ARTS CRITICISM circulation 50,000 and over

1st Place: That 70s Movie; Daydream Believers; and Baseball’s Bargain Basement by J.R. Jones, Chicago Reader

2nd Place: No Russian Accent — but Plenty of Ennui; The Arena Rocker Who Fiddled; and Torture for Dummies by Chris Klimek, Washington City Paper

3rd Place: Weird-Looking Churches; Leave It to the Kids; and Refugee Community Training Garden by Robrt L. Pela, Phoenix New Times

ARTS CRITICISM circulation under 50,000

1st Place:Young Adult; Melancholia; and Moneyball by Scott Wilson, The Pitch

2nd Place:To the end of the world; Somewhere strips the glamour; and A West African colonial nightmareby Nathan Gelgud, Independent Weekly (NC)

3rd Place: Unparalleled Parking;Pleasure Garden; andArrested Development by Edwin Slipek, Jr., Style Weekly

ARTS FEATURE circulation 50,000 and over

1st Place: Life in the Belle Jar by Wyatt Williams, Creative Loafing Atlanta

2nd Place: Made to Change by Tara Murtha, Philadelphia Weekly

3rd Place: The Art of the Steal by Joe Eskenazi, SF Weekly

ARTS FEATURE circulation under 50,000

1st Place: The House that Jack Built by Adam Gold, Nashville Scene

2nd Place: Raising Hell in the Land of Enchantment by Sam Adams,Weekly Alibi

3rd Place: Dark Days for the Black Arts by Anastasia Pantsios, Cleveland Scene

COLUMN circulation 50,000 and over

1st Place: Undercover Brothers; Mulenga’s Tinfoil Hat; and Crisis on the Corner by Larry Gabriel, Metro Times

2nd Place: Bittersweet Lesson; Bank Statements; and False Choice by Chris Potter, Pittsburgh City Paper

3rd Place: Why I Hate Being Gay! 62 Reasons!; Help! Blandness Has Taken Over Our Culture!; and Fame Is Better Than Drugs And I Want To Mainline That Shitby Michael Musto, The Village Voice

COLUMN circulation under 50,000

1st Place: Kula Kid: Give A Buck; Love Is In The Fair; and Green Dumb by Anu Yagi, Maui Time

2nd Place:Wild Christmas; Kids These Days; and Mood Music by Nick Powell, San Luis Obispo New Times

3rd Place: Lone Star Green: Endangered Species Act; ‘Clean’ Coal; and Texas Cooks by Greg Harman, San Antonio Current

COLUMN (POLITICAL) circulation 50,000 and over

1st Place: Dems: Gutless Cowards; Granholm’s World; and Aiming at John Conyers by Jack Lessenberry, Metro Times

2nd Place: Recalling Russell Pearce; His Own Worst Enemy; and Kissing His Political Career Goodbye by Stephen Lemons, Phoenix New Times

3rd Place: $4 Per Gallon: Beating The Oil Drum; The Dow Of Poo; and A Slippery Slope To Fascism by Jed Morey, Long Island Press

COLUMN (POLITICAL) circulation under 50,000

1st Place: Reefer Madness; Shared Sins; and Shut ‘Em Down by Mary Duan, Monterey County Weekly

2nd Place: Hazardous Civility; Immigrants vs. Profit; and And the Good News Is… by Tom Head, Jackson Free Press

3rd Place: Cops Charging Overtime to Clubs; Marcie Hodge Loses, Again; and The Absent Police Chief by Robert Gammon, East Bay Express

Honorable Mention: Tax the Rich; Greed; and Occupy and Economics by Renee Downing, Tucson Weekly

FEATURE STORY circulation 50,000 and over

1st Place: Lawrence Williams: No Romeo by Caleb Hannan, Seattle Weekly

2nd Place: The Price of Intolerance Part 1 and Part 2 by Steve Bogira, Chicago Reader

3rd Place: Guys Who Like Fat Chicks by Camille Dodero, The Village Voice

FEATURE STORY circulation under 50,000

1st Place: Undercover by Sharyn Jackson, Santa Fe Reporter

2nd Place: The Reckoning by Jamie Rogers, Missoula Independent

3rd Place: Injustice Served by David Rolland, San Diego CityBeat

FOOD WRITING circulation 50,000 and over

1st Place: Shark’s Fin – Understanding the Political Soup; Tacko: The Nantucket Gringo Take on the Taco; and Leatherneck Steakhouse by Jonathan Kauffman, SF Weekly

2nd Place: Red Medicine; Noodle Boy; and Cochon 555’s Traveling Pork and Wine Bacchanalia by Jonathan Gold, L.A. Weekly

