The arrest of Jim Matthews, brother of MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, was and continues to be a major breaking story for the Norristown, Pa. staff. The original scandal took place in December 2010 and continues to unfold, with charges being filed and court documents outlining Matthews’ charge of perjury and false swearing while testifying under oath.

 Jim Brady, Digital First Media editor-in-chief, called this coverage “a nice capital-J journalism win.” The DA’s investigation “was helped in part by the reporting two of our staffers had done and some editorials written along the way,” according to Online Editor John Berry.

 Stan Huskey, editor-in-chief at The Times Herald, said reporters Jenny DeHuff and Keith Phucas won a Philly Press Association award for public service for their reporting and a contribution by Huskey himself with editorials. DeHuff also took first place in Investigative Journalism category for PNA’s Keystone Awards.

One result of the articles and editorials, which focus on the weakness of the state Sunshine and campaign finance laws, was a law with stiffer penalties for violating the Sunshine Law.

Because The Times Herald broke the “breakfastgate” story in 2010, competitors and national outlets, including The New York Times cited that coverage.