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Monday May 21, 2012
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Monday May 21, 2012
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The Charlotte Observer, The News & Observer and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram features sections have each been named among the country's 15 best by the American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors. This is the fourth straight year The Charlotte Observer has been selected.
The Top 15 Best Section awards were announced earlier this summer, and the winners will be honored Oct. 8 during AASFE’s national conference at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla.AASFE honors sections that present lifestyle and arts and entertainment coverage with authority, utility, energy and wit. Judges look for local content, service to readers and presentation.The features sections of The Charlotte Observer and The News & Observer were merged a couple of years ago and work collaboratively. Charlotte features editor Michael Weinstein and Raleigh features editor Debra Boyette both report to News & Observer vice president Felicia Gressette.Catherine Mallette is the assistant managing editor for features at the Star-Telegram; Celeste Williams is the managing editor for sports and features.Judges comments about The Charlotte Observer:The Merced Sun-Star and The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., were honored Aug. 25 with national awards for their First Amendment reporting by the Associated Press Managing Editors.
APME, an association of editors at the Associated Press’ 1,500 member newspapers in the United States, sponsors the prestigious annual competition recognizing journalism excellence in six categories.The Merced Sun-Star won a First Amendment award for stories by reporter Jonah Owen Lamb exposing, through open records requests, racist e-mails sent by a local city councilman to friends.The News & Observer also won a First Amendment award for a three-part series revealing that North Carolina has one of the nation's most secretive laws regarding the release of personnel information for public employees.The News & Observer and the Merced Sun-Star were the only McClatchy papers to win awards in the 2010 competition. The awards will be presented at APME's annual conference Oct. 20-22 at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla.The complete list of 2010 winners is available at the APME website.Former Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette reporter Renee Dudley has won the 2010 Eugene S. Pulliam First Amendment Award, presented annually by the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi Foundation, for coverage while at the Packet and Gazette last year.
Judges chose Dudley "for her dedicated work upholding First Amendment rights," citing her months-long efforts to obtain records on ambulance runs by Beaufort County, South Carolina, paramedics.Dudley asked for the response-time records after reporting on several EMS cases in which patients died or nearly died. County officials balked, but Dudley's coverage ultimately led to enactment of a state law that unequivocally declares that EMS records are accessible to the public so long as information identifying patients is not disclosed.Dudley, who joined The Post and Courier newspaper in Charleston, S.C., earlier this year, will receive a $10,000 prize and will be honored Oct. 5 at SPJ's national convention in Las Vegas.The national award is named in memory of Eugene S. Pulliam, a former publisher of The Indianapolis Star and The Indianapolis News.Macon (Ga.) Telegraph columnist Ed Grisamore has been named the winner of the 2010 Will Rogers Humanitarian Award.
The national award, named for the humorist and newspaper columnist of the 1920s and '30s who performed many humanitarian acts, is presented annually to a columnist whose work produces tangible benefits for the community served by his or her newspaper. Previous winners include Jeffrey Zaslow of The Wall Street Journal and the author of the national best-seller "The Last Lecture."Grisamore received the award July 9 during the 34th annual conference of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind."I am honored beyond words," Grisamore said. “But this is more of a reflection on the community and the newspaper than an individual award. I’ve always said the finest people anywhere live in Middle Georgia. I’m a better person just for being around them.In nominating Grisamore for the award, Sherrie Marshall, executive editor of The Telegraph, cited a list of Grisamore's efforts, especially his work leading The Reindeer Gang, the newspaper’s annual holiday charitable giving campaign. She called Grisamore "a wonderful ambassador" for The Telegraph."Ed has told the stories of Middle Georgians in need, an effort that dramatically increased donations to dozens of individuals and families," she said. Middle Georgians contributed more than $90,000 in the past three years to help those in need.Among his other community efforts, Grisamore has led guided tours and written daily columns during the Cherry Blossom Festival, learned ballroom dancing so he could participate in a Make-a-Wish fundraiser for a young girl with leukemia and taught writing at a popular summer camp for youths. He also organized a boot camp for aspiring writers and taught senior citizens to write their autobiographies.As a volunteer Little League coach, he used his columns to campaign for the city to start a Miracle League for special needs children, which became a reality in 2005.He has been a campaign chairman for the March of Dimes and has served on the board of directors for the Salvation Army, Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Macon Lions Club.Through his columns, he has supported local efforts to build and repair homes for low-income families. He is a deacon at First Baptist Church of Christ in Macon.Grisamore, a University of Georgia graduate, has been The Telegraph's columnist since 1998. He is the author of six books, one audio book and has won more than 45 writing awards.The UCLA Anderson School of Management on June 29 presented Gerald Loeb Awards for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism to reporters from the McClatchy Washington Bureau and The Miami Herald.
