At the 13th annual AltWeekly Awards luncheon in Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon, no one paper left with the lion’s share of first-place awards. L.A. Weekly led the large-circulation division with three awards, including wins for Jeffrey Anderson for Investigative Reporting and Nikki Finke for both Media Reporting/Criticism and Blog. Among the small papers, The Texas Observer led with three first places for Nate Blakeslee’s investigative reporting, Jake Bernstein’s long-form news and a special section dedicated to the late Molly Ivins.

While Finke won the most first-place prizes with two — tying a record set by only a few others in AltWeekly Awards history, including Willy Stern of the Nashville Scene, Paul Bass of New Haven Advocate and The Texas Observer’s Blakeslee — Jeffrey Anderson won the most awards overall. In addition to his first place for investigative reporting, Anderson won second place in News Story–Short Form and honorable mention in News Story–Long Form. (Anderson worked with his current employer, Baltimore City Paper, while reporting the stories that were honored by the latter prize.)

In a few instances, particular newspapers won multiple awards in single categories. Washington City Paper took second and third place in the large-circulation division of the Feature Story category, for “Letters From an Arsonist” by Dave Jamieson and “The Battle Over Heavy T” by Joe Eaton, respectively. In the News Story – Long Form category, The Texas Observer earned first place for “The Governor’s Database” by Jake Bernstein and third place for “I am Sullied – No More” by Robert Bryce. In the Illustration category, Brian Stauffer of Miami New Times earned first and third place in the large-circulation division for “The Suitcase Murders” and “Guarimba” while Santa Fe Reporter nabbed second and third place for collaborations by Dale Stephano, Jon Krause and Angela Moore.

Host Gustavo Arellano of OC Weekly kept the audience entertained by having winners shout out their favorite Spanish words. When Arellano won first place in the large-circulation division of the Column category, he mixed things up by sharing a phrase in English: “Syndicate my column, please.”

This year, for the first time in the history of the AltWeekly Awards, the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern Univ. helped AAN with the administration of the contest.

DESIGN CATEGORIES Click see Flickr gallery of work.



COVER DESIGN circulation 55,000 and over

First place — SF Weekly: Future Games, Just Say No, and Wheelchairs of Fortune by Darrick Rainey

Second place — Dallas Observer: Dark Horse, Best of Dallas and Delivering Death by Alexander Flores

Third place — Los Angeles CityBeat: Dead on the Vine (Unregulated Produce), Prison Overcrowding and DEA Suicide (Men’s Bathroom) by Matt Ansoorian and Jordan Crane

COVER DESIGNcirculation under 55,000

First place — The Independent Weekly (Lafayette, LA): Throw Me Something, Senator!, Getting Hitched and Newsmaker of the Year by Kevin Pontiff

Second place — Santa Fe Reporter: Hosed, Oh the Horror and Hot, Hot, Hot! by Angela Moore

Third place — Louisville Eccentric Observer: Music Issue, What, Me Worry? and Sultan of Spin by Ron Jasin and Britany Baker



EDITORIAL LAYOUT circulation 55,000 and over

First place — Philadelphia City Paper: Truth in Prints by Reseca Glasser

Second place — Washington City Paper: Sects Appeal by Pete Morelewicz

Third place — PW-Philadelphia Weekly: Top 10 Drug Corners by Sara Green

EDITORIAL LAYOUT circulation under 55,000

First place — Santa Fe Reporter: For Your Eyes Only by Larry Kohr

Second place — Boston’s Weekly Dig: A Straight Guide to Pride by Staff

Third place — Style Weekly: Eco Chic by Mark Jeffries



ILLUSTRATION circulation 55,000 and over

First place — Miami New Times: The Suitcase Murders by Brian Stauffer

Second place — PW-Philadelphia Weekly: The New Anxiety by Edward Kinsella III

Third place — Miami New Times: Guarimba by Brian Stauffer

ILLUSTRATION circulation under 55,000

First place — Folio Weekly: This Sucks by Ken Garduno

Second place — Santa Fe Reporter: Hosed by Dale Stephano and Angela Moore

Third place — Santa Fe Reporter: The Big Suck by Jon Krause and Angela Moore



PHOTOGRAPHY circulation 55,000 and over

First place — Philadelphia City Paper: Stenton Avenue Reprise by Michael T. Regan