3rd Place: Next Restaurant; The 23 Enigma; and No Jacket Required by Mike Sula, Chicago Reader

FOOD WRITING circulation under 50,000

1st Place: Mud Fish and Menudo; The Sorcerer’s Apprentice; and Everything’s Better with Butter by Mackensy Lunsford, Mountain Xpress

2nd Place: Suddenly Sushi; The Spirits That Move Them; and Resurrecting Hops by Corin Hirsch, Seven Days

3rd Place: The man who designed the Oreo cookie and A brief history of pimento cheese by Emily Wallace, Independent Weekly (NC)

INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING circulation 50,000 and over

1st Place: McKay Scholarship Fraud: Scholarship Program Sparks a Cottage Industry of Fraud and Chaos; The Fraud Hall of Shame; Coach Bernard Wright’s Talent Trap; Notorious Miami Football Recruiter Has New Diploma Mill; Diploma Mill Gets More Taxpayer Dollars; Head of Fraud-Plagued Scholarship Program Talks; and Expose Prompts Reform; by Gus Garcia-Roberts, Miami New Times

2nd Place: Reports on D.C. Child-Welfare System: Outsourcing Troubled Kids (with supporting documents); The One City Official Who Understood; Is CFSA Fudging Stats (Part 1) and (Part 2)?; D.C. Youth Has Arm Broken by Staff at Treatment Facility; Child Welfare Director Responds; Is D.C. Neglecting Neglect?; and Cover Story Subject Arrested by Jason Cherkis, Washington City Paper

3rd Place: The Grass Gap; What is Pot Prosecution Good For?; The $78 Million Bag; and The Politics of Pot by Ben Joravsky and Mick Dumke, Chicago Reader

INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING circulation under 50,000

1st Place: Vulnerable: Part 1 and Part 2 by Carrie Peyton Dahlberg, North Coast Journal

2nd Place: What the Boy Saw by Kyle Swenson, Cleveland Scene

3rd Place: Lifestyles of the Corrupt and Elected by Dave Mann and Abby Rapoport, Texas Observer

MEDIA REPORTING / CRITICISM circulation 50,000 and over

1st Place: Jaime Bayly is Dying by Michael E. Miller, Miami New Times

2nd Place: Dallas Morning News Tippy-Toes Away; How Not to Humiliate Yourself as a Journalist; and Picking Apart The Dallas Morning News’ Smug Sense by Jim Schutze, Dallas Observer

3rd Place: WCCO Duck Dog Story; WCCO Airs Video of Woman’s Suicide; and New York Times Quotes Anonymous City Pages Blog Commenter by Kevin Hoffman, City Pages (Twin Cities)

MEDIA REPORTING / CRITICISM circulation under 50,000

1st Place: Guided by Voices and Super Size News by Matt Pulle, Nashville Scene

2nd Place: Boxed In: Can Vermont Public Television Survive? by Megan James and Margot Harrison, Seven Days

3rd Place: The Incredible Shrinking Star-Telegram by Jeff Prince, Fort Worth Weekly

MUSIC REPORTING / CRITICISM circulation 50,000 and over

1st Place: Falling James’ Gig of the Week: Buffalo Springfield at the Wiltern; The Go-Go’s and Girl in a Coma; and Morrissey & Kristeen Young by James Moreland, L.A. Weekly

2nd Place: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Woman; Anna Waronker; and Reviews for the Easily Distracted by Brian Smith, Metro Times

3rd Place: Premier Queensryche Tribute Band Lived the Dream; Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, and The Walkmen; and Is Aaron Lewis the World’s Most Obnoxious Country-Western Wanna-Be? by Jason Woodbury, Phoenix New Times

MUSIC REPORTING / CRITICISM circulation under 50,000

1st Place: Morning Glory; gOoD-bAiT; and Lapse of Reason by Gabe Meline, North Bay Bohemian

2nd Place: The Trend of Reissues;Why Indie Rock Continues to Ignore the Drive-By Truckers; andThe Triangle’s Top 10 albums of 2011 by Grayson Currin, Independent Weekly (NC)

3rd Place: Dream Catcher; Becoming Metallica; and K. Clifton by Leah Sottile, Pacific Northwest Inlander

NEWS STORY (LONG FORM) circulation 50,000 and over

1st Place: Wheelchair Hell in Men’s Central Jail andMen’s County Jail Visitor Viciously Beaten by Chris Vogel, L.A. Weekly

2nd Place: Pressing Charges Against a TSA Officer Over a $450 Pen by Stefan Kamph, Miami New Times

