The winners for the 2017 AAN Awards have been selected. The winners were chosen as the most outstanding from a field of 817 entries submitted by 67 alternative publications across the U.S. and Canada.
The AAN Awards recognize the best in alternative journalism and are a unique chance for alt-weeklies to compete directly against the work of their peers in cities across the continent. Judging was conducted by the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland.
An Awards ceremony was held July 29, 2017 at the 9:30 Club of Washington DC as a part of the Annual Convention. The ceremony was hosted by Washington City Paper and sponsored by NECANN. Winners received commemorative plaques compliments of PopMount, and enjoyed presentation entertainment by comedian Haywood Turnipseed, Jr.
CASH PRIZE CATEGORIES
FEATURE STORY circulation under 45,000
Winner receives $250 funded by Isthmus founder Vince O’Hern.
1st PLACE: Santa Barbara Independent: The Kidnap Scam by Keith Hamm
2nd PLACE: Missoula Independent: Shortchanged by Kate Whittle
3rd PLACE: Missoula Independent: Words within the Walls by Erika Fredrickson
HONORABLE MENTION: East Bay Express: Art Gallery Grifter by Sarah Burke
FEATURE STORY circulation 45,000 & over
Winner receives $250 funded by Isthmus founder Vince O’Hern.
1st PLACE: Dallas Observer: Body Hackers and Bioengineers Are Trying to Make DFW a Hub of Implantable Electronics by Joe Pappalardo
2nd PLACE: Houston Press: Sorry for Life?: Ashley Ervin Didn’t Kill Anyone, But She Drove Home the Boys Who Did by Meagan Flynn
3rd PLACE: Houston Press: Kush City: Houston has Become a Major Hub for the Latest Drug of Choice by Leif Reigstad
HONORABLE MENTION: Nashville Scene: Anton Kanevsky Jumped to His Death From a 31-Story Downtown Building. Why? by Amanda Haggard
FREE SPEECH
Winner receives $500 funded by Monterey County Weekly founder & CEO Bradley Zeve.
1st PLACE: Seven Days: Seven Days Fights Subpoenas (I; II; III) by Paul Heintz, Terri Hallenbeck
2nd PLACE: North Coast Journal: Police Videos (I; II; III; IV; V; VI; VII; VIII; IX; X) by Thadeus Greenson
3rd PLACE: Sacramento News & Review: Series on K.J.’s Shadow Government (I; II; III; IV; V; VI) by Nick Miller
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING circulation under 45,000
Winner receives $250 funded by New Times co-founder Michael Lacey.
1st PLACE: The Pitch: Prison Broke (I; II; III) by Karen Dillon
2nd PLACE: Santa Fe Reporter: Puff of Smoke by Jeff Proctor, New Mexico In Depth
3rd PLACE: Santa Barbara Independent: Joel Alcox is Resurrected (I; II) by Tyler Hayden
HONORABLE MENTION: North Coast Journal: The Case of the Missing $5 Million by Linda Stansberry
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING circulation 45,000 & over
Winner receives $250 funded by New Times co-founder Michael Lacey.
1st PLACE: Chicago Reader: No-show cops and dysfunctional courts keep Cook County Jail inmates waiting years for a trial by Spencer Woodman, Robin Amer, Esther Kaplan
2nd PLACE: The Village Voice: Hell on Wheels: Port Authority’s Broken Promise Is Choking Newark’s Kids (I; II; III) by Max Rivlin-Nadler
3rd PLACE: Houston Press: As Regulation Lags, Texas Flats Boat Casualties Mount by Dianna Wray
HONORABLE MENTION: Houston Press: Officials Can’t Remember the Last Time HPD Saw an Unjustified Shooting. Here’s Why. by Michael Barajas, Craig Malisow
LGBT COVERAGE circulation under 45,000
Winner receives $250 funded by Colorado Springs Independent former CEO Fran Zankowski.