Washington Bureau reporters Greg Gordon, Kevin G. Hall and Chris Adams won the Loeb Award in the news service category for their reporting on Goldman Sachs, Moody's and the collapse of the American economy, which revealed how major Wall Street firms engaged in questionable practices that not only worsened the financial crisis but also may have conflicted with their own clients' interests. Adams, Gordon and Hall also were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for their work.Their stories included Gordon's five-month investigation of how blue-chip investment firm Goldman Sachs' sold securities tied to subprime mortgages at a time when it also was betting that those securities would plummet in value.Adams' stories detailed how the Securities and Exchange Commission repeatedly failed to get tough with major U.S. financial institutions that had violated securities laws.Hall reported how Moody's Investors Service, the bond-rating agency, punished executives who questioned the company's bullish ratings on mortgage-backed securities and promoted those who authorized the ratings for the securities, which turned out to be junk.Miami Herald reporters Michael Sallah, Rob Barry and Lucy Komisar won in the medium and small newspaper category for "Keys to the Kingdom: How State Regulators Enabled a $7 Billion Ponzi Scheme," which revealed how Florida officials helped disgraced financier Allen Stanford entice Latin Americans to pour millions of dollars into his ventures in secrecy and allowed Stanford to move money offshore without reporting a penny of it to regulators.Reporters Rick Montgomery and Dan Margolies of The Kansas City Star were finalists in that category for "Enterprise Rent-A-Car Airbags," which reported how the nation's largest buyer of new cars and seller of used ones saved millions of dollars by deleting a standard safety feature, side-curtain airbags, from thousands of 2006-2008 Chevrolet Impalas.The Loeb Awards were established in 1957 by the late Gerald Loeb to honor journalists who make significant contributions to the understanding of business, finance and the economy. He intended to encourage reporting on these subjects that would both inform and protect the private investor and the general public. The 2010 awards, judged by a panel of distinguished journalists and academics, were presented at a dinner at New York's Capitale restaurant.El Nuevo Herald has been named the best Spanish-language newspaper in Florida in this year's Sunshine State Awards by the South Florida Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
The newspaper, a sister paper of The Miami Herald, "looks and reads like a complete newspaper," the contest's judges wrote, adding that they "particularly enjoyed the Viernes weekend guide section. El Nuevo is clearly ahead of other Spanish-language newspapers in South Florida."The award was announced June 5 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel near Hollywood. Runners-up were the El Sentinel newspapers published by The Orlando Sentinel and The Sun Sentinel of Fort Lauderdale."To be recognized as the leading Spanish-language paper in Florida is an immense honor and a testament to our staff. They are creative, dedicated and passionate," El Nuevo Herald Executive Editor Manny Garcia said. "Our journalists always put our readers first, and you see it in our coverage, whether in Latin America, locally or in our many specialty sections like Viernes."It's also wonderful to see Viernes recognized because Associate Editor Gloria Leal and her team put so much effort into it week after week," Garcia said. "The award, along with other recent honors, speak to the ever-growing clout of Spanish-language publications like El Nuevo Herald."Miami Herald reports exposing spending abuses at Miami-Dade County Hall and the city of Miami were also honored June 5 with the top public service and investigative prizes in the annual Sunshine State Awards.The Miami Herald's reports -- "Public Piggy Banks" -- won both the James K. Batten Award for Distinguished Public Service and the Gene Miller Award for Investigative Reporting. The awards were