Lauren Chooljian, host of The 13th Step has been honored with a First Amendment Award from the RTDNA Foundation, the charitable arm of the Radio Television Digital News Association. The 2024 First Amendment Awards will be held March 9 at The Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C.
Past honorees include local reporters, network anchors, members of the U.S. House of Representatives and multiple U.S. Senators. The awards honor the First Amendment and the bold and brave efforts many take — whether in an instant or throughout their careers — to protect it.
“I’m floored to be honored beside so many brilliant journalists whose work I deeply respect,” said Chooljian. “And I’m so thankful to my team and everyone who spoke with us for making this essential reporting possible.”
The 13th Step has received multiple honors since its release in June 2023 including a national Murrow Award and a duPont-Columbia Award. The podcast chronicles allegations of sexual abuse by the founder of New Hampshire’s largest addiction treatment center. Several acts of vandalism followed the release of The 13th Step, at the homes of some of the NHPR journalists involved in that reporting, and their families.
“The 13th Step is an excellent example of the kind of journalism NHPR’s newsroom strives to produce every day: grounded in the issues facing New Hampshire, with the public’s interest at its heart. We’re very proud and grateful for this reporting to get national recognition,” said Dan Barrick, NHPR’s news director.
The 13th Step is a production of the Document team at New Hampshire Public Radio, and received support from the Fund for Investigative Journalism. NHPR supporters make it possible for the team to keep investigating and sharing these stories with you.
Update: This story was edited to reflect Chooljian as the winner of the First Amendment Award.
