Staton recognized by Scripps Howard First Amendment Center – Pmg-ky3.com

The Scripps Howard First Amendment Center awarded Kendall Staton, Paxton Media Regional Editor, the Champion of Open Government Award on Thursday, Nov. 2.

Staton, who joined Paxton Media earlier this year, is the editor of The News-Herald, Grant County News and Cynthiana Democrat.

Director of the Scripps Howard First Amendment Center Kathryn Montalbano said the center created the award for Staton based on the merits of her accomplishments and her nomination for the coveted James Madison Award. Montalbano presented Staton with the award prior to the annual State of the First Amendment Address. She told the audience Statons work dated back to her time as a student at the University of Kentucky.

As assistant news editor at the Kentucky Kernel, Kendall worked with the editorial board to share information about the hazing-related death of Thomas Lofton Hazelwood. The teamwork of Kendall and the editorial board provided the community with over seven pages of a student conduct investigation report after nine months of advocating their open records request, Montalbano read from Statons James Madison Award nomination letter. Kendalls quest to provide accurate information to the public continues into her current role. With only a couple of months under her belt as editor, Kendall has pushed through intimidation tactics from local officials pressuring her to turn a blind eye to county expenses and payroll information.

In August, Staton submitted three open records requests looking to examine the wages of public employees in Harrison County. After receiving these requests, Harrison County Schools Superintendent Harry Burchett, Harrison County Judge Executive Jason Marshall and Cynthiana Mayor James Smith asked to meet with Staton and requested she not publish the requested records or use them in a story.

Staton conducted an investigation into each record, and discovered Burchett earned the 12th highest salary of any Kentucky Public School Superintendent last fiscal year, according to the Kentucky Department of Education.

After the publication of her articles related to wages in the county and the intimidation tactics employed by the men that run the county, Kendall received accolades from the citizens of Harrison County, Montalbano read from Statons nomination letter. The emails she received from citizens stated their appreciation of the information she provided and how it increased their knowledge of how the city and county are being run.

This is the first year the Scripps Howard First Amendment Center has awarded a Champion of Open Government recognition, according to Montalbano. She is not sure if the award will be presented annually.

It is great to know I have the support of the greater Kentucky journalism community for the work we are doing over in Cynthiana. This award just shows that I am doing my job, and plan to continue doing my job for years to come, Staton said.

Original post:
Staton recognized by Scripps Howard First Amendment Center - Pmg-ky3.com