Magdalene Hebenstreit
Isthmus award winners, from left: Hannah Jilk, Tommy Washbush, Marc Eisen, and Eric Murphy.
Isthmus award winners, from left: Hannah Jilk, Tommy Washbush, Marc Eisen and Eric Murphy.
Isthmus won six Milwaukee Press Club awards in the 2023 Excellence in Wisconsin Journalism contest. The awards dinner was held May 3 at the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee.
Marc Eisen, a former editor of Isthmus who now freelances for the paper, won gold in the best business or consumer story category for “Opportunity lost,” his in-depth report on the breadth and impact of Epic Systems' noncompete requirements in their employment contracts. In his investigation he learned employees were barred from working at some 4,000 companies for up to two years after leaving Epic. Moreover, he spoke with critics who identified an even larger issue: how these work restrictions on former employees likely stymied entrepreneurial growth in Dane County.
Gwendolyn Rice, a perennial winner, also won gold for best online critical review for her collection of American Players Theatre reviews. Rice, also a playwright, recently moved to Seattle. Her play, Fly Away Home, opened May 2 at The Lab Theater Project in Tampa, Florida.
Isthmus art director Tommy Washbush, another repeat winner, won silver, along with illustrator Hannah Jilk, in the best newspaper design category for Isthmus SummerTimes. And Camille Davis won bronze in the best illustration category for her wonderful November 2023 cover art, “Flock together.”
Steven Walters, the veteran Capitol reporter, won silver in the best profile category for his in-depth profile of Ben Wikler, the rock star head of the Wisconsin Democratic Party.
And Isthmus staff writer Eric Murphy won bronze in the best public service story category for his piece, “There is no life,” which illustrated how the caregiver shortage has forced some people with disabilities, who were living independent lives, into facilities because they can’t find personal care workers to help out at home.