First Place: Flatfile Is
All About Touching; Text Over
Texture; and Selfie and
Trans Cultures by Liz Cook, The Pitch

Second Place: Finding Vivian
Maier; Jodorowski’s
Dune; and Birdman, or
the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance by Chris McCoy, Memphis Flyer

Third Place: Arts Criticism by
Sarah Burke, East Bay Express

ARTS CRITICISM circulation 45,000 & over

First Place: American
Sniper Is a Rah-Rah War-on-Terror Fantasy; The Cutest
Kiddie Cartoon Ever Made About Hitler; and Brendan
Gleeson Shows He’s One of the Best Actors Alive by
Amy Nicholson, L.A. Weekly

Second Place: Frank’s
Arrival; The Art of
Preservation; and Urban Theater:
Still/Here by Anthony Mariani, Fort Worth Weekly

Third Place: Edge of
Tomorrow; Magic in the
Moonlight; and St. Vincent by
Scott Renshaw, Salt Lake City Weekly

ARTS FEATURE circulation under 45,000

First Place: Stranger Than
Fiction by Jacqueline Kern and Nick Swartsell, Cincinnati CityBeat

Second Place: What Does a
State Poet Laureate Do—and Why Does It Matter? by
Chris Vitiello, INDY Week

Third Place: Art Is Not a
Crime; More Art to
Come; and Where’s the
Art? by Brian Blueskye, Coachella
Valley Independent

ARTS FEATURE circulation 45,000 & over

First Place: 80 Million
Paige Views by Rebecca Jacobson, Willamette Week

Second Place: Jason Molina’s
Long Dark Blues by Max Blau, Chicago Reader

Third Place: Where
Television Matters by Zachary Pincus-Roth, L.A. Weekly

BEAT REPORTING circulation under 45,000

First Place: Criminal Justice Reporting (I; II; III; IV; V) by John
H. Tucker, INDY Week

Second Place: Immigration Reporting (I; II; III; IV) by
Michael de Yoanna, Boulder Weekly

Third Place: Police Reporting (I; II; III; IV; V) by
Alyson Stokes, Lagniappe

Honorable Mention: Outdoor Sports Reporting (I; II; III; IV; V) by
Elizabeth Miller, Boulder Weekly

BEAT REPORTING circulation 45,000 & over

First Place: Housing Affordability Reporting (I; II; III; IV) by
Aaron Wiener, Washington City Paper

Second Plae: Sharing Economy Reporting (I; II; III; IV; V) by
Aaron Mesh, Willamette Week

Third Place: Medical Marijuana Reporting (I; II; III; IV; V) by Ray
Stern, Phoenix New Times

COLUMN circulation
under 45,000

First Place: Columns (I; II; III) by Ashley
Trice, Lagniappe

Second Place: Columns (I; II; III) by
Kevin Allman and Clancy Dubos, Gambit

Third Place: "Taxi Driver" (I; II; III) by
Terry Gibson, Colorado Springs
Independent

COLUMN circulation
45,000 & over

First Place: Conflicts of Interest (I; II; III) by
Baynard Woods, Baltimore City Paper

Second Place: Columns (I; II; III) by
Rodney Carmichael, Joeff Davis, Debbie Michaud, Ezra Morris, Max Blau, Thomas
Wheatley, Wyatt Williams, Creative
Loafing Atlanta

Third Place: Advice King (I; II; III) by
Chris Crofton, Nashville Scene

COLUMN (POLITICAL) circulation under 45,000

First Place: Covert Oops; Morally
Exposed; and What’s Walsh
Good For? by Dan Brooks, Missoula Independent

Second Place: The Republican
Approach; McCrory’s Sham
Unemployment Claims; and Why Roy Cooper
Should Follow His Conscience and the Law by Bob Geary, INDY Week

Third Place: Politics of
Corruption; ‘Religious
Freedom’; and A Barbour’s
Racism by Donna Ladd, Jackson
Free Press

COLUMN (POLITICAL) circulation 45,000 & over

First Place: Detroit
Worshipping Mike Ilitch; Detroit City
Council Doesn’t Deserve Transfer of Power;
and Our Broken
System by Jack Lessenberry, Metro Times

Second Place: How the city
cut funds for mental health patients—and spied on them instead; Rahm’s
Balanced Budget Claims Don’t Add Up; and How investment
bankers are set to profit from Rahm’s preschool plan by
Ben Joravsky, Chicago Reader

