ASNE announces 2005 Award winners
Posted 2/18/2005 11:42:00 AM

ASNE has selected the winnersof its annual awards for distinguished writing and photography.

Winners of the 2005 ASNEAwards are:

The Washington Post:Michael Dobbs, Rama Lakshmi, John Lancaster, Peter Goodman, Alan Sipress --Jesse Laventhol Prize for Deadline News Reporting by a Team

Dexter Filkins, TheNew York Times -- Jesse Laventhol Prize for Deadline News Reporting by an Individual

Babita Persaud, St.Petersburg (Fla.) Times -- The Freedom Forum/ASNE Award for Outstanding Writingon Diversity

M.J. Wilde, The Albuquerque(N.M.) Tribune -- commentary/column writing

Helen O’Neill, AssociatedPress -- nondeadline writing

David Barham, ArkansasDemocrat-Gazette, Little Rock -- editorial writing

Alana Baranick, ThePlain Dealer, Cleveland -- obituary writing

Carol Guzy, The WashingtonPost -- community service photojournalism

The Jesse Laventhol prizeseach carry a $10,000 cash award; all of the others will receive $2,500 prizes.The awards will be presented on Thursday, April 14, during ASNE’s conventionin Washington. The winning entries and interviews with the winners and finalistswill be published in “Best Newspaper Writing 2005,” by The Poynter Institute,St. Petersburg, Fla.

A look at the winners:

The Washington Post teamwon the Jesse Laventhol Prize for Deadline News Reporting by a Team for theircoverage of the tsunami disaster in South Asia. The judges praised the teamfor delivering “a stunning amount of information (that) blended asweeping narrative with clarity and economy of expression. An unusual commandof detail,given the early stage of the story. It paints a global picture of what happened,setting readers up for the worsening news the week brought.”

Dexter Filkins, The NewYork Times, won the Jesse Laventhol Prize for Deadline News Reporting by anIndividual for his coverage of urban warfare in Falluja, Iraq. The judgessaidFilkins gave readers “a very skillful window into the world of urban warfare.Stories had vivid, colorful details and are noteworthy for the economy of thewriting. Reading Filkins evokes unforgettable scenes that keep the reader engaged.”

Babita Persaud, St. Petersburg(Fla.) Times, won the The Freedom Forum/ASNE Award for Outstanding Writingon Diversity for stories about arranged marriages in modern America. Themain charactersinclude a mid-20s daughter ready for matrimony and parents hoping she willyield to rituals cast thousands of years ago in their native India. “The intimateview of two cultures within one family is a wonderful blend of comprehensivereporting and seamless storytelling,” the judges said. “Writer Babita Persaudcrafts a story packed with knowing and caring detail. She deftly follows theincreasingly difficult struggle to preserve ancient tradition. Readers getadramatically told story of culture and change, family and love.”

M.J. Wilde, The Albuquerque(N.M.) Tribune won the commentary/column writing award for columns on baseball,bathing suits and bosom buddies. “M.J. Wilde tackles some weighty issues andbrings a sense of humor. And she tackles some less than weighty issues and bringsa sense of humor. She’s refreshing. Her outlook keeps life in perspective,” thejudges said.

David Barham, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette,Little Rock, won for editorials about highway deaths, the South and Osama binLaden. The judges praised Barham’s bold leads, such as, “Dear European pig-dollradical Zionist crusader goat-faced sons of jackals.” “David Barham gets outof the office – a lot – to make his work more real,” the judges said. “Mostimportantly, he blends imagination, persuasion, knowledge and superb use oflanguage into powerful editorials.”

Helen O’Neill, AssociatedPress, won for nondeadline writing about the kidnapping on an 88-year-old grandmotherin a small town in Wisconsin. “O’Neill’s writing is spare, exciting, intimate,”the judges said. “The pace is relentless, the cliffhangers nail-biting. Theresimply wasn’t a false note in the series; it was authentic to the core.”

Alana Baranick, The PlainDealer, Cleveland, won this year’s special category, obituary writing, for “ALife Story,” a series of longer obits that feature a church housekeeper, a rabbitfarmer, and a NASA scientist who also taught African dance. “With vivid detailand direct language, Baranick creates richly textured portraits of everydayfolks who become extraordinary through her words,” the judges said. “From thelady who raised bunnies to the man who sold orthopedic shoes, Baranick’s charactersare warm and funny, far from perfect, and altogether human. Avoiding clichésand oversimplification, Baranick engages the reader by finding a narrativethreadthat captures the essence of her subjects.”

