The Skanner News Wins at Society for Professional Journalists 2012 Awards

From left, Oregonian Investigative/Enterprise Editor Michelle Brence; Oregon Public Broadcasting Managing Editor for News Eve Epstein; and Willamette week Managing Editor for News Brent Walth at the Oregon SPJ event on Saturday. Both the Oregonian and OPB were honored in the name of Bruce Baer, a former television reporter who died young and inspired a journalistic legacy. Lisa Loving photo

The Skanner's News Editor Lisa Loving has won two journalism awards in the Oregon Society for Professional Journalists 2012 Contest.

Loving's series, "Suspensions and Expulsions: The Schools to Prison Pipeline"  won first place in Social Issues Reporting. The series examined the racial implications of school disciplinary policies on the achievement gap and the national incarceration rate.

Loving's story, "Rudy Crew Named CEO of Oregon Schools" won second place in Education reporting . The article covered the state's controversial new education administrator and the protest movement that has sprung up around "accountability measures" versus full-funding of public schools.

Awards for the Oregon SPJ non-daily contest were handed out Saturday, May 18, in Portland.

Nicole Watkins of the Itemizer-Observer was named as SPJ's Rookie of the Year. Watkins is believed to be the first sports editor to be given the prestigious award.

The Oregonian's Betsy Hammond was honored with the Bruce Baer award, the state's top prize in investigative journalism, for "Diplomas Denied: How Portland's School Leaders Hide the Dropout Problem."

Kristian Foden-Vencil, of Oregon Public Broadcasting, was also recognized by the Bruce Baer committee for his work investigating boy scout records.

Read the complete results here.