Gambit Weekly of New Orleans and
Cincinnati CityBeat each took two
first-place awards in the eighth annual
Alternative Newsweekly Awards contest,
while LA Weekly and Chicago Reader led
the field of large circulation papers with
two firsts each.
Among individual contestants,
Heather Swaim of OC Weekly and
Thomas Francis of Cleveland Scene
were the only AAN members winning two
Alternative Newsweekly Awards this year.
Swaim took a first in Editorial Layout and
a third in Cover Design, while Francis
picked up a first place in News Story
(under 1,500 words and up to three
entries) and an honorable mention in
media reporting.
Tom Robbins (The Village Voice) won
first place in Investigative Reporting
(circulation more than 50,000) for "The
Lush Life of a Rudy Appointee: Russell
Harding." Robbins'
piece has already been honored by the
Investigative Reporters and Editors. In the
50,000 and under circulation division,
Leslie Blade of Cincinnati CityBeat won
first place for her story "Piling On," a
gripping deconstruction of a police
investigation.
In News Feature, Metroland's Nancy
Guerin (Albany, N.Y.) won first place
(50,000 and under) for "Schenectady
Calling," a feature on the mayor's
attempts to lure Guyanese immigrants to
the area. In the large-circulation division,
Chicago Reader's Mike Sula took first
place for his "Killer on the Loose," a
medical mystery story about a
flesh-eating bacteria outbreak at
Evanston Hospital.
Gambit Weekly's two firsts were won
by Sara Roahen in
Food Writing and Scott Jordan for music
criticism. It's Jordan's third
consecutive first-place award -- he won
for Music Criticism in 2002 and Sports
Writing in 2001. Roahen's food writing
took an
honorable mention in 2001 for Arts
Criticism.
These two firsts, plus a second place
in Cover Design for Dora Sison,
gives the New Orleans alt-weekly 23 total
awards in the contest’s eight years.
That puts Gambit and Durham, N.C.'s
Independent Weekly in a tie for total
number of awards among small
circulation papers. Independent Weekly
also went to 23 this year with a first-place
in business writing for Barbara Solow's
"Blue Notes."
Cincinnati CityBeat's two firsts were
for Illustration -- Ryan Greis & Sean
Hughes for "Does Your Vote Count?" --
and
Blade's Investigative Reporting award.
Among large-circulation papers, LA
Weekly's John Powers took first-place in
Arts
Criticism and Max S. Gerber won in
Photography. Added to Bill Smith's
honorable mention in Cover Design, LA
Weekly now has a total of 29 Alternative
Newsweekly Awards, the most of any AAN
paper.
Chicago Reader picked up firsts in
Music Criticism (Monica Kendrick) and
News Feature (Sula's "Killer on the
Loose). Kendrick took a first-place award
in music criticism in 2001 and placed
second in the same category in 1998.
In its first year as an AAN member,
Greenville, S.C.'s MetroBEAT won a first
place for James Shannon's political
commentary.
The first-place winners in this year's
Wild-Card Category, Business Writing,
were Solow for "Blue Notes" in
small-circulation and Gayle Reaves of
Fort Worth Weekly for "Accounting for
Anguish" in large circulation.
Gambit's Roahen and Dara
Moskowitz of City Pages (Twin Cities)
were the first-place winners in Food
Writing, a new category this year.
Walter Coker of Folio Weekly
(Jacksonville, Fla.) took first place for
photography, his fifth consecutive award.
Here is a complete list of the winning
entries in this year's contest:
ARTS CRITICISM
Circulation < 50,000
First Place: Margaret Regan, Tucson
Weekly
Second Place: Rodney Welch,
Columbia Free
Times
Third Place: S. Michael Bowen, Pacific
Northwest
Inlander
Circulation > 50,000
First Place: John Powers, LA
Weekly
Second Place: Joy Press, The Village
Voice
Third Place: Robert Lalasz,
Washington City
Paper
Honorable Mention: Glenn Dixon,
Washington City
Paper
ARTS FEATURE
Circulation < 50,000
No award
Circulation > 50,000
First Place: "Plays Well with Others," Andy
Newman,
Pittsburgh City Paper
Tie/ Honorable Mention: "Temma Lowly
and the Meaning of Life,"
Fred Camper, Chicago
Reader
Tie/ Honorable Mention: "Dancing with
the Butoh Masters,"
Bernice Yeung, SF Weekly
BUSINESS REPORTING
