June 30th, 2006 • Quill Archives
SDX Awards: Newspaper non-deadline reporting, over 100,000
For the first time in her journalistic career, all Liz Bowie had to do was watch. He lingered hour after hour, day after day, on a basketball court jammed between a fast-food joint and a drug rehab center. Others came and went for a few games before moving on.
June 30th, 2006 • Quill Archives
SDX Awards: Art/Graphics, photography features
The images published in the Commercial Appeal’s “Born to Die” series awoke a sleeping community to an alarming problem. They also caused photographer Karen Pulfer Focht many restless nights. “I have three children of my own,” said Focht. “I would often come home at night and hold them tight.
June 30th, 2006 • Quill Archives
SDX Awards: TV documentaries, other markets
Instead of scouring for what’s broken in today’s public schools, “Making Schools Work,” a documentary devised by South Carolina Educational Television, stresses the positive and gives teachers something to work with instead of just heaping more criticism on an underappreciated profession.
June 30th, 2006 • Quill Archives
SDX awards: Newspaper non-deadline reporting, under 100,000
In an article called “The Speculators,” reporting done by the staff of the East Valley Tribune was so thorough, there was no room for conjecture. Reporter Mark Flatten spearheaded the effort and wrote the story, one that combined extensive research and stellar storytelling to paint a clear picture of who really controlled the territory in Mesa, Ariz.,
June 30th, 2006 • Quill Archives
SDX Awards: Art/Graphics, sports photography
Dan Hubbell has been a photographer for the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association since 1990. He’s snapped more than 600,000 shots of man battling beast in arenas full of dirt. But the photo he took of cowboy Kyle Whitaker tumbling off the aptly named Dump Wagon was one of a kind.
June 30th, 2006 • Quill Archives
SDX Awards: TV public service, network/Top 25 markets
KTTV Fox 11 reporter Christine Devine has good reason to trust in the newscast’s “Wednesday’s Child” segments. “What keeps me believing in the children and adoption?” Devine said. “My little sister from Vietnam. The little girl who once followed me around the house, mimicking every move.
June 30th, 2006 • Quill Archives
SDX Awards: Newspaper investigative reporting, over 100,000
“Toxic Legacy” had all the drama of a Hollywood script. The scary part: every word of it was true. “Given the complexity of tracking so many disparate story lines — it was as if the writers for The Sopranos and Erin Brockovich got together — the team delivered a clear and cogent indictment of one of the most powerful companies in America,” said Editor Frank Scandale of The Record.
June 30th, 2006 • Quill Archives
SDX Awards: Art/Graphics, editorial cartooning
The numbers don’t seem to add up. Twelve hours of work scribbling 2,000 names yielded only three alphabetic letters and one question for editorial cartoonist Mike Luckovich. One could question how this is possible, but he would be better served inquiring why.
June 30th, 2006 • Quill Archives
SDX Awards: TV public service, other markets
Through their “Troubled Ten” series, reporter Dedrick Russell and the staff of WBTV News in Charlotte, N.C., demonstrated their dedication to education. “It is unusual for a television station to have such a deep commitment to education, but we believe one of the most important issues facing our viewers is their children’s education,” said WBTV in its letter to the judges.
June 30th, 2006 • Quill Archives
SDX Awards: Newspaper investigative reporting, less than 100,000
Imagine being locked in jail, just because a scientist mislabeled a test tube. It happened to Leslie Lincoln, and the Winston-Salem Journal bailed her out. Lincoln’s story was the first part of reporter Phoebe Zerwick’s series “Crime and Science: The weight of evidence.”
June 30th, 2006 • Quill Archives
SDX Awards: Art/Graphics, photo illustration
Bruce Ely’s photo illustration gives new meaning to an old basketball cliche about saying that a player who hustles is “all over the court.” While no player has ever literally been in different places on the floor at the same time, The Oregonian photojournalist’s “The Omnipresent Damon” gave basketball fans a chance to see what that might look like.