1st PLACE: YES! Weekly: Out in the South by Steve Mitchell, Deonna Kelli Sayed, Jeff Sykes
2nd PLACE: Orlando Weekly: Pulse In Memoriam: Remembering the Orlando 49 (I; II; III; IV; V) by Monivette Cordeiro
3rd PLACE: INDY Week: The 30 Years That Brought Us HB 2 by Barry Yeoman
HONORABLE MENTION: Creative Loafing Tampa: Profiles in Pride (I; II; III; IV) by David Warner
LGBT COVERAGE circulation 45,000 & over
Winner receives $250 funded by Colorado Springs Independent former CEO Fran Zankowski.
1st PLACE: Metro Times: The Throwaways by Allie Gross, Iain Maitland
2nd PLACE: Washington City Paper: A Gay Old Time by Andrew Giambrone
3rd PLACE: Isthmus: Young and homeless: LGBTQ+ youth are at greatest risk by Jenny Peek
HONORABLE MENTION: Miami New Times: Decades After Andy Sweet’s Murder, His Iconic South Beach Photos Are Resurrected by Jessica Weiss
RACE REPORTING circulation under 45,000
Winner will receive $250 funded by Charleston City Paper co-owner and AAN President Blair Barna.
1st PLACE: C-Ville Weekly: Searching for solutions by Jordy Yager
2nd PLACE: Jackson Free Press: Jumping the Line: Caught in the Crossfire of Ridgeland’s Demographic Struggles (I; II) by Sierra Mannie
3rd PLACE: Gambit: Black Lives Matter and Confederate statues in Louisiana (I; II; III) by Alex Woodward
HONORABLE MENTION: Seven Days: Finding Her Voice: Hate Crime Victim Fatuma Bulle Advocates for Refugee Women and Families; Cover Girls sidebar by Kymelya Sari
RACE REPORTING circulation 45,000 & over
Winner will receive $250 funded by Charleston City Paper co-owner and AAN President Blair Barna.
1st PLACE: Pittsburgh City Paper: The Story of Martin Esquivel Hernandez (I; II; III; IV; V; VI) by Ryan Deto
2nd PLACE: Houston Press: HISD’s College Success Program Uncovered Inequities and Is Changing the Status Quo by Margaret Downing
3rd PLACE: Chicago Reader: The Goldberg variation: High-rise public housing that works by Maya Dukmasova, Robin Amer
HONORABLE MENTION: Willamette Week: Shakedown by Leah Sottile
FILM CRITICISM circulation under 45,000
Winner will receive $250 funded by Southcomm in honor of Nashville Scene’s late Editor Jim Ridley
1st PLACE: Orlando Weekly: Film Criticism (I; II; III) by Thaddeus McCollum
2nd PLACE: CITY Newspaper: Film Criticism (I; II; III) by Adam Lubitow
3rd PLACE: Seven Days: Film Criticism (I; II; III) by Margot Harrison
HONORABLE MENTION: The Pitch: Film Criticism (I; II; III) by Scott Wilson
FILM CRITICISM circulation 45,000 & over
Winner will receive $250 funded by Southcomm in honor of Nashville Scene’s late Editor Jim Ridley
1st PLACE: Chicago Reader: Film Criticism (I; II; III) by J.R. Jones
2nd PLACE: Baltimore City Paper: Film Criticism (I; II; III) by Adam Katzman
3rd PLACE: The Village Voice: Film Criticism (I; II; III) by Melissa Anderson
HONORABLE MENTION: Salt Lake City Weekly: Film Criticism (I; II; III) by Scott Renshaw
WRITING CATEGORIES
ARTS CRITICISM circulation under 45,000
1st PLACE: Charleston City Paper: All the City’s a Stage (I; II; III; IV; V) by Maura Hogan