Circulation < 50,000
First Place: "Blue Notes," Barbara Solow,
Independent Weekly
Circulation > 50,000
First Place: "Accounting for Anguish,"
Gayle Reaves,
Fort Worth Weekly
Honorable Mention: "Enough to Make You
Sick," Thomas
Korosec, Dallas Observer
CARTOON
4 or fewer papers
First Place: Various Strips, Chris
Ware
Second Place: "La Petite Camera," Garret
Gaston
Third Place: "Slowpoke," Jen
Sorenson
Honorable Mention: “Suspect Device,"
Greg Peters
5 or more papers
First Place: "Tom the Dancing Bug,"
Ruben Bolling
(Ken Fisher)
Second Place: "The City," Derf (John
Backderf)
COLUMN
Circulation < 50,000
No award
Circulation > 50,000
First Place: Chuck Strouse, New
Times
Broward-Palm Beach
COLUMN-POLITICAL
COMMENTARY
Circulation < 50,000
First Place: James Shannon,
MetroBEAT
Second Place: Al Diamon, Portland
Phoenix
Third Place: Nate Blakeslee, The
Texas
Observer
Circulation > 50,000
First Place: Robert Nelson, Phoenix
New
Times
Second Place: Jim Schutze, Dallas
Observer
Third Place: Chris Potter, Pittsburgh
City
Paper
COVER DESIGN
Circulation < 50,000
First Place: David Jayne, Andrea Diaz,
David Robert & Ben Purvis,
Reno News & Review
Second Place: Dora Sison, Gambit
Weekly
Third Place: Don Eggert & Diane Sullivan,
Seven
Days
Tie/Honorable Mention: Amy Pastre,
Charleston City
Paper
Tie/Honorable Mention: Alex Abatie,
Santa Barbara
Independent
Circulation > 50,000
First Place: Todd Bates, Weekly Planet
(Tampa)
Second Place: Jay Vollmar,
Westword
Third Place: Heather Swaim, OC
Weekly
Tie/Honorable Mention: Bill Smith, LA
Weekly
Tie/Honorable Mention: Brian Hogan,
Philadelphia City
Paper
Tie/Honorable Mention: Tricia Reinhold,
Heather Mull & Brian
Holderman, Pittsburgh City
Paper
EDITORIAL LAYOUT
Circulation < 50,000
Honorable Mention: "Driving Green,"
Monterey County
Coast Weekly
Circulation > 50,000
First Place: "Bombshell," Heather Swaim,
OC
Weekly
Second Place: "Oh, My Goth," Doug
Kubert & Jay
Thornton, The Pitch
Third Place: "Hope in Hell," Frank
Goodenough,
Dallas Observer
FEATURE STORY
Circulation < 50,000
First Place: "Five Days in the Psych
Ward," Adrienne
Martini, Metro Pulse
Second Place: "Long Lost Friend," Tricia
Booker,
Folio Weekly
Third Place: "Jump Jim Crow," Ron
Netsky, City
Newspaper
Honorable Mention: "Justice Denied," Jill
Kramer, Pacific
Sun
Circulation > 50,000
First Place: "The Others," Jason Cherkis,
Washington City Paper
Second Place: "Little Big Shot," Annys
Shin,
Washington City Paper
Tie:/Honorable Mention: "Little Big Man,"
Brad Zellar, City
Pages (Twin Cities)
Tie:/Honorable Mention: "Crazy White
Mother," Glenna Whitley,
Dallas Observer
FOOD WRITING
Circulation <
50,000
First Place: Sara Roahen, Gambit
Weekly
Second Place: Gary Laing & Sam Lange,
The Local
Planet Weekly
Circulation >
50,000
First Place: Dara Moskowitz, City
Pages (Twin
Cities)
Second Place: Paul Reidinger, San
Francisco Bay
Guardian
Third Place: Naomi Wise, San Diego
Reader
ILLUSTRATION
Circulation <
50,000
First Place: "Does Your Vote Count?"
Ryan Greis
& Sean Hughes, Cincinnati
CityBeat
Second Place: "Overwhelmed," Gregory
Dickens,
MetroBEAT
Third Place: "Fat Chance," Harry Bliss,
Seven
Days
Circulation >
50,000
First Place: "Campbell's Cuts," Jeremy
Bruneel,
The Georgia Straight
Second Place: "To Dive For," David Terrill,
The
Pitch
Third Place: "Lien Times," Christiane
Granert,
Washington City Paper
Honorable Mention: "How to Succeed in
Business," Josef
Gast, Cleveland Scene
INVESTIGATIVE
REPORTING
Circulation <
50,000
First Place: "Piling On," Leslie Blade,
Cincinnati
CityBeat
Circulation >
50,000
First Place: "The Lush Life of a Rudy
Appointee:
Russell Harding," Tom Robbins, The
Village Voice
Second Place: "Mouth Wide Shut," Ron
Russell, New
Times Los Angeles
Third Place: "The Sinister Side of Yusuf
Bey's Empire,"
Chris Thompson, East Bay
Express
MEDIA REPORTING
Circulation <
50,000
First Place: "Copping Out," Maria Luisa
Tucker,
Santa Fe Reporter
Second Place: "The State of Radio,"
Jeremy Hadley, Tom
Grant & Rob Wilkinson, The
Local Planet Weekly
Circulation >
50,000
First Place: "Reality TV Bites," Jennifer
Mathieu,
Houston Press
Second Place: "Professor Soundbite,"
Amy Roe,
Willamette Week
