ASNE Announces Winners of Annual Awards

By: E&P Staff The American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE) today announced winners of its annual awards for distinguished writing and photography. Among them was a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the staff of The Post and Courier of Charleston, S.C., an editorial writer from the Chicago Tribune and columnist Leonard Pitts.

This year?s contest attracted nearly 500 entries from news organizations throughout the United States and Canada.

Andy Alexander, chair of the ASNE Awards judging and Washington bureau chief for Cox Newspapers, said in a statement that the entries this year were particularly strong: "There wasn?t even a hint that the challenges facing newspapers have affected the quality of reporting and writing." he said. "To the contrary, veteran judges of the ASNE Writing Awards found this year?s entries were exceptionally strong in virtually every category. Taken as a whole, they underscored the unique ability of newspaper journalists to inform, to provide clarity and context, to entertain, to give voice to the voiceless and to right injustices by exposing wrongdoing."

WINNERS

Here is a list of the winners and descriptions from ASNE's release:

JESSE LAVENTHOL PRIZE FOR DEADLINE NEWS REPORTING BY AN INDIVIDUAL

Todd C. Frankel, St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Various stories including a Memorial Day feature about families paying homage to their loved ones killed in Iraq.

JESSE LAVENTHOL PRIZE FOR DEADLINE NEWS REPORTING BY A TEAM

The Post and Courier staff, Charleston, S.C. Stories on a summer fire at a sofa store that claimed the lives of nine city firefighters.

BATTEN MEDAL

Kevin Cullen, The Boston Globe. A collection of columns on local people facing adversity.

COMMENTARY/COLUMN WRITING

Leonard Pitts Jr., The Miami Herald. A compilation of columns including those on the death of NFL star Sean Taylor, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the Jena controversy.

COMMUNITY SERVICE PHOTOJOURNALISM AWARD

Mona Reeder, The Dallas Morning News. Photos depicting the varied faces of poverty in Texas.

FREEDOM FORUM/ASNE AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED WRITING ON DIVERSITY

David Gonzalez, The New York Times. A three-part series providing a close-up look at a new wave of Pentecostalism in the city.

DISTINGUISHED WRITING AWARD FOR EDITORIAL WRITING

Marie Dillon, Chicago Tribune. A collection of editorials including one on local librarians banning a children?s book.

DISTINGUISHED WRITING AWARD FOR LOCAL ACCOUNTABILITY REPORTING

Anne Hull and Dana Priest, The Washington Post. Stories exposing the deep and widespread problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

DISTINGUISHED WRITING AWARD FOR NONDEADLINE WRITING
Lane DeGregory, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times. A collection of feature stories including one on daredevil Evil Knievel and his fears of growing old.

The Jesse Laventhol prizes each carry a $10,000 cash award; all of the others will receive $2,500 prizes. The awards will be presented on Monday, April 14 during the Capital Conference (ASNE/NAA/NEXPO conventions) in Washington, D.C. The winning entries and interviews with the winners and finalists will be published in "Best Newspaper Writing" by The Poynter Institute, St. Petersburg, Fla.

THE FINALISTS

The ASNE judges also recognized the work of other newspaper journalists as finalists:

BATTEN MEDAL
**Howard Witt, Chicago Tribune
**Rub?n Rosario, St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press

COMMENTARY/COLUMN WRITING
**Connie Schultz, The Cleveland Plain Dealer
**David Sarasohn, The Oregonian, Portland

COMMUNITY SERVICE PHOTOJOURNALISM
**Gus Chan, The Cleveland Plain Dealer
**Karen Ducey, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

JESSE LAVENTHOL PRIZE FOR DEADLINE NEWS REPORTING BY AN INDIVIDUAL
**Dan Shaughnessy, The Boston Globe
**Jeff Coen, Chicago Tribune

JESSE LAVENTHOL PRIZE FOR DEADLINE NEWS REPORTING BY A TEAM
**Staff, Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald
**Staff, The Washington Post

FREEDOM FORUM/ASNE AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING WRITING ON DIVERSITY
**Monica Polanco, The Hartford (Conn.) Courant
**Christine Evans, The Palm Beach Post, West Palm Beach, Fla.

DISTINGUISHED WRITING AWARD FOR EDITORIAL WRITING
**Linda Valdez, The Arizona Republic, Phoenix
**Ruben Navarrette, Jr., The San Diego Union-Tribune

LOCAL ACCOUNTABILITY REPORTING
**Binyamin Appelbaum, Ted Mellnik, Lisa Hammersly, Pam Kelley, Liz Chandler, Stella M.
Hopkins, Gary Schwab, Patrick Scott, Peter St. Onge, The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer
**David Josar, The Detroit News
**Pamela Gould, The Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, Va.

NONDEADLINE WRITING
**Louise Kiernan, Chicago Tribune
**David Finkel, The Washington Post

The Jesse Laventhol Prizes are named in honor of a longtime Philadelphia newspaperman. They are endowed by his son, David A. Laventhol, a former editor and executive for Times Mirror.