ATLANTA–The Georgia Bulletin and the Archdiocese of Atlanta earned a combined 13 Catholic Press Awards at the 2021 Catholic Media Conference. 

The Catholic Media Association (CMA) held its virtual conference, “Anchored in Hope,” June 8-10.

The CMA, formerly the Catholic Press Association, has been uniting and serving the Catholic press for more than 100 years. The association has nearly 200 publication members and 600 individual members. Member print publications reach nearly 10 million households and countless others through websites and social media outlets.

The awards were given for work done in 2020 by The Georgia Bulletin, and the Office of Communications for the Archdiocese of Atlanta.

The newspaper’s awards are:

First place award for Best Use of Social Media for Breaking News for “A new shepherd for Atlanta: Archbishop Hartmayer’s appointment.”

First place for Best Website in the newspaper category.

First place for Best Regular Column (Culture, the Arts and Leisure) for “Culture and The Church,” by Dr. David King. 

Second Place for Best Use of Graphics (Art or Graphics) for “The bishop’s symbols of the office” by Michael Alexander, photographer and Tom Schulte, graphic designer.

Third Place for Best Photograph (Photo Illustration) for the Thanksgiving cover by Alexander and Schulte.

Third Place for Best Multimedia Package (News) for “Catholics march in downtown Atlanta for racial justice,” for work by Staff Writer Samantha Smith, photographer Alexander and Allen Kinzly, videographer.

Third Place for Best Online Content Not Published in Print (Photo Content) for “Catholics march in downtown Atlanta for racial justice.”

This photo illustration by Tom Schulte and Michael Alexander was among the award-winning submissions in the 2021 Catholic Press Awards program of the Catholic Media Association.

An Honorable Mention for Best Regular Column by a Bishop or Archbishop for Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer’s columns, “Peace and All Good.”

In addition to these awards, Michael Alexander, who retired from the newspaper on April 30, earned third place for the Photographer of the Year. He photographed the Atlanta Catholic community for nearly 25 years and was a 2020 finalist for the St. Francis de Sales Award, the association’s highest individual award. 

The Office of Communications awards are:

First Place for Best Package-2020 Election Outreach.

First Place for Best Facebook Account of a Diocesan Bishop for the Facebook platform of Archbishop Gregory Hartmayer.

Honorable Mention for Best Freestanding Presentation of Online Video (News) for Atlanta Catholics march for justice.

Honorable Mention for Best Freestanding Presentation of Online Video (Catechesis) for Archdiocese of Atlanta Act of Spiritual Communion Video.

A Vatican Panel discussion was the keynote presentation for the first day of the Catholic Media Conference. Panelists were Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples;  Dr. Paoli Ruffini, prefect for the Dicastery for Communication; and Dr. Natasa Govekar, Dicastery for Communications, theological-pastoral director.

Washington Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory speaks during a June 9 videotaped presentation for the Catholic Media Association,’ Catholic Media Conference, held virtually June 8-10. The cardinal was being interviewed by Paula Gwynn Grant, secretary of communications for the Archdiocese of Washington. CNS screen capture/Andrew Biraj, Catholic Standard

Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory of the Archdiocese of Washington and Bishop Robert Barron of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles were also keynote speakers.

Cardinal Gregory spoke on communicating Catholic unity and the gift of diversity in a video dialogue with Paula Gwynn Grant, the secretary of communications for the Archdiocese of Washington and member of the Catholic Media Association’s board of directors.

The cardinal said the CMA “is not just an association of professionals” but “an association of professionals who believe.”

“It’s not so much just making sure you get the story right, that’s a principal activity, but it’s a matter of getting the story right and bringing into the story the fact that we are a resilient people, we are people on a journey that leads us, summons us, to Christ Jesus and summons us together,” Cardinal Gregory said.

He said he has the “deepest respect for our Catholic media,” acknowledging theirs is “a challenging job.”

“I have a challenging job, but you have one that also asks you to sort through all of the human mess, but never to be overwhelmed by it, never to be broken by it,” said the cardinal.

He also prayed that journalists in the Catholic media continue to do their reporting “honestly, courageously, joyfully” and that they realize “in the work that they do, they are the evangelists the Lord is using at this moment.”