KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio was announced Tuesday as a winner of a National Headliner Award for his work in 2025 exploring the future of Oak Flat, sacred Apache land that is now home to one of the largest copper mines in the world.
The National Headliner Awards — an annual competition founded by the Press Club of Atlantic City in 1934 — are among the most prestigious honors in journalism, recognizing the best print, online, television, radio and photographic work in the industry.
In the Radio Stations division, Pietrorazio won first place in the Local Newscast, Breaking News or Continuing Coverage category for his seven-part series titled "Oak Flat: Past, Present, Future."
Pietrorazio's work was further honored with the Best in Show award, recognized as the best entry across all categories in the Radio Stations division.
In their comments, the judges commended both the approach and impact of Pietrorazio’s coverage: “The reporter hit the nail on the head with persistent reporting. A respect for the community and the topic was evident in the quality of the information gathered. And other news media soon followed this reporter’s lead for a story that’ll make a difference to the community’s understanding of the issues and process surrounding what was an unclear history and uncertain future.”
Revisit the series
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Gabriel Pietrorazio/KJZZThe nonprofit Apache Stronghold has argued its religious freedom case all the way to the highest court in the land. On Friday, the nine justices are meeting in conference once again, and an answer may arrive as soon as Monday. -
Gabriel Pietrorazio/KJZZResolution Copper is betting on gaining access to a large and lucrative copper ore east of Phoenix. A lot of money has already been invested in the project – over $2 billion – and opponents say some of it has been used to buy influence. -
Final Environmental Impact Statement/U.S. Forest ServiceResolution Copper wants to dig up a massive amount of copper ore beneath Oak Flat inside the Tonto National Forest. And by doing so, a site that some Apaches consider sacred may be destroyed. -
Gabriel Pietrorazio/KJZZWhile Resolution Copper is taking a proactive approach to meet its tremendous water needs, their actions may still have a lasting and severe impact on the local hydrological landscape around Oak Flat. -
Gabriel Pietrorazio/KJZZWhile they’re not mining yet, Resolution Copper is slowly digging its way toward the lucrative ore. In fact, the site is already home to the deepest single-lift mine shaft in North America, and KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio goes thousands of feet underground to see it for himself. -
Raúl Grijalva , Gage Skidmore/CC BY 2.0Discovered in Arizona’s Copper Triangle, Oak Flat is home to one of the richest copper deposits in the world. But the battle to mine there — about 60 miles east of Phoenix — has been bogged down by decades of politics. -
Gabriel Pietrorazio/KJZZOak Flat — an area east of the Valley — may soon be home to a massive copper mine. It holds cultural and spiritual significance to many Apaches, whose ancestors were forced off the land by the U.S. military. -
Nathan Keenan/KJZZWatch a KJZZ panel discussion about Oak Flat — an area sacred to generations of Apaches that may soon be home to one of the largest copper mines in the world.