Second place — City Pages (Twin Cities): Boy, Interrupted by Nick Vlcek

Third place — Baltimore City Paper: Pamela Leak, Los, Lafayette Gilchrist, New Flesh, For the People by Rarah

Honorable mention — Washington City Paper: And on the First Day, It Happened Before, Battle Over Heavy T, Members Only and Corrode to Nowhere by Darrow Montgomery

PHOTOGRAPHY circulation under 55,000

First place — Orlando Weekly: Best of Orlando Section Openers by Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli

Second place — Nashville Scene: How to Grow a Rock Band, Lap Dances, Next Big Nashville, Hit Man and Man in the Middle by Eric England

Third place — Independent Weekly (NC): The Longest Road Home by Jeremy M. Lange

Honorable mention — City Newspaper: You’re Getting Warmer, Of Bowlers and Bats, Tagged, Play With Your Food and Good Humor by Jeff Marini



MISCELLANEOUS CATEGORIES



CARTOON Click see Flickr gallery of work.

First place — Tom the Dancing Bug by Ruben Bolling

Second place — Los Angelopolis by Max Kornell

Third place — Slowpoke by Jen Sorensen

Honorable mention — Mr. Fish by Dwayne Booth



INNOVATION circulation 55,000 and over

First place — City Pages (Twin Cities): Twin Cities Rock Atlas in print (PDF) and online by Peter Scholtes, Jeff Shaw and Kevin Cannon

Second place — Westword: Paint the Town Read: in print (PDF) and online by Amy Haimerl and Kenny Be

Third place — The Pitch: Smoke & Mirrors: story and podcast by Eric Barton

INNOVATION circulation under 55,000

First place — Orlando Weekly: Downtownopoly (PDF) by Shan Stumpf, Jeffrey C. Billman and Bob Whitby

Second place — Santa Barbara Independent: Locals Only by Matt Kettmann and Aly Comingore

Third place — Tucson Weekly: Project White House: Presidential Candidate Contest (PDF), Run for President, Project White House Deadline Extended, Speaking of Presidential Campaigns, Let the Games Begin! and Project White House the Blog by Jim Nintzel and Staff



PUBLIC SERVICE circulation 55,000 and over

First place — Phoenix New Times: Target Practice: Breathtaking Abuse of the Constitution (PDF), Who’s Sorry Now? (PDF), He Just Doesn’t Get It (PDF), Wilenchik’s a Liar and There’s More (PDF), Extraordinary Contempt (PDF), Power Play (PDF), Information Blockade (PDF), Inhumanity has Its Price (PDF) and Flushing Them Out (PDF) by Staff

Second place — OC Weekly: They Got the Sheriff: Blazing Saddles!, Angry Asian Rap Stalls Case, Kissing the Pinky Ring, Furious and Curiouser, They Got the Sheriff, Magnum Enforcer, She’s the (Under) Sheriff, Draw Your Own Conclusions and Crossing the Thin Blue Line by R. Scott Moxley

Third place — San Francisco Bay Guardian: Exposing the Media News scandal: Off the Record, Judge Opens Secret Media Merger Files, Between the Sheets, Barons of Monopoly, Brown Must Fight the Media Monopoly, What We Know Now, Reilly’s Right to Sue, Media Trial to Proceed — In Public, Barons Back Off Newspaper Trial and Beyond the Reilly Settlement by G.W. Schulz and Staff

Honorable mention — Baltimore City Paper: Watching the Inspectors: I.G. Popped, Where Credit is Due, Not Up to Code, On the Block, HUD-aches, Defame Game, Open Perjury, Nightmare Neighbor, In Ruins and Watching the Inspectors by Edward Ericson Jr.