Third Place: Georgia’s
Execution Secrecy Law; Exiled to
Liberty Plaza; and Big Ol’ Gun
Bill a Big Ol’ Waste of Time by Max Blau, Rodney
Carmichael, Joeff Davis, Debbie Michaud, Ezra Morris, Thomas Wheatley, and
Wyatt Williams, Creative Loafing Atlanta

ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING circulation under 45,000

First Place: Bury the Truth by
Billy Ball, INDY Week

Second Place: Zoo Gone Wild
and What’s Poisoning the Bees by Sam Levin, East Bay Express

Third Place: The Mayflower
Oil Spill Robbed Michelle Ward of Her Middle-Class Dream by
Benjamin Hardy, Arkansas Times

Honorable Mention: Charlotte is
Ground Zero for Coal Ash by Rhiannon Fionn, Creative Loafing Charlotte

ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING circulation 45,000 & over

First Place: The Trampling of the Trinity Forest (I; II;
and III) by
Eric Nicholson, Dallas Observer

Second Place: Addition by
Filtration by Cari Romm, The Village Voice

Third Place: Vancouver
Aquarium Bucks National Trend by Keeping Whales and Dolphins by
Travis Lupick, Georgia Straight

Honorable Mention: Mosquito-Borne
Chikungunya Virus Invades America by Trevor Bach and
Dianna Wray, Miami New Times

FEATURE STORY circulation under 45,000

First Place: Second Life by
Paul Bowers, Charleston City Paper

Second Place: Finding My
Father’s Grave by Katherine Thompson, Flagpole

Third Place: Forgotten
Assault by Eric Sandy, Cleveland
Scene

FEATURE STORY circulation 45,000 & over

First Place: The Girl on
the Torture Board by Craig Malisow, Houston Press

Second Place: The Hole Story by
Pete Cottell, Willamette Week

Third Place: The Very Merry
Un-Gangs of Disneyland by Charles Lam, OC Weekly

FOOD WRITING circulation under 45,000

First Place: Why I’ve
Stolen Over 1,000 Menus and What They Can Teach Us About Cleveland Cuisine by
Douglas Trattner, Cleveland Scene

Second Place: The Life,
Death and Resurrection of the Craft Cocktail in St. Louis by
Patrick J. Hurley, Riverfront Times

Third Place: Bounce, Baby by
Mark C. Anderson, Monterey County Weekly

FOOD WRITING circulation 45,000 & over

First Place: What Happens When All-Star Chefs Get In Bed With Big Food? by
Mike Sula, Chicago Reader

Second Place: Stall Tactics by
Jessica Sidman, Washington City Paper

Third Place: Pure Pop for
Now People by Steve Cavendish, Nashville Scene

INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING circulation under 45,000

First Place: The Last Days
of Daniel Linsinbigler by Susan Cooper Eastman, Folio Weekly

Second Place: The View from
Bridgeview by Paul Bowers, Charleston City Paper

INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING circulation 45,000 & over

First Place: Deporter in
the Court by Joe Tone, Dallas Observer

Second Place: The Snitch Who
Stole Christmas by Alan Prendergast, Westword

Third Place: The False 48 by
Terrence McCoy, Miami New Times

LGBT / GENDER EQUALITY COVERAGE circulation under 45,000

First Place: Moral Combat by
Sarah Burke, East Bay Express

Second Place: Gay Is OK: Middle School
Kids Fight to Form Gay-Straight Alliance; After Four
Meetings, Gay-Straight Alliance at Stanback Middle School Eliminated; Principal
Accused of Blocking Gay-Straight Alliance Resigns by
Billy Ball, INDY Week

Third Place: And LGBTQ Rights March On in Mississippi
(I; II, III; IV; V; VI; VII; VIII; IX; X) by
Anna Wolfe, Haley Ferretti, Kit Williamson, R.L. Nave, Joce Pritchett, Eddie
Outlaw, Zack Orsborn, Donna Ladd, Trip Burns, and Dustin Cardon, Jackson Free Press

LGBT / GENDER EQUALITY COVERAGE circulation 45,000 & over

First Place: Inside the Gay
Wing of Men’s Central Jail by Ani Ucar, L.A. Weekly

Second Place: Body Politic by
Rodney Carmichael, Creative Loafing
Atlanta

Third Place: Same-Sex Marriage Ban Coverage (I; II, III; IV; V; VI; VII; VIII; IX; X) by
Judith Davidoff, Kristian Knutsen, Dean Robbins, and Joe Tarr, Isthmus

LONG-FORM NEWS STORY circulation under 45,000

First Place: When the Mind
Splits by Sam Levin, East
Bay Express

Second Place: Life in a
Police State by Susan Cooper Eastman, Folio Weekly

Third Place: SAPD Issues
Thousands of Tickets for Homelessness by Alexa Garcia-Ditta
and Elaine Wolff, San Antonio Current

