EWTN News divisions shine at 2024 Catholic Media Association awards

National Catholic Register Editor-in-Chief Shannon Mullen (left) and Catholic News Agency Editor-in-Chief Ken Oliver (right) flank Jeanette DeMelo (center), the executive director of the two EWTN News properties. / Rita Sporleder/EWTN News

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 26, 2024 / 12:05 pm (CNA).

The 2024 Catholic Media Association (CMA) awards saw EWTN News properties, including Catholic News Agency and the National Catholic Register, garner top honors in 13 categories and 33 total awards. 

EWTN Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board Michael Warsaw led the wins for the global Catholic network, taking first place for Best Regular Column – General Commentary for his columns in the National Catholic Register. In particular, Warsaw’s columns titled “The Catholic Church in Africa Is a Blessing,” “Trapped Armenian Christians Deserve Global Attention,” and “Creative Fireworks” were cited for their compelling voice, with one CMA judge expressing his appreciation for the “strong, faithful stance these columns take and the call to take a position.”

In addition, taking first place for CMA’s Writer of the Year award was National Catholic Register senior editor Jonathan Liedl. The judges described Liedl as having “masterful writing paired with solid research and reporting. This exceptional combination delivers compelling stories regardless of topic.”

EWTN News Vatican correspondent Colm Flynn also received top honors in the category of Best Coverage – Papal Trips. In the words of one CMA judge, “Flynn’s first-person accounts of the papal visits is very effective for bringing the reader into the scene” with Flynn’s coverage of the February 2023 papal trip to South Sudan for the National Catholic Register receiving special commendation for its “highly educational and enlightening” content.

Flynn and EWTN News colleague Patrick Leonard also took CMA’s top honors for Best Video – The Clergy in recognition of their deeply moving profile of Father Peter Adamski, titled “How a Tragic Loss Led a Top-Level Executive to Become a Catholic Priest.”

Catholic News Agency took top honors for Best News Writing Series – National Event in recognition of its superlative coverage of the phenomenon surrounding Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster, whose body was exhumed last year and found to be in an unexpected state of preservation. CNA’s team coverage of the event was led by National Catholic Register Editor-in-Chief Shannon Mullen in tandem with CNA Senior Rome Correspondent Hannah Brockhaus and Joe Bukuras.

The agency also took top honors for Best Personality Profile – National Newspaper or Wire Service. In that category, CNA General Assignment Editor Zoe Romanowsky was recognized as the best in the business for her article “Fighting Euthanasia in Canada: Amanda Achtman is a millennial on a mission.” Achtman is the founder of the Dying to Meet You, a project of cultural renewal that aims to “humanize our conversation on suffering, death, meaning, and hope.”

CNA further distinguished itself by winning CMA’s award for Best Coverage – Religious Liberty Issues. In that category, senior editor Daniel Payne, in tandem with Joe Bukuras and Tyler Arnold, were feted for their groundbreaking reporting on the FBI memo on investigating traditional Catholics. In the words of one of the CMA’s judges: “This package represents some of the best investigative and expository reporting I have ever read.” 

The judge also credited the reporting for making the National Catholic Register “a player in the quest to demand reform in the FBI and to get the FBI to own up to its unjustified investigation of and besmirchment of practicing Catholics.”

The National Catholic Register also took top spot for Best Coverage – Pro life Issues. In that category, Lauretta Brown was recognized for her superlative “Moms on Campus” series on how Catholic institutions of higher education are helping to empower young women to choose life while pursuing degrees.

Other National Catholic Register wins included Best Regular Column – Culture, the Arts, and Leisure in recognition of Barbara Nicolosi’s columns “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, A Small Light,” and “Elemental.” The Register also took top honors for Best Front Page – National Newspapers with Mullen receiving the award along with Managing Editor Tom Wehner, Graphic Designer Melissa Hartog, and Senior Editor Amy Smith.

In addition, Catholic News Agency won top spot for Best Reporting on Priesthood, Religious Life, or Diaconate – Series. CNA senior editor Payne, staff writer Jonah McKeown, and Kevin Jones were hailed for stories that “open eyes and instead of sounding the alarm, open the door to new possibilities.”

Along with 13 best-in-class awards, Catholic News Agency, the National Catholic Register, and other EWTN News outlets garnered runner-up awards in 20 additional categories, including in Best Use of Social Media for Breaking News, Best Use of Live Video in Social Media, Best Multimedia Package Series, Best Coverage on Catholic Education, Best Coverage – Political Issues,  Best Reporting on a Special Age Group – Young Adults (18-40), and Best Podcast – Topical News, among others.

Commenting on the recognitions, Mullen singled out senior editor Liedl’s winning CMA’s “Writer of the Year” award, noting that it is “an extremely competitive award and richly deserved in Jonathan’s case. In particular, his reporting and writing from Germany for the controversial Synodal Way assembly and from Rome throughout the monthlong Synod on Synodality was world-class.” 

For his part, Catholic News Agency Editor-in-Chief Ken Oliver said the agency’s slew of awards “are a testament to the consequential coverage CNA provides on some of the most pressing issues Catholics face today.”

In particular, Oliver cited the groundbreaking, persistent coverage of the February 2023 FBI memo on investigating traditional Catholics as well as CNA’s best-in-the-business story about an extraordinarily engaging champion in the fight against euthanasia in Canada, which he said “shows how our team is pushing back against the culture of death by spotlighting the culture of life.”