On Monday, Chronicle Editor Natalie Johnson won first place in the comprehensive coverage category at the annual Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Excellence in Journalism awards in Seattle.
Her entry, titled “Employee Alleged 9 Years of Sexual Harassment by Judge in Claim Settled Out of Court,” focused on allegations against former Lewis County Superior Court Judge Nelson Hunt. The series was among several stories that exposed turmoil in the Lewis County court system, and it was published in early 2018 when Johnson was assistant editor of The Chronicle. She was promoted to editor in late March 2018.
“When journalists are at their best, they’re shining light into the darkness and providing transparency in government,” Regional Executive Editor Eric Schwartz said. “Natalie has done that consistently and successfully from the moment she started working for The Chronicle. She’s a great watchdog journalist and a credit to our community.”
It’s just the latest in a long line of accolades for Johnson.
Last December, for the second straight year, Johnson won a first-place award for investigative reporting in the prestigious C.B. Blethen Awards for Distinguished Reporting.
The honor was granted for Johnson’s coverage of the long-shuttered Kiwanis Vocational Home in an entry titled “Sexual Abuse, Fraud and Negligence Alleged at Closed Centralia Home for Boys.”
In 2018, Johnson earned the same award for her coverage of disruptions and upheaval at the Lewis County 911 Center. It was the first ever win for The Chronicle in the investigative journalism category.
She also received a Key Award in 2017 from the Washington Coalition for Open Government following her reporting on violations of the state Open Public Meetings Act by the Lewis County commissioners.
“Natalie Johnson continues to be a vibrant journalist covering Southwest Washington,” said Lafromboise Communications President and Chronicle Publisher Michael Wagar. “It’s no surprise that once again she’s won a major award. I am so proud of her and her staff.”
Johnson was hired by The Chronicle in May 2015 as the crime, courts and emergency services reporter after five years of reporting for The Shelton-Mason County Journal. During her time at that newspaper, she won 12 individual awards for reporting and photography from the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association.
She led the charge that resulted in The Chronicle’s 2016 C.B. Blethen Memorial Award for Distinguished Reporting in the enterprise category in a series focused on drugs titled “Lewis County: Highs and Hopes.” She also led The Chronicle’s coverage of a fire in March 2016 that claimed the lives of three children in Centralia. The reporting won a first-place Blethen Award for deadline coverage.