2nd PLACE: Creative Loafing Tampa: The Underpants at Jobsite: Better without them; The Realistic Joneses at Tampa Rep: Weirdly wonderful; The Great Gatsby: Human, all too human by Mark Leib
3rd PLACE: Eugene Weekly: It’s Not Funny Anymore–In Tickled, journalist David Farrier exposes the wealth, power and abuse behind a bizarre Internet fetish by Rick Levin
HONORABLE MENTION: Orlando Weekly: The word made flesh: Text-based art in the age of Instagram; Sweet dreams are made of this: Will Cotton’s candy-coated girls; The sublimity of the known: Gary Metz renders the vernacular transcendent by Jessica Bryce Young
ARTS CRITICISM circulation 45,000 & over
1st PLACE: Washington City Paper: Art Blanche; The Man Behind the Curtain; Rip It Up and Start Again by Kriston Capps
2nd PLACE: Houston Press: Theater Columns (I; II; III) by D.L. Groover
3rd PLACE: Washington City Paper: Just Like Heaven: Angels in America at Round House Theatre, Reviewed; Hand to God Manages to Be Sympathetic, Godless, and Hilariously Funny; The Shakespeare Theatre Company’s The Taming of the Shrew Is a Drag by Chris Klimek
HONORABLE MENTION: Houston Press: Theater Criticism (I; II; III) by Jessica Goldman
ARTS FEATURE circulation under 45,000
1st PLACE: CITY Newspaper: Carvin Eison opens the lens to the community by Rebecca Rafferty
2nd PLACE: YES! Weekly: What Does and Artist Look Like? by John Adamian
3rd PLACE: The Memphis Flyer: Operation Broken Silence by Chris McCoy
HONORABLE MENTION: Folio Weekly: Hardcore Focus by Daniel Brown
ARTS FEATURE circulation 45,000 & over
1st PLACE: Chicago Reader: At Profiles Theatre the drama—and abuse—is real by Aimee Levitt, Christopher Piatt, Robin Amer, Jake Malooley, Paul John Higgins
2nd PLACE: The Inlander: Never Gonna Give You Up by Dan Nailen
3rd PLACE: L.A. Weekly: From Hollywood to Silicon Beach, L.A. Creatives Are Plotting Virtual Reality’s Boom by Liz Ohanesian
HONORABLE MENTION: Phoenix New Times: Can The Eagles’ “Take It Easy” Save Winslow, Arizona? by Sativa Peterson
BEAT REPORTING circulation under 45,000
1st PLACE: Seven Days: Cops and Courts (I; II; III; IV; V) by Mark Davis
2nd PLACE: East Bay Express: Bad Landlords (I; II; III; IV; V) by Darwin BondGraham
3rd PLACE: Boulder Weekly: Sports Beat (I; II; III; IV; V) by Emma Murray
HONORABLE MENTION: San Antonio Current: Immigration (I; II; III; IV; V) by Michael Barajas
BEAT REPORTING circulation 45,000 & over
1st PLACE: Willamette Week: Housing Stories (I; II; III; IV; V) by Rachel Monahan
2nd PLACE: L.A. Weekly: L.A. County Has Had More Than 1,300 Police Shootings Since 2000. Why Has No Officer Been Charged? (I; II; III; IV; V) by Jason McGahan
3rd PLACE: The Inlander: Criminal Justice Beat (I; II; III; IV; V) by Mitch Ryals
HONORABLE MENTION: Pittsburgh City Paper: Sports Coverage (I; II; III; IV; V) by Charlie Deitch
COLUMN circulation under 45,000
1st PLACE: Coachella Valley Independent: Know Your Neighbors (I; II; III) by Anita Rufus
2nd PLACE: Planet Jackson Hole: Dispatch From Chios: We are the Same by Natosha Hoduski
