The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) announces the selection of Wesley Lowery of The Washington Post as the association’s 2014 Emerging Journalist of the Year. The award recognizes an early career journalist who through their body of work displays a commitment to NABJ’s goal of outstanding achievement by black journalists and a commitment to providing balanced coverage of the black community and society at large.
“Wesley is a tremendous journalist who has made an immediate impact in every newsroom in which he has worked. Wesley is intelligent, passionate, tremendously hard working, and insightful, with a maturity beyond his years,” said NABJ President Bob Butler. “His reporting skills have allowed him to cover some of the most important and compelling stories in recent memory including the Boston Marathon Bombings, the Aaron Hernandez case, the Trayvon Martin case, the Christopher Dorner manhunt, the 2012 presidential election, and Massachusetts’ 2013 special election for the U.S. Senate.”
Currently a political reporter at The Washington Post Lowery primarily covers Congress as part of The Post’s online strike force, the team, which offers immediate reporting and analysis for the web. He also contributes to coverage of general breaking news stories. His reporting also appears in print editions of the newspaper.
Lowery previously worked as a general assignment and political reporter at The Boston Globe, and he was a METPRO Reporting Fellow at The Los Angeles Times. He held reporting internships at The Globe, The Wall Street Journal, The Columbus Dispatch, and at The Detroit News.
“Wesley is the embodiment of the qualities we envisioned a decade ago when we created the Emerging Journalist of the Year Award,” said Errin Whack, who chaired the Young Journalists Task Force and is a creator and recipient of the honor. “His matchless drive, talent and commitment to producing high-quality journalism, is an example and inspiration. Wesley is a singular talent, possessing a poise and gift for reporting and writing rarely seen in journalists his age. We will not soon forget the byline Wesley Lowery.”
An “NABJ Baby” Wesley participated in NABJ’s highly regarded student multimedia reporting project having reported at 2008 Unity: Journalists of Color convention in Chicago, and at the NABJ Convention in Tampa, Florida. He also served as a member of NABJ’s Board of Directors as the national student representative.
While attending the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University he was editor-in-chief of The Post, the school newspaper where he managed coverage of the university and of Athens County, Ohio. and was the second black editor in the paper’s 100-year history.
NABJ is proud to honor Wesley Lowery as the latest recipient of the Emerging Journalist of the Year Award and looks forward to his continued career achievement. Other past recipients include Theola Labbé-DeBose, Krissah Williams, Trymaine Lee, Errin Whack, Mara Schiavocampo, Sarah Hoye, Michael Feeney, Kimberley A. Martin, Gerrick Kennedy, and Yamiche Alcindor.
Lowery will be honored along with NABJ’s other honorees at NABJ’s Salute to Excellence Gala on August 2, 2014 during NABJ’s 39th Annual Convention and Career Fair in Boston.
