Fox 45 reporter to be honored by Randallstown NAACP for Baltimore schools coverage

A reporter on Fox 45’s Project Baltimore will receive an award Thursday from the Randallstown NAACP for his investigations into the Baltimore City school system.

Chris Papst, an investigative reporter at Sinclair’s WBFF Fox 45, will receive the Excellence in Advocacy Award.

“The Randallstown NAACP Excellence in Advocacy Award recognizes Chris, and Project Baltimore who have contributed significantly to benefit African Americans and other minority students who often confront challenges and obstacles to their education,” said Ryan Coleman, president of the Randallstown NAACP, in a statement.

Papst, who has been with the station for seven years after being a reporter in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and works exclusively on Project Baltimore stories, said in an interview: “We have done more than 700 reports and our focus has never changed. It’s always been public education, following the money and seeing what taxpayers are getting for the money they’re giving to school systems.”

“Project Baltimore’s ground-breaking reports have prompted numerous investigations and served to shine a light on neglected issues and communities,” Scott Livingston, senior vice president of news at Sinclair, said in a statement.

Some of Project Baltimore’s coverage has been the subject of news stories following revelations that David D. Smith, the executive chairman of Sinclair Broadcasting Group who recently purchased The Baltimore Sun, was involved in a taxpayer suit against the city of Baltimore and its school system.

The award will be presented at the NAACP’s monthly meeting.