Phil Williams' "Hate comes to Main Street" wins DuPont Award [View all]

https://www.newschannel5.com/news/newschannel-5-investigates/franklin-politics/hate-comes-to-main-street-wins-prestigious-dupont-award-called-master-class-in-local-reporting

"NEW YORK (WTVF) — NewsChannel 5’s on-going “Hate Comes to Main Street” investigation has been honored with a prestigious duPont-Columbia Award, with the duPont jury calling it “a master class in local reporting.”

That effort, led by chief investigative reporter Phil Williams and photojournalist Bryan Staples, exposed the white supremacist ties of Gabrielle Hanson, a mayoral candidate in Franklin, Tennessee, in fall 2023. Following leads stemming from the Hanson stories, the NewsChannel 5 investigation expanded last year into questions about Shawn Taylor, the QAnon-aligned assistant police chief in Millersville, Tennessee.
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In announcing the award, Whitaker noted that, as a result of NewsChannel 5's investigation, Williams faced “repeated threats of physical violence by white supremacists and attempts by QAnon extremists to discredit him.”

“From where I stand,” Williams told the attendees, “we cannot allow hate to win – no matter the cost. For the sake of democracy, surrender is simply not an option.”

This is the fifth duPont Award for NewsChannel 5, as well as Williams and Staples. The investigation into Hanson also received a coveted George Foster Peabody Award last year."...(more)