MILWAUKEE, WI—The Milwaukee Press Club today announced that Anna Wolfe, an award-winning investigative reporter for Mississippi Today for her coverage of poverty and economic justice, is the club’s 2023 Sacred Cat Award honoree. The award, given annually since 1973, recognizes excellence in journalism at the national level.
Wolfe will accept the award at the club’s annual Gridiron Awards event, set for Friday, May 12 at The Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee.
The club also will honor its 2023 Headliners, Derek Mosley, director of Marquette University Law School’s Lubar Center for Public Policy Research and Civic Education and George Stanley, former editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and regional editor of USA TODAY Network Wisconsin.
Winners of the press club’s 2022 Excellence in Wisconsin Journalism competition also will be announced at the Gridiron.
“Our contest broke another record for the number of entries,” said Milwaukee Press Club President Maryann Lazarski. “The competition is fierce and that’s a good thing for state and local journalism.
“We’re also excited to honor a young journalist with our Sacred Cat Award because of her impactful investigative journalism.”
Wolfe, a native of Tacoma, Washington, graduated from Mississippi State University, where she received a bachelor’s degree in communications and journalism. Before joining the staff at Mississippi Today in 2018, Wolfe worked at TheClarion-Ledger, Mississippi’s statewide daily newspaper. She also was as an investigative reporter for the Center for Public Integrity and the Jackson Free Press, the capital city’s alternative newsweekly.
Wolfe has received national recognition for her work, including the 2021 Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting, the 2021 Collier Prize for State Government Accountability and the 2021 John Jay/Harry Frank Guggenheim Excellence in Criminal Justice Reporting Award.
Past Sacred Cat honorees include Manu Raju, Chuck Todd, Gloria Borger, David Fahrenthold, Marty Baron, Ann Compton and Jonathan Alter.
The Headliner Awards are presented annually to those who have made significant, positive contributions to Wisconsin and its residents.
A 1995 graduate of Marquette University Law School, Mosley served as an Assistant District Attorney for Milwaukee County from 1995 to 2002. In that role, he represented the State of Wisconsin in more than 1,000 criminal prosecutions. Mosley then was appointed Municipal Court Judge in Milwaukee, becoming the youngest African-American to be appointed judge in Wisconsin.
During his tenure, he served as the Chief Judge of the Milwaukee Municipal Court for ten years. In January, Mosley became the Director of the Lubar Center for Public Policy Research and Civic Education at Marquette University Law School.
Stanley retired in December as editor of the Milwaukee JournalSentinel and regional editor of USA TODAY Network Wisconsin. His early jobs in journalism were at the Lake Geneva Regional News, Ducks Unlimited magazine and the Wichita (Kansas) Eagle. Stanley returned to Wisconsin in 1989 as a state reporter for the Milwaukee Sentinel.
He was promoted to business editor of the Sentinel in 1993 and continued in that role when the Sentinel merged with The Milwaukee Journal in 1995. In 1997, Stanley was named managing editor, and worked alongside the editor, Martin Kaiser, for the next 18 years. He was named editor of the Journal Sentinel in 2015 when Kaiser stepped down.
Past Headliner honorees include Tommy Thompson, Martin Schreiber, Howard Fuller, Ted Kellner, Ricardo Diaz, Linda Mellowes, Michael Pink, Barry Alvarez, Jane Pettit, Bud Selig, James Lovell, Ben Marcus and Steve Marcus.
Registration for the Gridiron Awards event is available online at www.milwaukeepressclub.org. Registration deadline is Friday, May 5. The cost is $95 per individual. Full-time students may register for $35 – the cost for their participation is being underwritten by the MPC Endowment Ltd. Corporate table sponsorships are available for $1,200 (includes registration for eight individuals, company logo in printed program and verbal recognition during the program). Sponsorship/advertising information can be found here.
Founded in 1885, the Milwaukee Press Club is the oldest continuously operating press club in North America. Its members represent a diverse community of media-focused professionals from nearly every local media outlet, a strong contingent of public relations and marketing professionals and others with an interest in journalism and news media.
To view past Sacred Cat Awards:
http://www.milwaukeepressclub.org/honors/sacred-cat
For past Headliner Awards:
http://www.milwaukeepressclub.org/honors/headliner
Thank you to our event sponsors!
Defender Sponsor:
Delta Defense, LLC
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Corporate Table Sponsor:
Madison365
Marcus Hotels & Resorts
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Milwaukee Magazine
Once A Year Advertisers:
Milwaukee Brewers
Milwaukee Business Journal
Mueller Communications LLC
New Leaders Association
University of Wisconsin Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication
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