PUBLIC SERVICE circulation under 55,000

First place — Jackson Free Press: Road to Meadville: We’re Sorry (PDF), In the Interest of Justice (PDF), Fighting Back in Klan Nation (PDF), The Klansman Bound (PDF), Seale the ‘Last’ Case? We Doubt It (PDF), Dredging Up the Past (PDF), The Truth Can Hurt (PDF), Profile of a Klansman (PDF), Strange Bedfellows (PDF) and Cold Cases Bill Must Pass (PDF) by Donna Ladd, Kate Medley and Matt Saldana

Second place — Fort Worth Weekly: Gas Drilling coverage: Mineral-Rights Mania (PDF), Perilous Profits (PDF), Time is on Their Side (PDF), Fighting Back (PDF), Paper Promises (PDF), Digging Deeper (PDF) and Hot Water (PDF) by Staff

Third place — Nashville Scene: Mayor Bubba Smackdown: Tripped for Sure, Stupid Political Tricks, Idea Man, Dean for Mayor, Inclement Bob, 40 Days and 40 Nights, True Crime, Yankee Doodle Dean, See Bob Run and Read Their Lips by Jeff Woods and Liz Garrigan

Honorable mention — Weekly Alibi: Alibisexuals: Tasteful Reads, Family Values, Unnatural Indecency, Pride Radio Streams to Albequerque — Without Local Content, Revolting Drag Queens, Grown Up Gay, Absolutely Fabulous, Four Corners’ Clash, Culture Shock and Thin Line by Staff



SPECIAL SECTION circulation 55,000 and over

First place — NOW Magazine: The Green Issue by Staff

Second place — L.A. Weekly: LA People 2007 by Staff

Third place — Willamette Week: Restaurant Guide 2007 by Byron Beck and Staff

SPECIAL SECTION circulation under 55,000

First place — The Texas Observer: “Beloveds” Molly Ivins (1944-2007) by Staff

Second place — Arkansas Times: 50 Years After by Staff

Third place — North Bay Bohemian: Arcadia by Staff and Contributors

WEB CATEGORIES



BLOG circulation 55,000 and over

First place — L.A. Weekly: Deadline Hollywood Daily: NBC Shake-up: My Final Wrap & Analysis, WGA Talks Collapse: East Strike On! and Worst Talent Deal Ever? by Nikki Finke

Second place — Washington City Paper: City Desk: On Scene at the Eastern Market, Yuppies, Goths, and Other Groups I Don’t Identify With and Tax-Scam Hearing Liveblog by Staff

Third place — PW-Philadelphia Weekly: Philadelphia Will Do: Harassment, A $500 Appearance Fee and Queena Bass, Milton Street’s ‘American Idol’ Audition and Alycia Lane Arrested! by Daniel McQuade

BLOG circulation under 55,000

First place — Nashville Scene: Nashville Cream: What’s in a Name?, I Saw You Doing Something Somewhere Around Here and You are Kinda Famous and How I Became the (Cherry) Bomb by Matt Sullivan, Chris Slack and Tracy Moore

Second place — Weekly Alibi: Alibi WeBlog: 10 Best Media Objects of 2006 (Part 1), Beyond Beirut and Overheard at the State Fair by Staff

Third place — Seven Days: Stuck in Vermont: Rosie’s Girls, Black Fly Festival and Viva La Voce Puppet Opera by Eva Sollberger

Honorable mention — Santa Fe Reporter: Blogging Bill: There’s Something About Bill, The BIG Issue and Richardson’s NM Supreme Court Nominees are Big Contributors by Staff



WEBSITE circulation 55,000 and over

First place — Boston Phoenix: The Phoenix by Staff

Second place — Austin Chronicle: Austin Chronicle by Staff

Third place — L.A. Weekly: L.A. Weekly by Staff

WEBSITE circulation under 55,000

First place — Arkansas Times: Arkansas Times by Staff

Second place — Santa Barbara Independent: Santa Barbara Independent by Staff

Third place — Seven Days: Seven Days by Don Eggert, Bob Kilpatrick and Cathy Resmer