June 30th, 2006 • Quill Archives
SDX Awards: Online, deadline reporting, affiliated
During the murder trial of Joseph P. Smith, HeraldTribune.com kept the city of Sarasota, Fla., connected. “HeraldTribune.com became a place for the community to learn about the case and discuss what they discovered,” said Lucas Grindley, content manager of HeraldTribune.com. “A prominent tease on the home page asked readers to participate in a message board that grew to more than 500 posts.
June 30th, 2006 • Quill Archives
SDX Awards: Newspaper feature writing, over 100,000
The sound of the crash was like heavy metal doors slamming shut on the pre-dawn stillness. BANG! … BANG! … BANG! And then the morning silence returned. Within that flash of time on a two-lane Osceola Country road, the destinies of six people collided with a force that still reverberates more than three years later.
June 30th, 2006 • Quill Archives
SDX Awards: Art/Graphics, informational graphics
When Pope John Paul II died, the Los Angeles Times relied on its graphics staff to make the major metropolitan periodical’s coverage a work of art. “We were dealing with a breaking news story that was covered by newspapers, magazines and TV stations around the world, and it was a challenge to differentiate our coverage from what people would see elsewhere,” said Les Dunseith, graphics editor of the Times.
June 30th, 2006 • Quill Archives
SDX Awards: Research
Sure, journalists aren’t immune to error. But are we actually mistake-prone? According to a study by University of Oregon associate professor Scott R. Maier and University of North Carolina Knight Chair and professor Philip Meyer, journalists aren’t practicing what they preach about accuracy.
June 30th, 2006 • Quill Archives
SDX Awards: Newspaper Washington Correspondence
Like thousands of his fellow veterans of America’s wars, Alfred Brown died waiting. In 1945, when he was a 19-year-old soldier fighting in Italy, shrapnel from an enemy shell ripped into his abdomen. His wounds were so severe that he was twice administered last rites.
June 30th, 2006 • Quill Archives
SDX Awards: Radio breaking news reporting, CBS
As the eye of Hurricane Katrina approached New Orleans, ears turned to CBS Radio. The staff of the news radio network immersed themselves in Katrina, making their reporting more authentic and prolific than their competition. “Our reporters visited all areas affected by this tragedy,” said CBS News in its letter to the judges.
June 30th, 2006 • Quill Archives
SDX Awards: Online, non-deadline reporting, affiliated
For the past year, Maj. Steve Beck has had an unenviable job. The marine was assigned to “casualty notification” duty. Instead of being overseas fighting off terrorists, Beck has found himself stuck in Denver fighting off tears. In the past 12 months, he has seen inside the caskets, learned each Marine’s name and nickname, touched the toys they grew up with and read the letters they wrote home.
June 30th, 2006 • Quill Archives
SDX Awards: Newspaper Foreign Correspondence
At his most desperate, when he had no more borrowed money for his son’s legal defense, Xie Yujun went to a hospital. He knew of China’s black market in body parts. He wanted to sell his eyes. He was refused. Mr.
June 30th, 2006 • Quill Archives
SDX Awards: Radio investigative reporting, New Hampshire Public Radio
I was on the unit one time. … We were eatin’, and some of the residents were exchangin’ words. … Instead of the staff tryin’ to figure out what the problem is, they say, “Is you all gonna keep woofin? Is y’all gonna fight or what?”
June 30th, 2006 • Quill Archives
SDX Awards: Online, deadline reporting, independent
No one knows if vaccines such as Tamiflu and Relenza would provide the public the necessary protection from a possible bird flu pandemic. With uncertainty surrounding the subject, it’s imperative not to forget what the most important medicine for concerned citizens really is.