3rd Place: Rick Perry’s Manufactured Miracle by Jim Schutze, Dallas Observer

Honorable Mention: Why Isn’t Reggie Allen Behind Bars? by Nicholas Phillips, Riverfront Times

NEWS STORY (LONG FORM) circulation under 50,000

1st Place: Intent to Harm by Saul Elbein, Texas Observer

2nd Place: The Power of Alienation by Jeff Prince, Fort Worth Weekly

3rd Place: Orient Express by Matthew Frank, Missoula Independent

Honorable Mention: Call it Even by Vince Grzegorek, Cleveland Scene

NEWS STORY (SHORT FORM) circulation 50,000 and over

1st Place: Santeria Stalker; Guns Online: No Permit Needed; The Fight to Bury Venezuelan President CAP in Miami by Tim Elfrink, Miami New Times

2nd Place: Life Under Occupation; Occupational Hazards; and To the Barricades, Variously by Rosie Gray, The Village Voice

3rd Place: Ackerman’s Message Machine; Avoiding the Subject; and Big East by Daniel Denvir, Philadelphia City Paper

NEWS STORY (SHORT FORM) circulation under 50,000

1st Place: The Blair Park Project;Solar is Still Humming; and How Organic is Organic? by Nate Seltenrich, East Bay Express

2nd Place: Benefit of the Doubt; Shaking the Foundation at AFA; and Wedding Bell Blues by Pam Zubeck, Colorado Springs Independent

3rd Place: Poor Returns; Greenhouse Effect; and Tribe Attempts to Evict Private Military Contractor by Dave Maass, San Diego CityBeat

PUBLIC SERVICE circulation 50,000 and over

1st Place: The Rape Issue by Staff, Philadelphia Weekly

2nd Place: Ambassador Bridge Series: Taking a Toll; When Matty Wins, We All Lose; Lowering the Boom; Gateway: The Big Picture;A Statesman Emerges; Fenced Out; Delray Foray; Lies Before Your Eyes; Found in Contempt, Matty Strikes Back; and A Bogus Argument (Video) by Curt Guyette, Jack Lessenberry, and Jacob Hurwitz-Goodman, Metro Times

3rd Place: RNC Piggy Bank by Andy Mannix and Mike Mullen, City Pages (Twin Cities)

PUBLIC SERVICE circulation under 50,000

1st Place: Mississippi Defeats Personhood: Ready, Boots? Start Marching!; Danger Looming Large; Preparing for Battle; It’s About Women’s Rights; Where is the Line?; Personhood Supporters Shocked; A Pandora’s Box; Grassroots Mamas Tell All; Inside Yes on 26; and What the Mamas Taught Us by Valerie Wells, Elizabeth Waibel, Lacey McLaughlin, Donna Ladd, Lori Garrott, Shannon Barbour, Stacey Spiehler, and Funmi Franklin, Jackson Free Press

2nd Place: Santa Fe Public Schools: A Teachable Moment; Left Behind; Add It Up; Bully Pulpit; Numbers Game; Specialized Ed; Zero Sum; Public Schools by the Numbers; School Board Violated Rights; and Baby on Board by Wren Abbott and Alexa Schirtzinger, Santa Fe Reporter

3rd Place: The Homeless Project by Ashley Schwellenbach, Colin Rigley, Nick Powell, Matt Fountain, Anna Weltner, Maeva Considine, Ryan Miller, Steve E. Miller, and Robert McDonald, San Luis Obispo New Times

SPECIAL TOPIC: ECONOMIC INEQUALITY circulation 50,000 and over

1st Place: Hardly Working by Edward Ericson Jr., Baltimore City Paper

2nd Place: Separation Anxiety by Daniel Denvir, Philadelphia Weekly

3rd Place: Ain’t Too Proud to Beg by “Detroitblogger” John Carlisle, Metro Times

SPECIAL TOPIC: ECONOMIC INEQUALITY circulation under 50,000

1st Place: Hitting a Wall; Rise and Fall; and Hype or Hope? by Anne Marshall, LEO Weekly

2nd Place: Bare Minimum by Jeff Gore, Orlando Weekly

3rd Place: Future Unknown (PDF) by Daniel Walters, Pacific Northwest Inlander

INDIVIDUAL BLOG All Publications

1st Place: Housing Complex: More Disneyfication Coming to Chinatown; Vince Gray Enthusiastically Endorses Trade Center He Heard About Last Night; Two More Walmarts in D.C.; Supermarkets Getting Really Sweet Deals; and Walmart’s Alternative Reality by Lydia DePillis, Washington City Paper

