Newsday has won top honors for its investigative series "The Forgotten" and photography by J. Conrad Williams Jr., as well as a Truth to Power prize for the newspaper's First Amendment lawsuit challenging Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman.

At the Deadline Awards on Thursday evening at the Harvard Club of New York City in Manhattan, Williams won in the Sports Photo category for "Professional Bull Riders in New York" and was a finalist in two other categories.

"The work that has been honored here reflects the depth of Newsday’s local reporting and investigations,'' said Newsday Publisher Debby Krenek. "We are so proud of our dedicated journalists who work tirelessly to guarantee full transparency for the public."

Newsday also won four New York Press Club Awards, which will be presented June 2 at The Cornucopia Majesty: Pier 81.

The 14-minute video segment of "The Forgotten," an investigation that explored cold cases involving the deaths of more than 100 women and the lack of law enforcement resources dedicated to solving the cases, won in the Documentary — NYC Metro category.

Barbara Barker’s "How Jalen Brunson's mother helped mold the Knicks point guard into an All-Star," which detailed the handwritten notes and inspirational text messages Sandra Brunson, who grew up in Lakeview, sent her son before games, won in the Press Club's Feature Reporting-Sports — NYC Metro category.

"Fatal Stakes," an investigative video by Jim Baumbach, Jamie Stuart, Jeffrey Basinger, Kendall Rodriguez and Gregory M. Stevens that explores horses dying at the Belmont Stakes at a greater rate than the national average for three consecutive years, won Sports News — NYC Metro.

James T. Madore won in the Business Reporting — NYC Metro category for "The Pandemic's Lingering Effects." This group of stories told of massive fraud in federal COVID-19 relief programs, how small business owners lost everything because the pandemic led them to default on loans taken out before 2020, and a New York State grant program that helped nearly 4,600 Long Island companies and nonprofit arts groups bounce back from the crisis.

Newsday’s staff will be awarded the New York Press Club's Gabe Pressman Truth to Power award next month for its January lawsuit challenging Blakeman "after he ‘froze out’" Newsday reporters and revoked the news organization's status as Nassau County's official newspaper, according to a Press Club news release. Blakeman's actions, the release continues, followed Newsday's publication of news stories and editorials "he characterized as poor coverage of his administration." 

The annual Press Club award, named in honor of Pressman, the late New York TV and print reporter known as a defender of First Amendment rights, recognizes individuals or entire news organizations for defending the rights of journalists.

Deadline Club awards went to Newsday journalists Shari Einhorn, Matthew Golub, Sandra Peddie, Henry J. Salmaggi, Drew Singh and Randee Daddona, who were finalists in the Digital Video Reporting category for "The Forgotten."

Another Williams' entry, "Manaea," was a finalist in the Sports Photo category for the Deadline awards. "Coming to America," his entry in the Breaking News category, also was a finalist. Newsday photojournalist Alejandra Villa Loarca's "A Mother and Daughter’s Love" was a finalist in the Feature Photo category. Finalist honors also went to Newsday opinion columnist Randi Marshall in the Opinion Writing category for "Editorials about Nassau County’s Troubled Public Hospital," according to an event program.