WRITING CATEGORIES



ARTS CRITICISM circulation 55,000 and over

First place — Washington City Paper: Squaresville, U.S.A., Reality Checks and The Mod That Failed by Jeffry Cudlin

Second place tie — Chicago Reader: Hometown Heroes, Constant Crises and Men Behaving Badly by Lee Sandlin

Second place tie — Austin Chronicle: Waiting for the Barbarians, Afterplay, and Take Me Out by Robert Faires

Third place — L.A. Weekly: Badlands, Margot at the Wedding: Born Identities and Iron Butterfly by Scott Foundas

ARTS CRITICISM circulation under 55,000

First place — Independent Weekly (NC): Durham Author David Guy Distills a Lifetime of Work, The Final, Unfinished Novel of the Late, Great Larry Brown and New Stories From the South: More Than Confederates and Kudzu by Adam Sobsey

Second place — Santa Fe Reporter: An Amnesiac to Remember, Film By Numbers and The Big Picture (PDF) by Emiliano Garcia-Sarnoff

Third place — Style Weekly: Women’s Work, Flight of Fancy and Shallow Waters (PDF) by Thomas Peyser



ARTS FEATURE circulation 55,000 and over

First place — Riverfront Times: The Case of the Shanghai Shamus by Malcolm Gay

Second place — Houston Press: Black Box Office by Troy Schulze

Third place — Miami New Times: Artist as Prisoner by Rob Jordan

ARTS FEATURE circulation under 55,000

First place — Arkansas Times: The Amazing Mohja (PDF) by David Koon

Second place — New Haven Advocate: Art of the Living Dead (PDF) by Betsy Yagla

Third place tie — Fort Worth Weekly: And Now, Wearing the Geeksta Crown (PDF) by Jimmy Fowler

Third place tie — San Luis Obispo New Times: Faire Play (PDF) by Ryan Miller



COLUMN circulation 55,000 and over

First place — OC Weekly: “Ask a Mexican!” Feb. 1, April 5 and Nov. 15 by Gustavo Arellano

Second place — Westword: Ladies Plight, Exhibitionists and The Nigerian Scam Strikes Again by Patricia Calhoun

Third place — Riverfront Times: Top Ramen (Chicken Vegetable Flavor), Domino’s Pizza New Oreo Dessert Pizza and Double Cheeseburger by Malcolm Gay

COLUMN circulation under 55,000

First place — Santa Fe Reporter: “Zane’s World”: Complainocracy, Illusion of Progress and Neo Anti-Development? (PDF) by Zane Fischer

Second place — San Luis Obispo New Times: Gone to Pot, Pop a Local Wheelie and I’m All Ears (PDF) by The Shredder

Third place — The Memphis Flyer: Last One Standing, One Vote at a Time and Improvident Borrower by John Branston

Honorable mention — Colorado Springs Independent: “Public Eye”: Mike Jones Shares His ‘Art’, The Return of Charlie Duke (Sort of) and The Myth of a Killer in Love by Cara DeGette

COLUMN — POLITICAL circulation 55,000 and over

First place — Los Angeles CityBEAT: “American Babylon”: No Home For You Here, Copycat Nation and Show Me the Ideas by Andrew Gumbel

Second place — Creative Loafing (Atlanta): “Metropolis”: No More Illegal Ramaramadingdongs!, The Mystery of the Mayor’s Jet-setting and Water, Water Everywhere — Not! by John Sugg

Third place — PW-Philadelphia Weekly: This Election is Murder, Cop Out and Finally We Care by Kia Gregory

Honorable mention — The Village Voice: Mike Bloomberg, Free At Last, Benchwarmers and Rudy’s Brain by Tom Robbins

COLUMN — POLITICAL circulation under 55,000

First place — Birmingham Weekly: Leapin’ Larry Goes Back to the Future, Letter of Our Laws and The Sticky, Sticky Truth by Kyle Whitmire

Second place — Arkansas Times: A Burning Issue, Frailty in God’s President and Mike’s Humble Roots by Ernest Dumas

