Herald-Leader opinion writer honored for columns on Eastern Kentucky flooding

Herald-Leader Opinion writer Linda Blackford won a McClatchy President’s Award this week for her columns on the flooding that left a path of destruction through Eastern Kentucky in the summer of 2022.

The President’s Awards honor exceptional journalism in McClatchy, the Herald-Leader’s parent company.

Blackford’s work was recognized in the Opinion category and included both commentary and reported columns about the flooding, the devastation it left behind and the region’s recovery.

Those included a column pleading with state, local and national leaders to take more seriously the impact of climate change in natural disasters, a call for more housing assistance in Eastern Kentucky and on-the-ground reporting on the damage to the Isom IGA, a critical touchstone for that small Letcher County community.

“I am very honored by this award and feel very privileged to tell the stories of people in Eastern Kentucky,” Blackford said.