12:52 p.m. CDT, June 5, 2011
The Schurz Communications first quarter winners in the quarterly print contest have been announced.
Judges, contracted through Mid-America Press Institute, were from newsrooms in Oklahoma Cityand Champaign, Ill.
Photo contest judges were Marshall Gorby and staff at the Springfield, Ohio News-Sun.
The award winners are:
WATCHDOG
FIRST–The Bloomington Herald-Times: The trouble with townships. Chris Fyall, Laura Lane and Michael Malik
This package stood out from all other stories submitted because of its use of graphics, maps, and multimedia, including a searchable database usable by the public.
This story represents what watchdog journalism is all about while at the same time leveraging multiple platforms to tell a more complete story. While it uses data to support its premise, it also uses real people to tell compelling stories of a troubled township system. Great, dogged, multi-platform work.
SECOND—Somerset American News: Displaced residents. Elizabeth Dickey
What started out as a heart-wrenching story about mobile home park residents losing their homes uncovered an overarching problem in the community of the availability of low-income housing. The series also revealed the pinch these residents were left in, with very few options to buy, rent or receive assistance. Truly great work “afflicting the comfortable and comforting the afflicted,” as well as rallying a community to help these folks find options. Also, good work getting the letter online for people to read.
COMMENTARY
FIRST– Bob Bridge, Bedford Times-Mail
Bridge has a nice flair for combining personal observations with a broader perspective, blending his own wisdom with the wisdom of the famous such as Woodrow Wilson. He personalizes in a way that attracts readers. Even though one column was about his own family, it was not at all typical of so much of what I read today — full of personal pronouns and making no significant, larger points. He puts himself into the story but doesn’t let that get in the way of making his points.
SECOND–Rebecca Troyer, The Bloomington Herald-Times.
Troyer is a gifted editorial writer. Her exposition of these issues is rational, well-reasoned and considerate of contrasting opinions. My own newspaper would not have the same take on these issues, but I doubt we could have laid out our own positions any better. One of the other entrants in this contest also wrote on one of these issues but resorted to rhetorical leaps and strawman arguments. Troyer did not. She is to be commended for being rational and restrained about a hot-button issue.
DISTINGUISHED SPORTS REPORTING/WRITING
FIRST–Eric Hansen, South Bend Tribune, Gray has comic chops.
Nice combination of levity and fact-finding. How the club and his
teammates went about playing by the NCAA’s rules was fascinating. Perfect
ending, too.
SECOND–Larry Vaught, Danville Advocate-Messenger, Dawson undecided
The writer’s gut instinct turned out wrong — the kid picked USC — but his
approach was thorough and timely, reaching the linebacker on deadline to
refute rumors.
BEST EXPLANATORY OR SENSE-MAKING STORY
FIRST PLACE—South Bend Tribune: Education Reform. Joe Otis, Kim Kilbride, Margaret Fosmoe,Kevin Allen.
Series examines the major components of Gov. Mitch Daniels’ controversial school reform plan and how they affect local schools. Examines pro and con arguments, well-sourced, includes voices of parents and students. Complex issues clearly explained to the benefit of readers.
SECOND PLACE–Rebecca Troyer, The Bloomington Herald-Times, The Saga of Showers
Interesting story about attempts at redevelopment of a historic manufacturing facility in Bloomington into a high-tech center. Explains for readers how the plan never quite went as intended despite significant expenditure of public funds. The timeline was excellent. Referred readers to the paper’s website for links to previous stories written about the facility.
MOST COMPELLING DESIGN OF PAGE 1
FIRST–Janice Rickert, Stewart Moon, Penny Reid, The Bloomington Herald-Times.
Loved the editors’ decision to devote an entire front page to a dramatic sports photo. The other page showed attractive, high-interest sky boxes and effective design. Great job of getting readers inside the paper and on to your website on both fronts.
SECOND–Noelle Stillwell, Renee Tanner, Petoskey News-Review
Local lowdown a terrific concept, probably should have been above fold on both pages. Liked the “Savings Inside” in the skybox. Strong lead headlines leave no doubt about what’s the lead story. March 25 page, though, looks like two different pages above and below fold.
BEST PERSONALITY PROFILE
FIRST–Dave Vilhauer, Aberdeen American News, History Beckons.
Gives readers some real insight into the competitive fire that drives an elite high school wrestler to be the best. Good variety of sources — we learn about him not only through his own words, but also through the eyes of many people who know him. Package includes videos of his workouts and training session.
SECOND–Andy Sneddon, Petoskey News-Review, Just Reward.
Good writing, read every word with interest. We get a real sense of the subject and what made him the person he is today. A few more sources to provide some other perspectives would have made the column even better.
BREAKING NEWS
FIRST–Mike Ricketts. Bedford Times-Mail: Judge cites brutality in sentencing Hancock.