Third place — New Haven Advocate: Why I’m Returning to Iraq, Kurdistan on the Brink and Women in a Hostile Nation: Part 1 (PDF) by Daniel Smith



FEATURE STORY circulation 55,000 and over

First place — Dallas Observer: El Tren de la Muerte by Megan Feldman

Second place — Washington City Paper: Letters From an Arsonist by Dave Jamieson

Third place — Washington City Paper: The Battle Over Heavy T by Joe Eaton

FEATURE STORY circulation under 55,000

First place — Jackson Free Press: We Are Family: A Klan Child Fans a Different Flame by Donna Ladd

Second place — Illinois Times: Twice Burned by Dusty Rhodes

Third place — Columbia Free Times: Virtual Goods, Hard Cash by Ron Aiken

FOOD WRITING circulation 55,000 and over

First place — City Pages (Twin Cities): Then There Was None, Port is the Answer? and Colonel Mustard by Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl

Second place — New Times Broward-Palm Beach: Dancing the Lobster Quadrille, Split Decision? and The Undersea World of Toby Joseph by Gail Shepherd

Third place — Miami New Times: Eat Shit and Die, Chew the Right Thing and Flapjack Flip-Off VII: Bananarama! by Lee Klein

FOOD WRITING circulation under 55,000

First place — Seven Days: His Daily Bread, Newfound Ground Round and Shuck and Awe by Suzanne Podhaizer

Second place — Nashville Scene: The Sign of Paradise, Heckuva Job, Chappy and Get Your Goat by Carrington Fox

Third place — Monterey County Weekly: Miles to Go Before I Eat (PDF) by Mark C. Anderson

Honorable mention — North Bay Bohemian: First Bite: Sky Lounge, First Bite: Carneros Bistro & Wine Bar and Saint Elsewhere by Carey Sweet



INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING circulation 55,000 and over

First place — L.A. Weekly: The Town the Law Forgot: The Town The Law Forgot, Cuhady Reformers Lose, Mario Beltran’s Wild Night, Politics Meet Street, The Trouble with Mario Beltran, Friends in Low Places, Did City Hall Fund a Gun-runner?, Taming the Wild 740 Club, Mario Beltran’s Strange Bedfellows and Mario Beltran’s Undertow by Jeffrey Anderson

Second place — San Francisco Bay Guardian: The Corporation that Ate San Francisco, Dust Still Settling and Green City by Sarah Phelan

Third place — Miami New Times: Swept Under the Bridge and Sex Offenders Set Up Camp by Isaiah Thompson

Honorable mention — Seattle Weekly: The Worst Internal Scandal in NSA History was Blamed on Cold War Defectors’ Homosexuality by Rick Anderson

INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING circulation under 55,000

First place — The Texas Observer: Hidden in Plain Sight (PDF) by Nate Blakeslee

Second place — The Memphis Flyer: The Loop: The Loop, MLGW Networx: Keeping Us in the Dark?, Will the City Council Get the Real Story? Will Anyone?, Networx Down and Unplugged by Chris Davis

Third place — Seven Days: Hot and Soured: Hot and Soured, Official Reactions Mixed on Allegations of Minimum-wage, Building-Code Violations and State Cracks Down on Burlington-Area Chinese Restaurant Owners by Ken Picard

Honorable mention — Portland Phoenix: Conditions in Maine’s Prisons: Sluggish Response to Suicide, Punish the Mentally Ill!, Prisoners as Commodities, Prisoner Gagged, Maine Prison Bosses Violate Court Orders, Press Behind Bars, Mentally Ill Inmate Gets Care Despite State’s Objections, Stabbed in the Back, Dangerous Waits for Psychiatric Evaluations? and Exiled Maine Prisoners Report Abuse, Danger by Lance Tapley



MEDIA REPORTING/CRITICISM circulation 55,000 and over

First place — L.A. Weekly: “Deadline Hollywood”: Goodbye Baquet, Hello O’Shea, Dangerous Liaisons and Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid by Nikki Finke

