Mary Hennigan, a former Arkanasascovid.com assistant editor, won national honors from the National Federation of Press Women for her reporting on the COVID-19 crisis.
Hennigan’s article, “Severe COVID-19 Complications Lead to 26-year-old Death, Family Struggles,” described how Alejandra Arevalo, 26, fought the virus for four months before her death on Oct. 23, 2020. The National Federation of Press Women, in its national conference on Friday, awarded Hennigan third place for Online News Story. Some 2,000 works were entered for the contest.
In March, Hennigan’s article won first place for Online Publication News Writing in the Arkansas Press Women contest and was a finalist for the Society of Professional Journalists’ Region 12 Mark of Excellence Awards. Hennigan worked for Arkansascovid from May 2020 – May 2021 and is now a data journalism intern for the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in Journalism in May 2021 and will pursue a master’s degree in Journalism in the Fall 2021.
The National Federation of Press Women is a group of professional and student journalists, public relations and communications practitioners with 32 state organizations.