America’s Newspapers honors Charles Pittman and standout opinion journalists at D.C. conference

America’s Newspapers celebrated distinguished industry service and outstanding opinion journalism at its Senior Leadership Conference awards luncheon in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 29.

Charles Pittman received the Inland Foundation Distinguished Service Award, while the Carmage Walls Commentary Prizes recognized editorial writers and columnists whose work informs, challenges and inspires their communities.

Pittman’s career spans accomplishments as a respected newspaper and publishing executive, an All-American student-athlete and a professional football player. The Inland Foundation Distinguished Service Award has recognized exceptional individuals since 1991.

Marc Wilson, founder and chairman of BLOX Digital, a former president of the Inland Press Foundation board and a director of the America’s Newspapers Foundation, presented Pittman’s award.

The Carmage Walls Commentary Prizes awarded first-place honors in three categories:

Four Carmage Walls Commentary Prize recipients received their awards in person at the Senior Leadership Conference. Pictured left to right: Blake Fontenay, USA TODAY; Lori Falce, TribLive/Tribune-Review; Lissa Walls Cribb, CEO of Southern Newspapers, who presented the awards; Bridget Grumet, Austin American-Statesman; and Leah Binkovitz, Houston Chronicle. (Photo credit: Gretchen A. Peck/E&P Magazine)

• Focused Editorials: Inez Russell Gomez, opinion page editor, The Santa Fe New Mexican.

• Political/Social Commentary: Bridget Grumet, editorial page editor, Austin American-Statesman.

• Personal Interest columns: Dick Yarbrough, columnist, The Marietta Daily Journal.

Lissa Walls Cribb, CEO of Southern Newspapers, presented the awards, which honor the memory of her father, Benjamin Carmage Walls.

This year’s competition eliminated circulation categories, bringing newspapers of all sizes into the same judging pool. Organizers also increased prize money and expanded categories to reflect the evolving field of opinion journalism.

“We eliminated the circulation categories and judged entries from all size newspapers together, emphasizing quality and impact over circulation size,” Cribb said.

She noted that entries increased this year, intensifying the competition, and said the honorees “should rightly be very proud of the good work they are doing in their communities.”

Read more about Charles Pittman’s honor and view all Carmage Walls Commentary Prize winners.