SDMN Receives Public Service Award for Informing and Empowering Alaska’s Latino Community
by pedro graterol
Sol de Medianoche was honored with the Public Service Award from the Alaska Press Club for its bilingual coverage that strengthens civic participation within the Latino community.
Sol de Medianoche News has received the Public Service Award from the Alaska Press Club, one of the most important honors in Alaskan journalism. This award recognizes media outlets that go above and beyond in mobilizing resources to serve the public interest. Founded to promote journalistic excellence and defend press freedom, the Alaska Press Club organizes an annual state conference and awards ceremony to celebrate the best in Alaska journalism. In past years, this award has gone to newsrooms that transformed the local information landscape, uncovering the state’s food stamp crisis, investigating hiring irregularities in Anchorage, or providing consistent and detailed pandemic coverage.
This year, Sol de Medianoche was recognized for its work on Tu Voz Importa, a culturally relevant civic journalism campaign that began as an effort to explain ranked choice voting and grew into a trusted source of electoral information and civic engagement for Spanish-speaking communities. Through interviews with civic leaders, reports on local candidates, and bilingual materials explaining how to register, vote by mail, or engage politically beyond the ballot box, we offered a clear and accessible guide deeply rooted in community empowerment. The project followed a solutions-oriented journalism approach, reporting designed to inform and inspire action.
“Receiving this award was incredible because it gives us visibility and a place within Alaska’s press landscape, especially at a time when the direction of journalism is uncertain,” said Lina Mariscal, editor-in-chief of the outlet. “The First Amendment of the Constitution gives us the right to freedom of expression and to report the truth without punishment.
We live in a time when that seems to be at risk, and awards like this help raise awareness of how important that freedom is and why we must protect it.” This recognition is also a tribute to our readers. To those who read us, share our work, and participate in the conversations we spark, thank you! You are the reason we do this, and together we will continue defending our right to be informed.