presented to reporters Matthew Haggman, Charles Rabin, Jack Dolan and Larry Lebowitz. The coverage was edited by Ronnie Greene, investigations and government editor.Among other findings, their reports revealed how county politicians used personal chauffeurs and took first-class junkets across the globe, and how city leaders concealed critical financial breakdowns -- stories that triggered investigations and reforms."Holding public officials to account is exactly what readers expect of a newspaper," said a Batten Award judge, XM/Sirius Radio host Bob Edwards.Also contributing reporting were Michael Sallah, David Ovalle, Scott Hiaasen and Audra D.S. Burch.The contest, which drew 700 entries in a range of categories, is administered by the South Florida chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.Three McClatchy newspapers -- The Miami Herald, The Wichita Eagle and the Tri-City Herald -- won national Sigma Delta Chi Awards from the Society of Professional Journalists on May 3.
** Miami won in the Non-Deadline Reporting category among newspapers with more than 100,000 daily circulation for its coverage of disgraced banker and financier Allen Sanford and his connections to Florida.** The Tri-City Herald in Eastern Washington won in the Feature Reporting category among newspapers with daily circulation up to 50,000 for a profile on a cancer victim and hospice volunteer.** The Wichita Eagle won in the Feature Reporting category among newspapers with daily circulation between 50,001 and 100,000 for "The Miracle of Father Kapaun," the newspaper's in-depth look last year at the life and legacy of Father Emil Kapaun, a Kansas priest and Korean War hero being considered for sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church.See the complete roster of winners at the SPJ website.For its five-part series on human trafficking in the United States, The Kansas City Star has earned the prestigious Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award.
The award, known as the "Poor People's Pulitzer," recognizes outstanding coverage of injustice against the underprivileged.In "A New Slavery," reporters Laura Bauer, Mike McGraw and Mark Morris exposed America’s weak enforcement system that allows human trafficking to continue.Last month, Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc. gave an award to the same series."The team's impressive reporting results in a distressing collection of individual narratives and a concise legal and policy-based explanation of the nation’s Trafficking Victims Protection Act," read an announcement from the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights.Calling The Kansas City Star to relay the news, Ethel Kennedy, the widow of the former attorney general, senator and presidential candidate, told one reporter: "You've given hope to a lot of people who didn’t have hope before. That's right in line with Bobby’s legacy."Sixty judges, all media professionals, selected the winning entries in 11 categories, and a committee of seven advisers chose a grand prize winner. This year, winners wrote on subjects including infant mortality and Navy abuses against gay sailors.The Kansas City Star's series won in the domestic print category."It's a wonderful honor to win such a distinguished award for journalism that champions human rights and social justice. Those remain among the most important issues in the world today," said Mike Fannin, editor/vice president of the Star. "This was inspired work, executed by a great team of journalists and well-deserving of recognition."The Wall Street Journal won in the international category for "Hearts, Mind and Blood: The Battle for Iran." Photographers at The Washington Post won in both the domestic and international photography categories. Diane Sawyer from "20/20" on ABC News won in the domestic television category for her work on enduring poverty in Appalachia.Ethel Kennedy will present the awards May 26 in Washington, D.C., where the grand prize winner will be announced.The Kansas City Star was among the winners of the 2009 Investigative Reporters and Editors Awards announced March 29.