Carol Guzy, The WashingtonPost, won the community service photojournalism award for photos of a localhigh school student facing difficult choices. “Carol Guzy earned the trust thatgained her a hall pass into the life of John Thomas…” the judges said. “Guzy’saccess, and the trust of her subject, helped paint a phenomenal and realisticstory. With the highest degree of technical capability, Guzy and her skillfuleye embraced her subject with dignity and concern.”

The ASNE judges also recognizedthe work of other newspaper journalists as finalists:

Deadline News Reportingby a Team

• San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News: David Early, Scott Herhold, Patrick May, Howard Mintz, Julie Patel, Jessie Seyfer, Julia Prodis Sulek, Kim Vo
• The Wall Street Journal: Dennis K. Berman, Ellen Byron, Justin Lahart, Amy Merrick, Mitchell Pacelle, Gregory Zuckerman

Deadline News Reportingby an Individual

• Kim Murphy, Los Angeles Times
• David Perlman, San Francisco Chronicle

The Freedom Forum/ASNEAward for Outstanding Writing on Diversity

• Josh Peter, The Times-Picayune, New Orleans
• Adam Fifield, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Commentary/column writing

• Brian McGrory, The Boston Globe
• Rich Brooks, Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune
• Howard Troxler, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times

Nondeadline writing

• Julia Keller, Chicago Tribune
• Meredith May, San Francisco Chronicle

Editorial writing

• Mark Mahoney, The Post-Star, Glens Falls, N.Y.

Obituary writing

• Margalit Fox, The New York Times
• Adam Bernstein, The Washington Post

Community service photojournalism

• Robert Gauthier, Los Angeles Times
• Manny Crisostomo, The Sacramento (Calif.) Bee

This year’s contest attractedmore than 550 entries from news organizations throughout the United Statesand Canada.

The Jesse Laventhol Prizesare named in honor of a longtime Philadelphia newspaperman. They are endowedby his son, David A. Laventhol, a former editor and executive for Times Mirror.Laventhol has been a member of ASNE for many years and serves as a memberofthe ASNE Awards Board. He said he wanted to encourage excellence in a key aspectof newspaper reporting -- “to recognize the best deadline work and to encouragemore of it.”

The Freedom Forum, whichhas partnered with ASNE on many diversity efforts, funds the award for outstandingwriting on diversity.

The ASNE Foundation -- whichis supported by gifts from ASNE members, newspaper companies and foundations-- funds the other awards. The Poynter Institute administers the competition.Aly Colón of The Poynter Institute will be the editor of “Best NewspaperWriting 2005.”

The awards were given forwork completed in 2004. All daily newspapers and wire services in the UnitedStates are eligible to enter. Also eligible are other newspapers in the Americasthat are headed by an active member of ASNE. All entries must be submitted inEnglish.

Diane McFarlin, publisher,Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune, chaired the Awards Board this year. Also judgingwere: Jim Amoss, The Times-Picayune, New Orleans; Caesar Andrews, Gannett NewsService, McLean, Va.; Amanda Bennett, The Philadelphia Inquirer; Susan Bischoff,Houston Chronicle; Neil Brown, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times; Jeff Bruce, Dayton(Ohio) Daily News; Jerry Ceppos, Knight Ridder, San Jose, Calif.; Mike Connelly,Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune; Jim Crutchfield, Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal;Charlotte Hall, Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel; Karla Garrett Harshaw, Springfield(Ohio) News-Sun and Cox Community Newspapers; Deborah Howell, Newhouse NewsService, Washington; Ed Jones, The Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, Va.; MartyKaiser, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; Tim McGuire, retired, Star Tribune, Minneapolis;Greg Moore, The Denver Post; Skip Perez, The Ledger, Lakeland, Fla.; and JimWillse, The Star-Ledger, Newark, N.J.

Carolyn Lee, New York, chairedthe photojournalism award judging. Four photo experts also joined in the judging:Dan Habib, Concord (N.H.) Monitor; Kenny Irby, The Poynter Institute; RobertMiller, The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.; and Sue Morrow, St. Petersburg(Fla.) Times.

Judges abstain from discussionwhen there is either a personal or professional conflict of interest.

With about 750 members,ASNE is the principal organization of American newspaper editors. It is activein a number of areas, including open government, freedom of the press, journalismcredibility and ethics, newsroom management, diversity and readership.