2nd Place: Talking Politics: Horseshit in the Legislature; Romney’s No-Lose Life; Linehan Whitening His District; Romney’s Ad; and Casinos, Trans, and Whatnot by David S. Bernstein, Boston Phoenix

3rd Place: The Wicked Stage: Rock of Ages; NYC Theater Weekend; and Osage County in Austin by Thomas E. Jenkins, San Antonio Current

MULTIMEDIA All Publications

1st Place: Tunnelvision: Inside The East Side Access Project by Spencer Rumsey, Rashed Mian, and Jon Sasala, Long Island Press

2nd Place: Best of Toronto by Adam Foorde and Joshua Errett, NOW Magazine

3rd Place: Gulf Coast Sushi: The Fish That Got Away; The Art of Ike Jime; and The Roughest Catch Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 by Katharine Shilcutt, Houston Press

MUSIC BLOG All Publications

1st Place: All Shook Down: The Early Days of Metallica and the Bay Area Thrash Metal Scene; Metallica 30th Anniversary Party Continues; Five Resident DJs on Their Favorite New Tracks; 10 Most Opulent Parts of ‘Watch the Throne’ Show; and Second-by-Second Breakdown of the Worst Christmas Music Video Ever Made by Staff, SF Weekly

2nd Place: Gimme Noise: Why We Didn’t Sign Foo Fighters Photo Waiver; fDeluxe’s St. Paul Peterson Talks About the Minneapolis Sound; 10 Superfan Factoids About Dave Grohl; ‘Rock for the Rules’ Compilation; and Minnesota Twins Phase Out Local Music Programming by Andrea Swensson, City Pages (Twin Cities)

3rd Place: City Sound Inertia: Who the Hell Made Rebecca Black’s ‘Friday’ Video? and 101.7 The Fox is Off the Air – What Happened? by Gabe Meline, North Bay Bohemian

STAFF BLOG All Publications

1st Place: Pith in the Wind: Legislators Claim ‘Super Citizen’ Status; Night Court Magistrate Throws the Book at Troopers Over Occupy Nashville Arrests; Scene Reporter Captures Own Arrest on Video; State Concedes Defeat For Now in Occupy Nashville Battle; and Document Dump Shows Christian Right Scripted Anti-Gay Law by Staff, Nashville Scene

2nd Place: Chow Bella: Tucson’s Cafe 54 Serves the Mentally Ill;Horchata Bread Pudding; Kim Porter’s Ham Taco Christmas; Five Tips for Making the Perfect Eggnog; and Where’s the Last Great Restaurant You Dined? by Staff, Phoenix New Times

3rd Place: Blogtown: “Occupy! Multiply!”; WTF Happened Last Night?; Mercury Reporter Shoved Down by Cop; Police Break Out Pepper Spray; and Dance Party Occupies Bank of America Doorway by Sarah Mirk, Denis C. Theriault, Matt Bors, Georgia Perry, and Wm. Steven Humphrey, The Portland Mercury

COVER DESIGN circulation 50,000 and over

1st Place: My Funny, Chewy Valentine; Your Rags to Their Riches; and Live & Let Kill by Andrew Nilsen, SF Weekly

2nd Place: The Facebook Cover; Missing: Ikea; and Driven to Cheat by Ryan Olbrysh, Las Vegas Weekly

3rd Place: Drawing a Line; Fiction & Poetry Contest Winners; and People Who Died by Joe MacLeod, Baltimore City Paper

Honorable Mention: 10 Worst Tenants; The Comics Issue; and The Suckadelic Era by John Dixon, The Village Voice

COVER DESIGN circulation under 50,000

1st Place: Cinefestival; Fall Survival Guide; and 25th Birthday Cake“>Cinefestival; Fall Survival Guide; and 25th Birthday Cake by Chuck Kerr, San Antonio Current

2nd Place: The Greatest Show in Texas; Rick Perry’s Army of God; Are the Pigs All Right? by Mario Zucca, EmDash, and Matt Wright-Steel, Texas Observer

3rd Place: Japanese Tsunami; Miyamoto’s Diner; and The Tattoo by Justin “Scrappers” Morrison, Suji Allen, Bijijoo, and Liz Devine, The Portland Mercury

Honorable Mention: Taste of Maui; The 2011 Fashion Issue; and The Bar Guide by Justin “Scrappers” Morrison, Chris Skiles, and Sean Michael Hower, Maui Time