LONG-FORM NEWS STORY circulation 45,000 & over

First Place: Photos of a
Baby With Confederate Flags and Guns Couldn’t Persuade a Court to Prevent a
Kidnapping by Kyle Swenson, New Times Broward-Palm Beach

Second Place: In Chicago’s
War Zones, the Tragedy Extends Beyond the Kids Who Die by
Steve Bogira, Chicago Reader

Third Place: Don’t Walk by
Tessa Stuart, The Village Voice

MUSIC WRITING circulation under
45,000

First Place: Sturgill
Simpson Is Outlaw Country’s New Felon; Merge 25 Ends
Hot, Humid; and The Charitable
Efficacy of Cats on the Internet by Grayson Haver Currin,
INDY Week

Second Place: The Story of
Jimmy Doyle’s Country Club; Where Were You
on Pharoah Sanders Day?and Jim Mize Will
Have Another by Will Stephenson, Arkansas Times

Third Place: Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock’s Lyrical Battle With Self-Doubt; On T-Pain’s Relationship With Auto-Tune; and Tori Amos Spends Her Career Lifetime in Search of Herself by
Ashley Belanger, Orlando Weekly

MUSIC WRITING circulation 45,000 & over

First Place: David Olney Is
Still a Contender; Nashville
Outlaw; and I Want to Be
Sergio Webb by Skip Anderson, Nashville Scene

Second Place: In the City; Former Lives; Katy Perry
Reality Tour of Santa Barbara by Matthew Singer, Willamette Week

Third Place: We Are Flying
Spiders; A Love Supreme;
and Baby Got
Backstory by Laura Johnson, The Inlander

PUBLIC SERVICE circulation under 45,000

First Place: Caving In (I; II; III; IV; V; VI; VII; VIII; IX; X) by Tom
Nash, Style Weekly

Second Place: Michelle Byrom: An Innocent Woman on Death Row? (I; II; III; IV; V; VI; VII; VIII;IX) by
Ronni Mott, R.L. Nave, Oliver E. Diaz Jr., and Donna Ladd, Jackson Free Press

Third Place: Campus Safety, Sexual Assault and a Community in
Crisis (I; II; III; IV; V; VI; VII; VIII) by
Graelyn Brashear, Lisa Provence, Courteney Stuart, and Nicolette Gendron, C-Ville Weekly

Honorable Mention: Fatal
Encounters Coverage and Website by
D. Brian Burghart, Dennis Myers, Brad Bynum, Brian Breneman, and Jonathan Buck,
Reno News & Review

PUBLIC SERVICE circulation 45,000 & over

First Place: State of Mind (I; II; III; IV; V; VI; VII; VIII; IX) by
Jacob Jones, Deanna Pan, Daniel Walters, Heidi Groover, and Young Kwak, The Inlander

Second Place: Why Nashville Schools Are Failing: Speaking in
Tongues; Growing Pains;
and The Right
School by Andrea Zelinski, Nashville
Scene

Third Place: Florida’s
Guardians Often Exploit the Vulnerable Residents They’re Supposed to Protect by
Michael Miller, Miami New Times

Honorable Mention: First Lady
Inc. and follow-ups I, II, III, IV; V; VI by
Nigel Jaquiss, Willamette Week

DESIGN
CATEGORIES

COVER DESIGN circulation under 45,000

First Place: Covers (I; II; III) by
Louis Weisberg, Eric Van Egeren, and Maureen M. Kane, Wisconsin Gazette

Second Place: Covers (I; II; III) by
Rebecca Sylvester, Cincinnati CityBeat

Third Place: Covers by
Jeremy Fraga, Paul Roustan, Ellen Crenshaw, Scott Murry, Dig Boston

Honorable Mention: Covers (I; II; III) by
Dave Kirby, Susan France, and Mark Goodman, Boulder
Weekly

COVER DESIGN circulation 45,000 & over

First Place: Covers (I; II; III) by
Brian Breneman and Hayley Doshay, Sacramento
News & Review

Second Place: Covers (I; II; III) by
Corlene Byrd, Marvin Lucas, Elizabeth Brown, Serge Seidlitz, Adam Shane, and
Gerad Taylor, Las Vegas Weekly

