The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Tia Mitchell was honored for her political reporting by the Washington Press Club Foundation on Wednesday evening.
Mitchell, who is the newspaper’s Washington correspondent, was presented with the prestigious 2022 David Lynch Award for Regional Reporters during the foundation’s 76th Annual Congressional Dinner in Washington, D.C.
“The judges looked for thorough incisive coverage, clear writing, and a reporter’s ability to explain complex subjects to a hometown audience,” said Geoff Bennett of the PBS NewsHour before presenting the award to Mitchell.
Mitchell, who is frequently tapped to provide political expertise on CNN, MSNBC, FiveThirtyEight, NPR and other national news programs, writes about Georgia’s congressional delegation, campaigns, elections and the impact that decisions made in D.C. have on Georgia residents. Before that, she was the AJC’s DeKalb County reporter.
“Being the AJC’s Washington correspondent is a tremendous opportunity,” Mitchell said. “Every day, my goal is to cover our federal government in a way that is both accessible and informative to a Georgia audience. AJC readers are on my mind in all that I do. It was so validating to learn that the judges see this in my work and chose to honor it in this way.”
Prior to joining the paper in 2017, she spent her entire career in Florida covering local and state government for publications like the Tampa Bay Times and The Florida Times-Union. Mitchell is a graduate of Florida A&M University and is originally from Louisville, Ky. She currently serves as chair of the Political Task Force for the National Association of Black Journalists.
“This is a testament to Tia’s talent and her commitment to serving Georgians,” said Managing Editor Leroy Chapman Jr. “Tia is relentlessly focused on explaining how the decisions made by our elected leaders in Washington, D.C. affect our local communities.”
Credit: Tia Mitchell
Credit: Tia Mitchell
David Lynch covered Washington for the Buffalo News and for the Griffin-Larrabee Bureau, serving daily newspapers in New England, Alaska and South Carolina.
Lynch was a longtime member of the House and Senate Press Galleries. He served on the Standing Committee of Correspondents, which is elected by reporters to administer the Galleries. Gallery members and Lynch’s widow, Debra Strauss Lynch, created the award after his death in 1998, according to the foundation.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the leading journalism organization in the Southeast, focuses its reporting staff on local matters and closely monitors state and local governments, the local economy, entertainment and sports.
Its journalists seek to uncover the truth, protect the public’s right to know and hold community leaders accountable for serving the public. Reporters, editors and photographers aggressively document the region’s moments, milestones and people. Every day, whether in print or on its digital and social platforms, the AJC informs and empowers its readers who value credible, in-depth journalism.
The newspaper traces its roots to 1868, the founding date of The Atlanta Constitution. The Atlanta Journal debuted in 1883. The papers have been under common ownership since 1950 and fully merged in 2001. The newspaper is owned by Cox Enterprises, a family-owned company that has been in Atlanta since 1939. While the newspaper is owned by a private company, its news decisions are made by the journalists in the AJC’s newsroom.
For a list of careers at the AJC, please visit https://jobs.coxenterprises.com/home/ajc/
