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By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged

Peers in both the faith-based and mainstream press recognized Andy Olsen’s journalistic excellence earlier this year.

The Evangelical Press Association awarded first place for reporting to Olsen, a nearly 10-year veteran of Christianity Today, for his 2025 story on “An American Deportation.”

That honor came not long after Olsen captured second place in the Religion News Association’s Supple Award for Excellence in Feature Reporting contest — behind only Elizabeth Dias, the New York Times’ national religion correspondent.

How did Christianity Today, the prominent evangelical magazine founded by the late Rev. Billy Graham in 1956, celebrate Olsen’s accolades?

That’s unclear, but it does not appear the powers that be were overly impressed: The magazine recently laid off Olsen and multiple other outstanding journalists.

Read the full column.

This column appears in the online magazine Religion Unplugged.

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