NORFOLK, Va. — As 2023 wraps up, 13News Now is looking back on the thousands of stories we have brought you over the year and reflecting on some of our favorites.
From Hampton Roads to northeast North Carolina and the Eastern Shore, our team has brought you stories that trace the history of the region, to community triumphs and losses, and stories that elicited change.
These stories may have not garnered the most views, but they resonated with our team in one way or another.
Here are 13News Now's most beloved stories from 2023.
Chosen by Denzil Brown — Photojournalist
This was my favorite story because students in band work just as hard as athletes but often don’t get the same recognition. Being a former band member in high school and college, it was great that I got the opportunity to put these students in the spotlight that they deserve.
Chosen by Eugene Daniel — Anchor
It is hard for me to choose one story for the year, especially given all the historic discoveries in Williamsburg in 2023.
After an excavation project discovered the original structure of one of the oldest known Black churches in the country, scientists also found hundreds of thousands of artifacts and more than 60 burials at the site. In April, DNA results revealed the human remains are of African descent, confirming they are the ancestors of the First Baptist Church of Williamsburg community.
Free and enslaved Black people founded the historic church in 1776. The descendant community is now working together to determine how to honor the human remains, and there are plans to rebuild and open the original church building in a few years.
It will be located next to the soon-to-be-restored Bray School, believed to be the oldest surviving schoolhouse for Black children in the U.S. In February, I, along with the community, watched as crews hoisted the building on a flatbed truck and moved it to Nassau Street, where people will be able to learn of its rich history.
And in October, a Williamsburg woman made history as the first Black inductee for area's chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution. Nearly 100 years old, it's one of the oldest and largest chapters in the organization, which is made up of women who are proven descendants of Patriots of the American Revolution.
Chosen by Alex Littlehales — Reporter
I really loved my Green Book piece from February, because I think it highlighted a piece of local and national history that a lot of people did not know existed in their backyard. When we went out in the field, we often heard from nearby residents and others that they did not know a particular building/site once held historical significance. I think that adds to the reason why lawmakers pushed to try and more concretely get this history recognized. Without a deliberate effort, who knows what would become of the few sites still remaining.
Chosen by Kyle Johnson — Newscast Producer
The Rise and Fall of Virginia's Green Book sparked something in me I hadn't felt in a while watching a live news broadcast. From the first few frames, I was invested. I was invested not only in the impressive work of my colleague but also in the story he was telling.
For me, sound design can be an incredible way to tell a story. This piece used music, natural sound, and interviews to add to the content in a way you rarely see on your nightly news. That, combined with impressive video editing and a compelling script, made this story stand out.
The history behind the Green Book instantly piqued my interest, and the idea of losing that history made me invested. I believe the story shows the importance of the educational side of journalism, as many viewers, including myself, may have had no idea this was happening in their own neighborhoods.
Chosen by Mike Gooding — Reporter
My best story this year was holding the Navy accountable when a Marine overseas who tried to commit suicide wasn't getting the care he needed after invoking the Brandon Act. After our story, he did. Our coverage may have saved his life. It was also the most-read story across all 50+ TV stations owned by our company, TEGNA, during the month of September — so there’s something about this story that strikes a chord.
Chosen by Angelique Arintok — Reporter
In May 2022, I had the chance to highlight a unique recruitment strategy Virginia Beach City Public Schools administrators were using. Like many other public school divisions, VBCPS was grappling with teacher shortages in critical areas like math, world languages and special education. So, leaders turned to an international solution by recruiting nearly two dozen teachers from the Philippines. These teachers, or overseas Filipino workers, are highly skilled and qualified. I spoke with one of the new teachers, as well as her mentor who was recruited by VBCPS using the same strategy back in 2003. They often make huge sacrifices in order to support their families back home. It was an honor to highlight their contributions to the 757 community. Thank you educators for everything you do to help our children and the next generation!
Chosen by Kathleen Lundy — Digital Content Producer
My favorite story this year is the story that Reporter Anne Sparaco did about a Portsmouth Civil Rights era activist who stressed the importance of teaching Black history in schools. It was my favorite because it's alarming that so many people want to censor historical facts from education.
One of the reasons he said it was important for young people to learn is that if we don't know where we came from, then we won't know where we're going. Nationwide, politicians have been trying to censor what they're calling critical race theory (CRT), a concept that evaluates systems of racism in America and looks at how they’ve evolved and been perpetuated.
Upon taking office, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order banning CRT in Virginia K-12 public schools, despite the concept not being a part of the state's curriculum.
Listening to people who have personally gone through the extreme state-sanctioned racism of the mid-1900s is a good way to understand how things have and haven't changed, and why these lessons are important. Restricting teachers from talking about racism in history is backward to what education is meant to do for children.
Chosen by Jason Walsh — Photojournalist
For me, this story was right up my alley having grown up an 80s/90s skateboarder. I not only had the opportunity to interview one of my heroes from back in the day, but I was also able to shoot some great video of this amazing exhibition of skateboarding. We were all able to witness this night in Virginia Beach, from old pros to of the best in the world right now. This was easily my favorite story from 2023.
Chosen by Catherine Rogers — Digital Director
The journalism produced this year by our newsroom that I want to highlight is the dogged coverage, mostly by Reporter Anne Sparaco, of the now-dropped prostitution-related case involving John Blanchard, a senior pastor at Virginia Beach megachurch Rock Church International.
Just before the start of this year, the Commonwealth's Attorney prosecuting the case dropped all charges against Blanchard related to the attempted solicitation of prostitution from a minor. It began a public controversy that saw a state politician filing Freedom of Information Act requests to publicly expose details in the investigation and the local police chief speaking out against the prosecutor's handling of the case.
In the end, Blanchard's charges were dropped and his criminal record was expunged in Chesterfield County.
But in the midst of it all, Anne's reporting had an immediate and lasting impact. New evidence was brought to light due to the continuous spotlight on the case, the police chief said. A special prosecutor was brought in to take over the case, due to public outrage. Later, the prosecutor who dropped the charges, Stacey Davenport, lost her re-election after serving one term as Chesterfield County Commonwealth’s Attorney.
There is also now a public record of the case, documented by local and national news organizations, that cannot be expunged.
One of the most well-known quotes about journalism says that the job of news organizations is "to comfort the afflicted" and "afflict the comfortable." In other words: give a voice to people who need one, and hold powerful people accountable.
And that's exactly what Anne's reporting did.
