Hillsdale College Alumna Liz Essley Whyte Wins 2017 EPPY Award
2011 graduate contributed to award-winning journalism project from Center for Public Integrity
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Hillsdale, Mich. – Hillsdale College congratulates alumna Liz Essley Whyte, class of 2011, whose recent investigative piece for the Center for Public Integrity and the Associated Press, “Politics of Pain,” received a 2017 EPPY Award for Best Collaborative Investigative/Enterprising Reporting from Editor & Publisher.
“We’re proud to see Liz Essley Whyte and her outstanding work in the field of journalism recognized with this award,” said John J. Miller, director of Hillsdale’s Dow Journalism Program. “It’s a great acknowledgement of the excellence Hillsdale strives to instill in all our students.”
Each year, Editor & Publisher, a newspaper industry journal, honors the best in digital media in 30 categories. Winners of the 2017 EPPY Awards were chosen from an international nominee pool of more than 300 entrants by a panel of media industry leaders.
Essley Whyte was a member of an investigative team comprised of reporters from both the Center for Public Integrity (CPI) and the Associated Press. Over the course of ten months, the team investigated the political machinations of pharmaceutical companies and their allies to avert responses to the nation’s opioid epidemic. In addition to receiving an EPPY Award, “Politics of Pain” has also been recognized by the National Press Club and the Association of Health Care Journalists.
Essley Whyte graduated from Hillsdale College in 2011 with a degree in history. During her time at Hillsdale, she studied in the Dow Journalism Program and was editor-in-chief of the campus newspaper, The Collegian, which earned awards from the Michigan Press Association under her leadership.
She went on to positions as a staff writer at The Washington Examiner and managing editor of Philanthropy magazine before earning her master’s degree in journalism and public affairs from American University in 2015. She is currently a reporter at the Center for Public Integrity where she focuses on investigative coverage of state politics.