Some might argue that a scheduled court sentencing is not breaking news. But I’m willing to bet there was nothing more interesting going on that day in Bedford. And by posting this well-crafted story on the website the day it happened, writer Mike Ricketts made it a breaking news story. The fact that the defendant was given the maximum sentence for a crime he committed as a teen and to which he pleaded guilty also gave it a strong breaking news element. And finally, the fact that he pleaded guilty means there was no trial, so the sentencing hearing was likely the readers’ first opportunity to hear the full story. But this story wins because of the writing. It’s not perfect — it’s too long for many of today’s readers, and we have to wait until the sixth paragraph to find out who killed Diana Tabor. He might have told us earlier in the story that the victim’s body lay in her home for a week before the neighbor found her. I would also like to know why she was on disability, especially if she had any crippling kind of disability.
Not perfect, but pretty darn fabulous. I have my doubts that any of the best writers in the country could have attended that same hearing and crafted a lead any finer than the first four paragraphs of Ricketts’ story. Ricketts then selects the best of the testimony and statements from the judge, the lawyers, the mother, the friends of the victim and the defendant himself to tell us Hancock’s life story and explain how he earned himself that maximum sentence. Kudos as well for writing the story totally from a courtroom procedure but managing not to clutter it with a bunch of legal jargon.
SECOND – Team The Herald-Mail. Moller Organ building burns.
Excellent package. Great hustle getting photos, video and story on the website quickly. I love the way the print version promotes the video, right up top of the lead story in red. Some argue that readers are not prone to lay down their papers and go to the website based on a print video refer, but that refer made me want to do so, especially the way it is placed next to a photo depicting colorful, leaping flames. The sider with the Moller family is great writing, especially the first few graphs.
I watched the video, and at first was puzzled as to why a voice-over was not added later. But I don’t know what your resources are as far as videographers and editors go. And after watching both that video and your video with the farm market fire story, the whole concept of “video in the raw” kind of grew on me. I was seeing, and hearing, just what I would have seen had I been standing across the street watching the building burn.
The organization of the lead story is the trouble spot. Such great hustle talking to the co-owner, neighbors and some employees who were there when the fire broke out, but sad to see those sources so low in the story. The two things that make the fire most interesting are the historical value of the building and the fact that the fire started with workers in the building. Morrison’s account of how the fire started should have gone much higher in the story, even if the fire department could not confirm it. The portion of the story that appears on Page 1 is too much about the actual fighting of the fire, and has no direct quotes. How the firefighters did their jobs is just not that interesting, and we see them doing their jobs anyway, in the excellent photos and video. All of that could have been swapped with the second half of the story to much greater effect.
LOCALIZATION
FIRST –Dann Denny, The Bloomington Herald-Times: Ely: I need someone to be my hands.
Dann Denny placed a face on Medicaid budget cuts, helping readers understand a topic that some might not have been able to relate to. The story was compelling, including quotes from Michael Ely, the young man whose care budget would be cut in half. The last quote in Denny’s story helped sum up the importance of this report:
“The state people have never met me,” he said. “All they see are numbers. If they met me for just one minute, they would see why I need these services.” What Denny did with his story is present Michael Ely and introduce him to your readers, while successfully introducing the reason why readers should care about the cuts. Great job!
SECOND–Michael Jones, Gaylord Herald Times: Gaylord student in Cairo.
Sometimes international stories about earthquakes, political unrest, roadside bombs and protests in other countries can be difficult to relate to when you aren’t experiencing these news stories firsthand. A reader can feel removed from the catastrophic or history-making event. However, Michael Jones was able to help readers see there was a local angle that involved people from their town. I bet there were many parents who were immediately able to relate to the quotes from Carlye Scheer’s dad, understanding his anxiety of just wanting his daughter safe and back in the United States.
Jones also did an excellent job of explaining the setting in Egypt, intertwining the story of this local high school graduate. I wanted to read the whole story once I read his lead about Carlye being adventurous and caught up in the upheaval. Good story flow, clear and pertinent information, and interesting quotes made this a compelling read. Good follow, too, letting readers learn more about this local girl’s escape to safety.
INNOVATION
FIRST–The Bloomington Herald-Times: Township government. Sarah Morin, Michael Malik, Chris Fyall
Excellent use of website to provide more depth and context to the
investigative series. Databases, interactive map provided free hyperlocal
information to those who wanted it.
SECOND–The Bloomington Herald-Times, Bloomington, crime map. Sarah Morin, Abby Tonsing, Christy Mullins.
Visual guide to crime information in the city contains lots of useful features for readers. It’s the kind of information that is important and that also will keep people on the website for a while.
Photo News and Feature
FIRST–Joe Crocetta, , Hagerstown Herald-Mail. Prospect Street Fire.
SECOND–Marcus Marter, South Bend Tribune. Loosey Goosey
Sports
FIRST–Joe Crocetta, , Hagerstown Herald-Mail. Sloppy Joe
SECOND–Marcus Marter, South Bend Tribune. Alone
Multimedia
FIRST–Clay Jackson, Danville Advocate-Messenger. Love on a Leash at Sunrise
SECOND–David Snodgress, Bloomington Herald-Times. Michael Speaks