- 3rd place, Health Reporting – Maggie Reynolds (Kent County groups have big plans to address homelessness)
- 3rd place, Business Reporting – Nick Stonesifer (As ChristianaCare’s profits rise, free care to the poor remains stagnant)
- 3rd place, Podcast – David Stradley (Beyond the Headlines: Rent Stabilization in Wilmington)
- Honorable Mention, Continuing Coverage – Karl Baker, Nick Stonesifer (PAL of Delaware faces financial upheaval as Longhurst resigns)
- Honorable Mention, Feature Story [Online publication] – Jacob Owens (A decade after Bradley abuse case, survivors still seek help)
- Honorable Mention, Continuing Coverage – Jacob Owens, Karl Baker (SB 21 debate)
- Honorable Mention, Feature Story [Online Publication] – Julia Merola (Wilmington mom struggles to secure therapy for son with autism)
- Honorable Mention, Education Reporting – Julia Merola (How a Wilmington educator is taking guessing out of classroom reading)
For more information, reach out to Spotlight Delaware COO Matt Sullivan at msullivan@spotlightdelaware.org.
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