Miami New Times' Francisco Alvarado, the Houston Press' Margaret Downing and The Village Voice's Elizabeth Green were all honored in the 2008 National Awards for Education Reporting. The competition, sponsored by the Education Writers Association, "honors the best education reporting in the print and broadcast media."
The North Central Florida SPJ chapter has announced the winners of its 2008 Florida Awards of Excellence contest, and Village Voice Media's two papers in the state won 20 total awards. Miami New Times staff writer Francisco Alvarado was named Journalist of the Year, and in competition among non-daily papers, his paper took home ten awards, including first-place finishes in Education Reporting, Environmental Reporting, General Reporting (single story), General Reporting (series) and Series Column Writing. New Times Broward-Palm Beach won a total of nine awards, including first-place wins for Business Reporting, Feature (non-deadline), Humorous Column Writing and Sports Reporting (non-deadline).