Tie/Honorable Mention: "Hip-Hopcrisy,"
Thomas Francis,
Cleveland Scene
Tie/Honorable Mention: "Incessant
Static," Kathy Glasgow,
Miami New Times
MUSIC CRITICISM
Circulation <
50,000
First Place: Scott Jordan, Gambit
Weekly
Circulation >
50,000
First Place: Monica Kendrick, Chicago
Reader
NEWS FEATURE
Circulation <
50,000
First Place: "Schenectady Calling," Nancy
Guerin,
Metroland
Second Place: "A Trial in Tulia," Liliana
Ibara, The
Texas Observer
Circulation >
50,000
First Place: "Killer on the Loose," Mike
Sula,
Chicago Reader
Second Place: "Dirty or Duped?" Mark
Donald, Dallas
Observer
Third Place: "Drugstore Cowboys," Justin
Berton,
East Bay Express
Honorable Mention: "The Bishops Set Me
Up!" Jason Cherkis,
Joe Dempsey, Sarah Godfrey, David
Morton, Annys Shin, Chris Shott, Elissa
Silverman and Erik Wemple,
Washington City Paper
NEWS STORY
Circulation <
50,000
First Place: Tim McGivern, Weekly
Alibi
Second Place: Terje Langeland,
Colorado Spring
Independent
Third Place: Traci Moyer, Illinois
Times
Circulation > 50,
000
First Place: Thomas Francis,
Cleveland
Scene
Second Place: Joe Miller, The
Pitch
Third Place: Amy Silverman, Phoenix
New
Times
PHOTOGRAPHY
Circulation <
50,000
First Place: "Through the Lens," Walter
Coker,
Folio Weekly
Second Place: "Brotherhood of the
Neighborhood," Bill
Kennedy, The Texas Observer
Third Place: "Women Through the Lens:
Portraits and Profiles," Nancy Santos,
Charleston City Paper
Circulation >
50,000
First Place: "Microbats, Broken Skulls,
Rocket Girls & Prehistoric Beach Bears,"
Max S. Gerber, LA Weekly
Second Place: "We're #1," Steve
Satterwhite, Miami
New Times
Third Place: "Local Discovery Awards,"
Saul Bromberg
& Sandra Hoover, San Francisco
Bay Guardian
The following individuals were the
final-round
judges in editorial categories:
Arts Criticism: David B. Edelstein;
Christopher Knight; D.K. Row
Arts
Feature: Katha Pollitt; Sarah Vowell;
Lawrence Weschler
Business:
Myron
Kandel; Rex Seline; Eben Shapiro
Column: Karen Heller; Adam
Hochschild;
Laurie Roberts
Column/Political
Commentary: Joe Conason; Dale
Mcfeatters; Geneva Overholser
Feature
Story: Ellen Barry; Madeleine Blais; Tom
Hallman, Jr.
Food Writing: Anthony
Dias
Blue; Linda Giuca; Phyllis Richman
Investigative: Kim Christensen; Dianna
Hunt; Phil Williams
Media Reporting:
David Carr; David Folkenflik; Michael
Wolff
Music Criticism: Dee Dee
Bridgewater; Chet Flippo; Tom
Piazza
News Feature: Alex Kotlowitz; David Plotz;
Susan Tifft
News Story: Michael
Grunwald; Steve Mills; Jason Riley
The following individuals were the
first-round judges in editorial categories:
Craig Aaron (News Feature); Brett
Anderson (Column); Joel Bleifuss
(Feature); Gene Bourg (Food Criticism);
Jay Davis (Feature); Jane G. Dubose
(Business); Mark Fitzgerald (Media
Reporting); Cynthia Franklin (Business);
Glenn Harper (Arts Feature); Will Hermes
(Music Criticism); John Kessler (Food
Criticism); Andrew Leonard (Business);
Eric Lorberer (Arts Criticism); Kay Mallett
(Arts Criticism); Kate Marsh (Arts
Criticism); Brad McKee (Feature); Sia
Michel (Music Criticism); Jim Naureckas
(Media Reporting); Mark Naymik
(Column/Political Commentary); Rick
Nelson (Column); James Norton (Arts
Criticism); Linda Perlstein (Feature);
Thane Peterson (Arts Feature); Mary Beth
Pfeiffer (News Story); Bruce Rodgers
(News Feature); Michael Schaffer (News
Feature); Andrea Simakis (News
Feature); Chris Smith (Investigative); Joe
Strupp (News Feature); Chris Suellentrop
(Column/Political Commentary); Jon
Tevlin (Investigative); Nicholas Thompson
(Investigative); Emily White (Feature);
Josh (News Story); Craig Winneker
(News Feature); Bill Wyman (Feature).
And finally, graphic entries were
judged in one round by the following
artists:
Jessica Abel (Cartoon); Greg
Bennett (Cartoon); Jonathan Berlin
(Illustration); Celeste Bernard (Editorial
Layout);
Nanette Bisher (Cover Design); Steve
Dorsey (Cover Design); Thomas E.
Franklin (Photography); Bill Gaspard
(Editorial Layout); Jennifer Gilman
(Editorial Layout); Gayle Grin (Illustration);
Christine Mcneal (Photography); Rhonda
Prast (Illustration); Richard Thompson
(Cartoon); Kathleen Vincent (Cover).
