The St. Louis Jewish Light and staff writer Eric Berger have won two Rockower Awards given by the American Jewish Press Association (AJPA) for work published last year. 

AJPA honors excellence in Jewish journalism and represents Jewish media organizations, journalists and communications professionals. 

Berger earned a first-place award for excellence in a multimedia story. “For St. Louis family, homemade matzah is a labor of love,” published in April 2016, included an article, video and photo gallery. 

Berger finished second in excellence in news reporting for a story in  May 2016 headlined, “Jewish families touched by heroin epidemic fight back,” among newspapers with a circulation under 15,000. The multimedia category covered all publications.

The annual AJPA Rockower Awards are judged by a panel of professional journalists from around the nation. The Light has won 30 Rockower awards in the past 10 years.

Berger joined the Light in October 2015. He previously worked at the Jewish Exponent in Philadephia and the Boonville (Mo.) Daily News. Berger is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism and interned at the Jerusalem Post.

AJPA will recognize the award winners iduring its annual convention Nov. 13-15 in Los Angeles.