3rd PLACE: Cincinnati CityBeat: Columns on Media and Streetcars (I; II; III) by Danny Cross
COLUMN circulation 45,000 & over
1st PLACE: Dallas Observer: Column (I; II; III) by Jim Schutze
2nd PLACE: Nashville Scene: Vodka Yonic (I; II; III) by Nancy Floyd, Megan Seling, Elizabeth Jones
3rd PLACE: Pittsburgh City Paper: Pittsburgh Left (I; II; III) by Charlie Deitch
COLUMN (POLITICAL) circulation under 45,000
1st PLACE: Jackson Free Press: Editor’s Notes (I; II; III) by Donna Ladd
2nd PLACE: Riverfront Times: Columns (I; II; III) by Sarah Fenske
3rd PLACE: Creative Loafing Tampa: Poet’s Notebook (I; II; III) by Peter Meinke
HONORABLE MENTION: The Pitch: Columns (I; II; III) by Barbara Shelly
COLUMN (POLITICAL) circulation 45,000 & over
1st PLACE: Dallas Observer: Columns (I; II; III) by Jim Schutze
2nd PLACE: Austin Chronicle: Point Austin (I; II; III) by Michael King
3rd PLACE: L.A. Weekly: Columns (I; II; III) by Henry Rollins
FOOD WRITING circulation under 45,000
1st PLACE: East Bay Express: Food Writing (I; II; III) by Luke Tsai
2nd PLACE: Charleston City Paper: Eat (I; II; III) by Kinsey Gidick
3rd PLACE: Cleveland Scene: Food Writing (I; II; III) by Douglas Trattner
HONORABLE MENTION: Seven Days: Food Writing (I; II; III) by Hannah Palmer Egan
FOOD WRITING circulation 45,000 & over
1st PLACE: Willamette Week: “I Ate the Whole Thing,” “Closing Time,” and “Ramen Stories” by Matthew Korfhage
2nd PLACE: L.A. Weekly: Food Writing (I; II; III) by Besha Rodell
3rd PLACE: Sacramento News & Review: Sushi, American Style by Janelle Bitker
HONORABLE MENTION: Washington City Paper: Young and Hungry (I; II; III) by Laura Hayes
LONG-FORM NEWS STORY circulation under 45,000
1st PLACE: East Bay Express: Caltrans Trashing Homeless Encampments (I; II) by Darwin BondGraham
2nd PLACE: C-Ville Weekly: Casualties in the war on drugs by Lisa Provence
3rd PLACE: Arkansas Times: Arkansan of the Year: The newly insured by Benjamin Hardy
HONORABLE MENTION: INDY Week: The Snitch by John Tucker
LONG-FORM NEWS STORY circulation 45,000 & over
1st PLACE: Houston Press: Get a Ticket While Being Poor in Houston? Here’s How You Might Wind Up in Jail by Michael Barajas
2nd PLACE: Sacramento News & Review: Homeless – and in hiding by Raheem F. Hosseini
3rd PLACE: Willamette Week: Bundyland by John Sepulvado
HONORABLE MENTION: The Inlander: Nothing But the Truth? by Mitch Ryals
MUSIC WRITING circulation under 45,000
1st PLACE: INDY Week: Music Writing (I; II; III; IV; V) by Allison Hussey
MUSIC WRITING circulation 45,000 & over
1st PLACE: L.A. Weekly: Music Writing (I; II; III) by Matt Wake
2nd PLACE: Miami New Times: DJ Khaled’s Journey of Success Started Long Before Snapchat by Ryan Pfeffer
3rd PLACE: Chicago Reader: Music Writing (I; II; III) by Leor Galil
HONORABLE MENTION: Westword: Is This the Most Hated Band in Colorado? by Chris Walker
PUBLIC SERVICE circulation under 45,000
1st PLACE: Jackson Free Press: A Hunger to Live: Interrupting Violence in Jackson, Miss. (I; II; III; IV; V; VI; VII; VIII; IX; X) by Donna Ladd, Arielle Dreher, Imani Khayyam, Tim Summers Jr., Sierra Mannie, Maya Miller, Marzavier Harrington, Kristin Brenemen
