The St. Louis American was honored with the John Brown Russwurm Award for the 15th time since 1995 during the National Newspaper Publishers ‘Messenger Awards’ ceremony on June 20, 2024, at the annual convention in Baltimore. The American has been named the Russwurm winner twice in the last four years.
The awards recognize excellence in journalism and entrepreneurship among the Black Press of America. The American won 12 national awards including the Russwurm, which is the top honor of the competition. It is awarded to the newspaper with the highest cumulative score.
The American also won first place in the Newspaper Excellence – John H. Sengstacke Award competition, which is judged on three complete issues of a publication, August 10, 17 and 24, 2023.
The American had two other first place awards: Layout & Design (Broadsheet) (Mike Terhaar and Melvin Moore) and Entertainment (Living It sections of August 24, and August 31).
Second place awards were for: Special Edition (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion – A Business Priority); Facebook Campaign (The World of Black NASCAR); Youth and Children (Ashley Winters’ article on Legacy Jackson); Original Advertising (Central Baptist Church in DEI issue; Angelita Houston).
The American had four third place awards: Health (Sylvester Brown, Gallant youth survives two transplants); Editorial and Opinion (“Superhuman, but never enough” – Recognizing achievements of Black women); Instagram Campaign (St. Louis American Young Leaders); Fashion Beauty and Lifestyle (Coverage of Nelly Black and White Ball; Story by Ashley Winters, photos by Taylor Marrie).
“We are honored and humbled to receive again the Russwurm Award as well as the other recognitions from our peers,” said Donald M. Suggs, St. Louis American publisher and executive editor.
“This is a team effort and this gratifying recognition could not have been achieved without the teamwork, professionalism and camaraderie we share at the American.
“We lost COO Kevin Jones who passed away unexpectedly in January 2024 but his hard work and dedication to the American, its staff and our readers are reflected in this year’s Merit Awards. We are proud to have represented his legacy as a testament to this year’s achievement.”
