NEW YORK, Oct. 27, 2021 — THE CITY, an independent, digital news outlet dedicated to hard-hitting reporting that serves the people of New York, was presented with the Edward R. Murrow Award for Feature Reporting in Oct. 27 during the 2021 Edward R. Murrow Awards Gala in New York City. The awards recognized excellence in digital, radio and television journalism across 18 different categories. 

THE CITY’s coverage on food delivery workers during the pandemic earned the nonprofit newsroom the honor from the Radio Television Digital News Association. 

How Los Deliveristas Unidos Banded Together followed the plight of indigenous Guatemalan and Mexican food delivery workers in New York City during the pandemic, bringing to light the hardships they faced on the frontlines of the pandemic as essential workers. Reporters Claudia Irizarry-Aponte and Josefa Velasquez’s coverage led to the New York City Council passing a set of bills that ensured bathroom access, minimum pay and more for the app-based delivery workers who kept New Yorkers fed during the pandemic.

Josefa Velasquez and Claudia Irizarry-Aponte

“We gather to honor the best of last year’s broadcast and digital journalism, and all journalists who braved unprecedented challenges brought on by the pandemic, a badly needed but sometimes turbulent racial reawakening, and arguably the most contentious election cycle in our nation’s modern history,” RTDNA Executive Director Dan Shelley said at the Gala. “Yet you — and they — did it with extreme professionalism, unending persistence and a deep passion for serving the public by seeking and reporting the truth.”

To date, THE CITY has won more than 50 awards and recognitions, including honors from Editor & Publisher, New York Press Club, and the Online News Association.

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ABOUT THE CITY: THE CITY (thecity.nyc) is a nonprofit digital news platform whose mission is to produce free-to-read, local reporting that serves the people of New York City. Launched in 2019 to fill critical local reporting gaps, THE CITY covers New York’s uncovered neighborhoods, holds the powerful to account, and helps make sense of the greatest city in the world. THE CITY Scoop, its flagship newsletter, is delivered weekdays and Sunday, while additional newsletters serve New Yorkers with news they can use on housing, jobs and civic engagement.

ABOUT RTDNA: The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) is the world’s largest professional organization devoted exclusively to broadcast and digital journalism. Founded as a grassroots organization in 1946, RTDNA’s mission is to promote and protect responsible journalism. RTDNA defends the First Amendment rights of electronic journalists throughout the country, honors outstanding work in the profession through the Edward R. Murrow Awards and provides members with training to encourage ethical standards, newsroom leadership and industry innovation.