North Coast Journal staff writer Ryan Burns is a finalist for the John M. Higgins Award for Best In-Depth/Enterprise Reporting in the 2014 Mirror Awards.

His feature, “Ferndale Gothic,” explores the relationship between the mayor of Ferndale, Calif. (pop. 1,371) and the local community paper Ferndale Enterprise, which is owned and operated by the mayor’s wife.

The Mirror Awards are given out by Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications to honor media industry reporting. Winners will be announced on June 4.