EDITORIAL LAYOUT circulation 50,000 and over

1st Place: There Goes the Neighborhood (PDF) by Darrick Rainey, L.A. Weekly

2nd Place: Enter: A Superhero (PDF) by Andrew Nilsen, SF Weekly

3rd Place: Free Based (PDF) by Andrew Nilsen, SF Weekly

EDITORIAL LAYOUT circulation under 50,000

1st Place: Welcome to Soundland (PDF) by Elizabeth Jones, Nashville Scene

2nd Place: A Monster of a Cookie (PDF) by J.P. Trostle and Jeremy M. Lange, Independent Weekly (NC)

3rd Place: Barcade Games (PDF) by Scott Murry, Boston’s Weekly Dig

ILLUSTRATION circulation 50,000 and over

1st Place: Explosive Issue by Edel Rodriguez, SF Weekly

2nd Place: Live and Let Kill by Dale Stephanos, SF Weekly

3rd Place: No Award

Honorable Mention: Night of the Living Newt by Steve Weigl, Boston Phoenix

Honorable Mention: Hindsight by Kyle T. Webster, Phoenix New Times

Honorable Mention: The Comics Issue by Ward Sutton, The Village Voice

ILLUSTRATION circulation under 50,000

1st Place: Enemy Exposed by Nathan Golub, Independent Weekly (NC)

2nd Place: No Award

3rd Place: Who Are They Now? by Adam Rosenlund, Boise Weekly

Honorable Mention:55 Fiction by Neal Breton, San Luis Obispo New Times

Honorable Mention: The Real Estate Issue by Jeff Drew, Seven Days

PHOTOGRAPHY circulation 50,000 and over

1st Place: Photography by Joeff Davis, Dustin Chambers, James Camp, and Evey Wilson, Creative Loafing (Atlanta)

2nd Place: Best. Summer. Ever. by Mike Pecci, Boston Phoenix

3rd Place: Taco Suave by Danny Fulgencio, Dallas Observer

PHOTOGRAPHY circulation under 50,000

1st Place: Jail Yoga by Scott Elmquist, Style Weekly

2nd Place: Photography by Matthew Thorsen and Jeb Wallace-Brodeur, Seven Days

3rd Place: Photography by Grant McKenzie, Nicky Nadeau, K.J. Dakin, Travis Bower, Derek Ford, Danielle Pope, and Shelley Lipke, Monday Magazine

CARTOON All Publications

1st Place: Slowpoke by Jen Sorensen

2nd Place: The HR Department by Ed Harrington (Style Weekly)

3rd Place: Failure by Karl Stevens (Boston Phoenix)

INNOVATION / FORMAT BUSTER circulation 50,000 and over

1st Place: Michele Bachmann Quote Generator by Hart van Denburg and Nick Pinto, City Pages (Twin Cities)

2nd Place: 2011 Restaurant Guide (PDF) and Video: Inside the Kitchen of WW’s Restaurant of the Year and Video: Inside the Runner-Up Kitchen by Ben Waterhouse, Emilee Booher, Jess Sword, Ruth Brown, Carolyn Richardson, Willamette Week

3rd Place: Best of Phoenix Map by Staff, Phoenix New Times

Honorable Mention: Annotated Guide to 2011 by Staff, Washington City Paper

INNOVATION / FORMAT BUSTER circulation under 50,000

1st Place: Red Potatoes by Rachael Daigle, Deanna Darr, and Adam Rosenlund,Boise Weekly

2nd Place: GOOD Ideas Issue (PDF) by Staff, Jackson Free Press

3rd Place: WeBrand Colorado Springs: Community Contest; City Brand: Is That All?; Our Branding Escapade; Branding the Springs, Take 2; Slogans Wanted, Too; Logo and Behold; and Live Adventure by Staff, Colorado Springs Independent

Honorable Mention: Choose Your Own Adventure: The Lonely Road (PDF) by Pete Nguyen, Eden Munro, Bryan Birtles, and Mike Siek, VUE Weekly

SPECIAL SECTION circulation 50,000 and over

1st Place: The Reader’s 40th Anniversary Issue by Staff, Chicago Reader

2nd Place: Finder 2011 – 2012 by Staff, Willamette Week

3rd Place: Beer Guide by Troy Beyer, Susan G. Cole, Graham Duncan, and Andrew Sardone, NOW Magazine

SPECIAL SECTION circulation under 50,000

1st Place: Best of Nashville by Staff, Nashville Scene

2nd Place: Golden Fork Awards by Eden Munro, Bryan Birtles, and Pete Nguyen, VUE Weekly

3rd Place: The Fake Issue by Sarah Kelley, Sara Havens, Phillip M. Bailey, Jonathan Meador, Mat Herron, Britany Baker, Buddy Schneider, Ron Jasin, Jim Welp, and Kevin Gibson, LEO Weekly