The Kansas City Star won in the large newspaper category for a series on human trafficking in America. Reporters Mike McGraw, Laura Bauer and Mark Morris conducted an exhaustive examination of the U.S. government's unfulfilled promise to stop the trafficking of illegal workers and underage girls sold into the sex trade in the United States.The reporters found that, despite spending millions of tax dollars, the government's multi-agency effort is plagued by turf wars and poor coordination. In many cases, victims continued to suffer when they were denied services. Others, upon deportation, found themselves returning to the abusive conditions they'd fled, a direct violation of U.S. policy.This year's winners, which included investigations that exposed failures of government regulation, abuse of military personnel, and failures of the criminal justice system, were selected from among more than 450 entries. The Kansas City Star was the only McClatchy newspaper to win an award in this year's competition. The News Tribune in Tacoma, Wash., and the Belleville News-Democrat were named as finalists in their respective circulation categories."In the weeks following the publication of (The Kansas City Star) series, the Obama Administration signed into law an additional $12.5 million for anti-human trafficking efforts," the judges wrote. "The chairwoman of the House subcommittee over detention and deportation policies stated she would use the Star's series during oversight hearings to highlight needed reforms."The awards, given by Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc. since 1979, recognize the most outstanding watchdog journalism of the year. IRE is a nonprofit professional organization dedicated to training and supporting journalists who pursue investigative stories and operates the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting, a joint program of IRE and the Missouri School of Journalism.The IRE Awards will be presented at a luncheon on Saturday, June 12, at the 2010 IRE Conference in Las Vegas.See a full list of winners, finalists and judges' comments at www.ire.org/contest.Six McClatchy newspapers have been honored with a combined total of 12 National Headliner Awards.
The Miami Herald, The Wichita Eagle and The Kansas City Star each received first-place honors in the annual contest, while the Belleville News-Democrat, The Charlotte Observer and The News & Observer scored second-place prizes.The Kansas City Star and The Miami Herald each won multiple honors in the 76th year of the National Headliner Awards program, one of the oldest, largest and most prestigious journalism contests in the country. The awards are sponsored by the Press Club of Atlantic City, N.J.The Miami Herald won first place in the news beat coverage/continuing coverage category for its series last year investigating the fiscal management of Miami-Dade County. The series by reporters Matthew Haggman, Jack Dolan and editor Ronnie Greene was dubbed "Dire budget, lavish spending" and contrasted official decisions to cut public programs and services while giving raises to staff and other questionable spending.The Wichita Eagle won first place for "The Miracle of Father Kapaun," an eight-part series by reporter Roy Wenzl on the life of Kansas priest Emil Kapaun, a Korean War hero and candidate for sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church. The series, which ran in December 2009, was the winner in the news series category for newspapers with a daily circulation up to 75,000.Kansas City Star illustrator Hector Casanova took first place in the illustrative graphics category, which was open to both newspapers and magazines.Other McClatchy National Headliner winners include:** Reporters George Pawlaczyk and Beth Hundsdorfer at the Belleville News-Democrat, second place in the news series category for papers with daily circulation up to 75,000. The pair won for "Trapped in Tamms," which detailed the abuse of prisoners, some of them mentally ill, at the Tamms Correctional Center in Illinois -- the state's only "supermax" prison.** Jason Whitlock of The Kansas City Star, second place in the sports column category.** Elizabeth Leland at The Charlotte Observer, second place in feature writing for a collection of feature stories.** Michael Sallah, Rob Barry and Lucy Komisar at The Miami Herald, second place in business news coverage for their stories on indicted banker Allen Stanford.** J. Andrew Curliss and the staff at The News & Observer in Raleigh, second place in investigative reporting for "Executive Privilege," which exposed the gift-and-favor atmosphere that permeated the North Carolina governorship of Mike Easley.** John Sleezer at The Kansas City Star, second place in newspaper spot news photography.** Keith Myers at The Kansas City Star, second place in photo portraits.** David Eulitt at The Kansas City Star, third place in newspaper sports photography.** Kent Babb at The Kansas City Star, third place in newspaper sports writing.The complete list of 2010 National Headliner Awards winners is available here.
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