2nd PLACE: Colorado Springs Independent: Troubles in the Colorado Springs Police Department (I; II; III; IV; V; VI; VII; VIII; IX) by Pam Zubeck
3rd PLACE: Flagpole Magazine: Crisis at Cedar Shoals High School (I; II; III; IV; V; VI; VII; VIII; IX; X) by Blake Aued, Rebecca McCarthy
HONORABLE MENTION: The Portland Mercury: Stained Glass: Exposing Portland’s Toxic Art Glass Factories (I; II; III; IV; V; VI; VII; VIII; IX; X) by Daniel Forbes, Dirk VanderHart
PUBLIC SERVICE circulation 45,000 & over
1st PLACE: Willamette Week: Resist by Rachel Monahan, Nigel Jaquiss, Beth Slovic, Piper McDaniel, Sophia June, Aaron Mesh
2nd PLACE: Miami New Times: Kids Drown in Cruise Ship Pools With No Lifeguards on Duty by Jessica Lipscomb
3rd PLACE: The Village Voice: The Scam Albany Won’t Fix: Meet the Energy Companies Swindling Thousands of New Yorkers, and the State Watchdog Letting It Happen (I; II) by Jon Campbell
DESIGN CATEGORIES
COVER DESIGN circulation under 45,000
1st PLACE: Good Times Santa Cruz: Cover Designs (I; II; III) by Tabi Zarrinnaal
2nd PLACE: Cincinnati CityBeat: Cover Designs (I; II; III) by Jennifer Hoffman
3rd PLACE: Seven Days: Cover Designs (I; II; III) byDiane Sullivan, Brooke Bousquet, Kym Balthazar, Jeff Drew
HONORABLE MENTION: INDY Week: Cover Designs (I; II; III) by Shan Stumpf, Skillet Gilmore
COVER DESIGN circulation 45,000 & over
1st PLACE: Phoenix New Times: Cover Designs (I; II; III) by Tom Carlson
2nd PLACE: Dallas Observer: Cover Designs (I; II; III) by Sarah Schumacher
3rd PLACE: NOW Magazine: Cover Designs (I; II; III) by Michelle Wong, Troy Beyer, Stephen Chester, Tanja Tiziana
HONORABLE MENTION: Nashville Scene: Cover Designs (I; II; III) by Elizabeth Jones, Heather Lose
EDITORIAL LAYOUT circulation under 45,000
1st PLACE: City Newspaper: Black Teachers Matter by Ryan Williamson, Justyn Iannucci, Mark Chamberlin
2nd PLACE: Colorado Springs Independent: The things they carry by Dustin Glatz
3rd PLACE: Santa Fe Reporter: Bringing Chaco Home by Anson Stevens-Bollen
HONORABLE MENTION: City Newspaper: Rochester 10 by Ryan Williamson
EDITORIAL LAYOUT circulation 45,000 & over
1st PLACE: The Inlander: Scandals Section by Derek Harrison
2nd PLACE: Nashville Scene: Pick Your Poison by Elizabeth Jones
3rd PLACE: Las Vegas Weekly: Is It Over Yet? by Corlene Byrd
ILLUSTRATION circulation under 45,000
1st PLACE: Orlando Weekly: Heavy is the Head by Samantha Shumaker
2nd PLACE: Cleveland Scene: Cavs Championship Illustration by Oliver Barrett
3rd PLACE: Seven Days: Wellness Issue Challenge by Sean Metcalf
HONORABLE MENTION: Gambit: The State of Women Part Two
ILLUSTRATION circulation 45,000 & over
1st PLACE: Isthmus: Six Stories of Adventure by Carolyn Fath, Michael Hirshon
2nd PLACE: Phoenix New Times: Into The Woods by Vlad Alvarez
3rd PLACE: L.A. Weekly: Best of LA (I; II; III; IV; V; VI) by Scott Anderson
HONORABLE MENTION: The Inlander: Scholastic Fantastic (I; II; III; IV; V) by Jeff Drew