June 30th, 2006 • Quill Archives
SDX Awards: Newspaper general column writing
After reading Oregonian columnist Steve Duin’s writing, it’s hard not to get emotionally attached. “His work engages emotionally with the reader, and with the person he’s writing about. That’s what good columnists do,” said the judges. “His writing is unpretentious and doesn’t get in the way of what he’s trying to say or attract attention away from his point.”
June 30th, 2006 • Quill Archives
SDX Awards: Radio feature reporting
And the watchers beware Lest they see it fall Paradise might laugh when at last it falls And the sewing machine The industrial god It’s the great God Bird with its altar call Yes it’s the great God Bird though it all Dan Collison and Elizabeth Meister weren’t just creating an award-winning radio feature when they pieced together “The Lord God Bird.”
June 30th, 2006 • Quill Archives
SDX Awards: Online, non-deadline reporting, independent
As women’s waistlines continue to shrink on the covers of fashion magazines and other popular publications, many people say America’s problem with anorexia is destined to grow. It remains an oft-discussed topic in our society. Critics say the media’s portrayal of women leads to self-image problems in young girls.
June 30th, 2006 • Quill Archives
SDX Awards: Newspaper sports column writing
It only seems appropriate that the work of Associated Press columnist and boxing writer Tim Dahlberg would pack a punch. “Tim Dahlberg reaches out with his pen and touches readers’ hearts and minds,” said the judges. “He seeks out sports figures other writers overlook … and tells their stories with compassion.”
June 30th, 2006 • Quill Archives
SDX Awards: Radio documentaries
When NASA restarted its Space Shuttle program in 2005, WMFE-FM reaffirmed its dedication to covering the final frontier, broadcasting “Countdown Discovery.” “As a primary contributor of space-related news coverage to National Public Radio, this program is part of our ongoing commitment on producing stories related to NASA and the exploration of space,” said WMFE News Director Pat Duggins.
June 30th, 2006 • Quill Archives
SDX Awards: Online, investigative reporting, affiliated
It didn’t take the government long to react when Seattletimes.com revealed a fantastic pharmaceutical industry secret. “ ‘Selling Drug Secrets’ drew the quickest response of any Seattle Times investigation in memory,” said Stanley Farrar, managing editor of the periodical’s online companion.
June 30th, 2006 • Quill Archives
SDX Awards: Newspaper public service, over 100,000
Helen Jones sits in a wheelchair, surrounded by strangers who control her life. She is not allowed to answer the telephone. Her mail is screened. She cannot spend her own money. A child of the Depression, Jones, 87, worked hard for decades, driving rivets into World War II fighter planes, making neckties, threading bristles into nail-polish brushes.
June 30th, 2006 • Quill Archives
SDX Awards: Radio public service
Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door! The welcoming excerpt from Emma Lazarus’ poem found inside the Statue of Liberty signifies New York City’s longstanding relationship with immigrants.
June 30th, 2006 • Quill Archives
SDX Awards: Online, public service, affiliated
Think covering Hurricane Katrina was challenging for reporters from national news outlets? Consider what it was like for local journalists who lived the catastrophe. “I’d say the most difficult aspect has been covering the news event of a lifetime when you’re part of it,” said Kate Magandy, city and online editor of the Biloxi SunHerald.
June 30th, 2006 • Quill Archives
SDX Awards: Newspaper public service, under 100,000
Through his “Brother’s Keeper” series, Charleston Gazette reporter Scott Finn helped remedy West Virginia’s handling of the mentally ill. “Several mental health advocates said the Gazette series convinced lawmakers to take action,” said James Haught, the newspaper’s editor. “(The mental hygiene system reform) bill had stalled in a legislative committee for two years.
June 30th, 2006 • Quill Archives
SDX Awards: TV breaking news, Network/Top 25 markets
No single event shook the nation like Hurricane Katrina did in 2005. No single TV news network covered the catastrophe like NBC. Chief anchor Brian Williams and the staff of NBC Nightly News were the first to arrive in New Orleans, long before their competition caught wind of the historic storm’s magnitude.
