Suncoast Searchlight earns several Sunshine State Awards, capping year of honors

Suncoast Searchlight earned several honors in the Society of Professional Journalists’ annual Sunshine State Awards competition, including four first-place wins and second place in the prestigious A-Mark Prize for Investigative Journalism.

The awards were announced Saturday at SPJ’s annual awards ceremony in Fort Lauderdale.

The A-Mark recognition went to a joint investigation by Suncoast Searchlight reporter Derek Gilliam and Florida Trident reporter Michael Barfield that exposed Sarasota County’s failures before and during the 2024 storm season, when catastrophic flooding devastated neighborhoods across the county. First place in the A-Mark went to a joint project by the Miami Herald and WLRN; third place went to Florida Trib.

Suncoast Searchlight and Florida Trident earned second place in the prestigious A-Mark Prize for Investigative Reporting.

The Suncoast Searchlight-Florida Trident stormwater investigation also took first place in the SPJ Sunshine State’s Investigative Reporting (Local & Community) category. 

Read the award-winning investigation: Sarasota County officials downplayed flood risk. Tropical Storm Debby exposed their failures

Other first-place honors for Suncoast Searchlight included Alice Herman’s and Kara Newhouse’s reporting on the jail-to-deportation pipeline in the Non-Deadline News Reporting (State & National) category; Herman’s coverage of New College in the Beat Reporting (Education) category; and staff reporting about DeSoto County in the Small Town & Rural Reporting category.

Suncoast Searchlight also was recognized as a finalist for a joint investigation with Bradenton Herald into a series of misconduct cases at Manatee County schools, an investigation into the proliferation of illegal gambling arcades (also with Bradenton Herald), the Power and Profit series on the explosion of community development districts in the area, and stories that examined tax property loopholes and domestic violence.

The SPJ Sunshine State Awards honored top journalism from across Florida produced in 2025, with no weight-classes based on the size of publications — meaning Suncoast Searchlight was competing against some of the largest newspapers in the state. 

See the full list of winners here: 2026 Sunshine State Award winners

“We’re incredibly proud of this recognition, particularly because the Sunshine State Awards bring together newsrooms of all sizes from across Florida ” said Emily Le Coz, Suncoast Searchlight’s executive editor-in-chief. “For a fledgling, nonprofit newsroom like ours to be recognized alongside some of the state’s largest and most established news organizations is especially gratifying. More importantly, these awards honor the kind of ambitious, public-service journalism that we set out to do.”

Suncoast Searchlight launched in February 2025 as an independent, nonpartisan newsroom serving the residents of Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties. Through investigative and explanatory journalism — produced independently and in collaboration with media partners — the newsroom works to foster transparency and accountability, amplify community voices and give residents the information they need to understand and make decisions about their community.

Suncoast Searchlight Board Chair Keith Woods | Photo by C. Todd Sherman, Suncoast Searchlight

The Sunshine State Awards cap a year of state, regional and national recognition for Suncoast Searchlight’s reporting in 2025, its first year of publication.

The newsroom’s work also has been honored by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing, the Institute for Nonprofit News, the Florida Society of News Editors and the National Association of Real Estate Editors, among others. These prizes have recognized Suncoast Searchlight’s reporting on issues ranging from government accountability and education to growth and housing. 

“Awards like these underscore the value Suncoast Searchlight has brought to the region,” said Keith Woods, Suncoast Searchlight board chair. “The prizes recognize powerful accountability journalism, often delivered through collaborations that magnify the strength of local media partners, with a sharp focus on the issues that are most important to the people of the tri-county region. The Board is extremely proud of the Searchlight staff.

This story was produced by Suncoast Searchlight, a nonprofit newsroom of the Community News Collaborative serving Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties. Learn more at suncoastsearchlight.org.