PHOTOGRAPHY circulation under 45,000
1st PLACE: Style Weekly: Protest 2016 (I; II; III; IV; V; VI; VII; VIII; IX; X) by Scott Elmquist
2nd PLACE: Orlando Weekly: Pulse Photographs by Monivette Cordeiro
3rd PLACE: INDY Week: Photography (I; II; III; IV; V; VI; VII: VIII; IX; X) by Alex Boerner and Ben McKeown
HONORABLE MENTION: Eugene Weekly: 2016 In Music (I; II; III; IV; V; VI; VII; VIII; IX; X) by Todd Cooper
PHOTOGRAPHY circulation 45,000 & over
1st PLACE: Houston Press: A Real Life Look at Kush Use in Houston (I; II; III; IV; V; VI; VII; VIII) by Leif Reigstad
2nd PLACE: Dallas Observer: ‘The Gut’ and the Glory: A Story in Photos by Danny Fulgencio
3rd PLACE: L.A. Weekly: People 2016 (I; II; III; IV; V; VI; VII; VIII; IX; X) by Danny Liao
HONORABLE MENTION: Baltimore City Paper: Photography (I; II; III; IV; V; VI; VII; VIII; IX; X) by J.M. Giordano
ONLINE CATEGORIES
ARTS & CULTURE BLOG
1st PLACE: Creative Loafing Tampa: Self Publishing Notebook (I; II; III) by Jon Kile
MULTIMEDIA
1st PLACE: Seven Days: Stuck in Vermont 460: River of Light Harvest Moon Winooski Paddle by Eva Sollberger
2nd PLACE: Chicago Reader: People Issue video profiles (I; II) by Scrappers Film Group, Danielle A. Scruggs, Paul John Higgins
3rd PLACE: YES! Weekly: Coen Crisp changes more than pronouns (I; II) by Deonna Kelli Sayed
HONORABLE MENTION: Seven Days: Stuck Inside a Vermonter’s Colon by Eva Sollberger, Diane Sullivan, Bryan Parmelee
STAFF BLOG
1st PLACE: Creative Loafing Tampa: CL at the RNC/DNC (I; II; III; IV; V) by Kate Bradshaw, David Warner, Michael Howard, Joeff Davis
2nd PLACE: Pittsburgh City Paper: Politicrap (I; II; III; IV; V) by Rebecca Addison, Ryan Deto
3rd PLACE: Orlando Weekly: Bloggytown (I; II; III; IV; V) by Colin Wolf, Monivete Cordeiro
HONORABLE MENTION: Houston Press: News Staff Blog (I; II; III; IV; V) by Meagan Flynn, Leif Reigstad
OUTSIDE-THE-BOX CATEGORIES
CARTOON
1st PLACE: INDY Week: Peripheral Visions (I; II; III; IV; V) by V.C. Rogers
2nd PLACE: San Luis Obispo New Times: Cartoons (I; II; III: IV; V) by Russel Hodin
3rd PLACE: NUVO: Gadfly (I; II; III; IV; V) by Wayne Bertsch
HONORABLE MENTION: Mountain Xpress: Cartoons (I; II; III; IV; V) by Brent Brown
INNOVATION / FORMAT BUSTER
1st PLACE: NUVO: Pocket Guide to Protesting (I; II) by NUVO Staff
2nd PLACE: Pittsburgh City Paper: Brain Feaster Sunday by Em DeMarco
3rd PLACE: Seven Days: Feel The Bern Adult Coloring Contest (I; II; III) by Marc Nadel, Bryan Parmelee, Pamela Polston, Cathy Resmer
HONORABLE MENTION: Willamette Week: Slurptown by Matthew Korfhage, Adrienne So, Martin Cizmar, Zach Middleton, Nick Zukin, Michael C. Zusman, Ken Gordon
SPECIAL SECTION
1st PLACE: Willamette Week: Going Coastal by Martin Cizmar, Staff
2nd PLACE: Seven Days: What’s Good: The Seven Days Field Guide to Burlington by Carolyn Fox, Dan Bolles, Diane Sullivan, Cathy Resmer, Paula Routly, Don Eggert
3rd PLACE: Cleveland Scene: A Very Special RNC Coloring Book; Because If They Can Act Like Children, So Can You by Staff
HONORABLE MENTION: L.A. Weekly: People Issue by Staff
