MANHATTAN — DNAinfo New York won four awards from the annual Society of the Silurians Excellence in Journalism contest.
Criminal Justice Editor Murray Weiss won first place in the online breaking news category for his exclusive story about Metro-North train conductor William Rockefeller dozing off just before the crash in The Bronx, which killed four people and injured 60 more.
Former Crown Heights reporter Sonja Sharp won first place in the online public service category for her three-part series exposing limited English, science and math instruction at Brooklyn yeshiva schools.
"We're proud of our reporting team's ability to uncover news from all parts of the city that no one else was reporting, and in many cases, effect change," Managing Editor Michael P. Ventura said in a statement.
DNAinfo also won two merit awards. One to Chelsea reporter Mathew Katz in the online public service category for his investigation on the misallocation of funds by leading AIDS advocacy organization Gay Men’s Health Crisis.
Murray Weiss was recognized a second time in the online commentary category for his story about the NYPD’s identification of Baby Hope, 22 years after she was killed.
The awards will be presented Thursday night at The Society of the Silurians awards banquet at the Players club in Gramercy.
The society was founded in 1924 by veteran journalists. Former members include Arthur Brisbane, William Randolph Hearst and John Steinbeck.