Second place — Philadelphia City Paper: The Deluge by Doron Taussig

Third place — Boston Phoenix: “Don’t Quote Me”: Culture War, Silent Treatment and The Problem with Heroes by Adam Reilly

MEDIA REPORTING/CRITICISM circulation under 55,000

The first-place winner of this category will receive the Connye Miller Award for Media Reporting, a cash prize of $300. Miller served as the founding editor and co-publisher of The Local Planet Weekly in Spokane, Wash. The award, endowed by her husband Matt Spaur, commemorates Miller’s dedication to her newspaper’s role as a media critic and watchdog. Miller died in June 2003 from complications related to the rare disease porphyria.

First place — Santa Barbara Independent: All the News Not Fit to Print, That Dog’s All Wet and The Canine Ultimatum by Nick Welsh

Second place — The Memphis Flyer: Monetizing Content at The Commercial Appeal by John Branston

Third place — Nashville Scene: Identity Crisis, Who Really Gored Gore? and Afflict the Afflicted by Liz Garrigan

MUSIC CRITICISM circulation 55,000 and over

First place — The Village Voice: Hot Hot Heat, The Disorientation of Lauryn Hill and The Fey Highwayman by Rob Harvilla

Second place — New Times Broward-Palm Beach: Freaks Come Out at Night by Jonathan Cunningham

Third place — Washington City Paper: Hug Life, People, People, Why are They Fighting? and Half the Man He Used to Be by Sarah Godfrey

Honorable mention — SF Weekly: Forgiving the Past Through Elliott Smith, It’s So Easy Being Green and Jack Kerouac’s Writing is Still Influential for Rock Icons 50 Years After On the Roadby Jennifer Maerz

MUSIC CRITICISM circulation under 55,000

First place — San Antonio Current: The Unbearable Lightness of Paul, Police Report and Haley’s Comet (PDF) by Gilbert Garcia

Second place — The Memphis Flyer: It’s a Rap, Bad-Vibe Bands and Johnny Cash’s Block Party by Chris Herrington

Third place — Illinois Times: Weird Sisters, Melancholy Man and The Feminine Mystique (PDF) by Rene Spencer Saller

NEWS STORY — LONG FORM circulation 55,000 and over

First place — Westword: The Punisher and A Thumb on the Scales by Alan Prendergast

Second place — The Pitch: Not Hiring by David Martin

Third place — L.A. Weekly: The End of Murder by David Zahniser

Honorable mention — Baltimore City Paper: Juvenile Disservices and The Colonel by Jeffrey Anderson

NEWS STORY — LONG FORM circulation under 55,000

First place — The Texas Observer: The Governor’s Database (PDF) by Jake Bernstein

Second place — Cincinnati CityBeat: Dirty Laundry (PDF) by Kevin Osborne

Third place — The Texas Observer: I am Sullied — No More (PDF) by Robert Bryce

Honorable mention — Jackson Free Press: The State of JPD by Adam Lynch



NEWS STORY — SHORT FORM circulation 55,000 and over

First place — Scene: Banking on D’s, Hunting the White Buffalo and The Wild, Wild West Bank by Gus Garcia-Roberts

Second place — L.A. Weekly: Name Game in Huntington Park, Slammed for Secret Asbestos Removal and Hector Marroquin’s Revenge by Jeffrey Anderson

Third place — Austin Chronicle: Red Ink on Second Street, “Texas Tough” Sex Crime Wave Hits the Dome and Lost in Cyberspace (PDF) by Wells Dunbar

NEWS STORY — SHORT FORM circulation under 55,000

First place — New Haven Advocate: The Born Identity, Yale’s New Secret Society and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Senator (PDF) by Andy Bromage

Second place — Tucson Weekly: Dreams and Duds, Disease and Discretion and Paper Trail by Tim Vanderpool

Third place — Colorado Springs Independent: Gallagher’s Island, The Talking Wounded and Stuck in the Service by J. Adrian Stanley

Have links or PDFs for a winner that we don’t? Please email hkuldell (at) aan [dot] org.