Jeffrey Collins has covered South Carolina and the Statehouse there for 24 years, and it showed last week in his story about voters rejecting three Republican state senators who had fought a proposed ban on abortion there.
Others had noted in brief and superficial fashion the senators’ fate, but Collins outlined the state’s history – and now its future — with low numbers of women in the Legislature by showing rather than telling.
Collins knew the women could have a tough time getting reelected and gathered string, preparing to tell their story in a deep way. As the first two lawmakers lost their primaries and the third, Katrina Shealy, was facing a runoff she seemed poised to lose, Collins was able to pull together a nuanced piece, which ran with eight photos taken by him. Noreen Nasir did a masterful job producing the video.
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