The Richmond, Va., alt-weekly won two Awards of Merit from the Grade 2007 awards, sponsored by the Richmond chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA). Led by Art Director Jeffrey Bland, Style Weekly received kudos for "24 Reasons to Love Richmond" and "Original Tales."

Continue ReadingStyle Weekly Wins AIGA Design Awards

AAN members are well-represented in the 2006 awards given out by the Education Writers Association, with a near-sweep of "Feature, News Feature or Issue Package" for papers under 100,000 circulation. In that category, Todd Spivak of the Houston Press took home First Place for "Cut Short," while Special Citations were awarded to Willamette Week's Beth Slovic for "Illegal Scholar," the Houston Press' Margaret Downing for "Opt In, Opt Out," and New Times Broward-Palm Beach's Kelly Cramer for "FCAT Scratch Fever." Kristen Hinman of Riverfront Times received a First Place award in the "Investigative Reporting" category for her Vashon High School Series.

Continue ReadingAlt-Weeklies Take Home Five National Awards for Education Reporting

Steven G. Kellman, a contributor to the Texas Observer and San Antonio Current and professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, was named the winner yesterday of the National Book Critics Circle's (NBCC) 2006 Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing, which is awarded to "the most accomplished reviewer," from within the NBCC membership. "Texas is lucky to have Steve Kellman," writes Celia McGee on the NBCC's blog. "His range is open to the most extreme elements, in the writers he considers, but also in himself. That takes guts, and keeps reviewing fresh."

Continue ReadingTexas Alt-Weekly Contributor Honored by Fellow Book Critics

Deputy Editor Joe Piasecki's five-part series on foster care and homeless youth, "Throwaway Kids," won a first-place award in the National Low Income Housing Coalition's first-ever Cushing Niles Dolbeare Media Awards, the group announced on Tuesday. Piasecki's series, the publication of which spanned over a month and 16,000 words, received the $2,500 prize in the Non-Daily Newspaper or Magazine category.

Continue ReadingPasadena Weekly Series Wins National Award

Tom Robbins is the second distinguished journalist to occupy the post at Hunter College, established to honor Newfield. Robbins, a former colleague of Newfield's at both the Voice and the Daily News, will teach a course entitled "Urban Investigative Reporting" and will also assist students in researching and writing a lengthy article or series of articles focused on an aspect of city life. "Whether tomorrow's journalists are writing online or on paper, we need more of them who understand and share Jack Newfield's passion for justice and the city he lived in," Robbins says in a press release.

Continue ReadingVillage Voice Reporter Named Jack Newfield Visiting Professor

Duke University senior Jeffrey Stern has been awarded the Melcher Family Award for Excellence in Journalism for a cover story he wrote for the North Carolina alt-weekly, reports Duke News. The story described the lives of three homeless men living in the woods on the outskirts of Durham, NC. Stern hatched the idea for the Indy piece after editor Richard Hart spoke to his journalism class. "Jeff is a monster, and I mean that in the best sense of word," says Hart. "Just as Michael Jordan uses every muscle in his body when he is focused on playing basketball, every ounce of Jeff is completely geared to going out and getting the story."

Continue ReadingStudent Journalist Wins Prize for Story in Independent Weekly