Third Place: Covers (I; II; III) by
Miche Ratto, Miami New Times

EDITORIAL LAYOUT circulation under 45,000

First Place: In Search of
William S. Burroughs by Tom Carlson, Riverfront Times

Second Place: 15 Under 40 by
Bill LeSueur and Max Marc, C-Ville Weekly

Third Place: Fest for All by
Matt DeTurck, City Newspaper

EDITORIAL LAYOUT circulation 45,000 & over

First Place: So You’re
Thinking About Getting High? by Chris Bovey, The Inlander

Second Place: The Most
Wonderful & Weirdest, Saddest and Craziest Time of the Year by
Elizabeth Jones, Nashville Scene

Third Place: The Look of
Love by Marvin Lucas and Erik Stein, Las Vegas Weekly

ILLUSTRATION circulation under 45,000

First Place: Against Amazon by
Shan Stumpf and Ben Wallis, Folio Weekly

Second Place: Johnny Manziel by
Oliver Barrett, Cleveland Scene

Third Place: Down with Tillman by
Scott Suchy, Charleston City Paper

ILLUSTRATION circulation 45,000 & over

First Place: Boner Awards by
Gary William Musgrave, Nashville Scene

Second Place: Scholastic
Fantastic by Jeff Drew, The Inlander

Third Place: Body Politic by
Wes Duvall, Creative Loafing Atlanta

PHOTOGRAPHY circulation under 45,000

First Place: Photos (I; II; III; IV; V; VI; VII; VIII; IX; X) by
Scott Elmquist, Style Weekly

Second Place: Invisible
Refugee; Transgender;
and Gift Guide by
Louie Preciado, San Antonio Current

Third Place: Photos by
Nic Coury, Monterey County Weekly

PHOTOGRAPHY circulation 45,000 & over

First Place: Photos (I; II; III; IV; V; VI; VII; VIII; IX; X) by
Young Kwak, The Inlander

Second Place: Photos (I; II; III; IV; V; VI; VII; VIII; IX; X) by
James Rexroad, Willamette Week

Third Place: Photos (I; II; III; IV; V; VI; VII; VIII; IX; X) by
Darrow Montgomery, Washington City Paper

ONLINE
CATEGORIES

ARTS & CULTURE BLOG

First Place: Live Culture (I; II; III; IV; V), Seven Days

Second Place: Moogfest 2014,
Mountain Xpress

Third Place: Up on the Sun (I; II; III; IV; V), Phoenix New Times

MULTIMEDIA

First Place: Fort Mac to Halifax by
Stephanie Johns, Veronica Simmonds, Erica Butler, Elliot Magill, Meghan Tansey
Whitton, and Melissa Dube, The Coast

Second Place: The People Issue by
Staff, Chicago Reader

Third Place: 24 Hours of
Eating by Zach Rausnitz, Jessica Sidman, Carey Jordan, and
Jandos Rothstein, Washington City Paper

STAFF BLOG

First: Fresh Loaf (I; II; III; IV; V), Creative Loafing Atlanta

Second Place: Scene and Heard (I; II; III; IV; V), Cleveland Scene

Third Place: Chronolog (I; II; III; IV; V), Austin Chronicle

OUTSIDE-THE-BOX
CATEGORIES

CARTOON (listed alphabetically by last name)

First Place: This Modern World (I; II; III; IV; V), Tom Tomorrow

Second Place: The Critical Line, Steve
Greenberg

FREE SPEECH

First Place: Fatal Encounters Coverage and Website by D. Brian Burghart, Dennis Myers, Brad Bynum, Brian
Breneman, Jonathan Buck, Reno News &
Review

Second Place: SFR vs. Governor of New Mexico (I; II; III; IV; V; VI; VII; VIII) by Justin Horwath and Joey
Peters, Santa Fe Reporter

Third Place: Fighting to Uncover Hidden PAC Money in
Mississippi (I, II; III; IV; V; VI; VII;VIII; IX; X) by R.L. Nave, Anna Wolfe,
and Donna Ladd, Jackson Free Press

INNOVATION / FORMAT BUSTER

First Place: McDonnell Trial Activity Book by Ed Harrington and Ned Oliver, Style Weekly

Second Place: Mean Streets by
Lisa Sorg, Andrew Edmonds, Candice Jansen, and JP Trostle, INDY Week

Third Place: Faces of Pride by
Jesse Fox, Cincinnati CityBeat

SPECIAL SECTION

First Place: Summer Guide 2014 by
Martin Cizmar, Matthew Korfhage, Rebecca Jacobson, and Matthew Singer, Willamette Week

Second Place: The Reader’s Bar Issue 2014 by
Staff, Chicago Reader

Third Place: The 2014 Comedy Issue by
Staff, Cleveland Scene