2001 winners of the ASNE Awards announced
Posted 3/29/2001 12:00:00 AM

RESTON, Va. – The AmericanSociety of Newspaper Editors has selected seven winners of its annual awards fordistinguished writing and photography.

Winners of the 2001 ASNEAwards

The Jesse Laventhol prizeseach carry a $10,000 cash award; all of the others will receive $2,500 prizes.This is the first year ASNE has included photojournalism in the contest. Theawards will be made April 6, during the Society’s convention in Washington.The winning entries and interviews with the winners and finalists have beenpublished in “Best Newspaper Writing 2001,” by ThePoynter Institute for Media Studies, St. Petersburg, Fla.

A look at the winners

Erlanger won the Jesse LaventholPrize for his stories on a strike at the Kolubara coal mine and subsequent uprisingsthat signaled the beginning of the end for Slobodan Milosevic. “Steve Erlangersaw the fall of Slobodan Milosevic before the Serbian despot did. His storytelling puts the reader there,” the judges said.

Reporters from The Star-Ledger,Newark, N.J. won the Jesse Laventhol Prize for their reporting on a catastrophicfire in a Seton Hall University dormitory, recreating the chaos and its impacton students and their families. “Each story gave readers a gripping narrativedescription of action and feelings,” the judges said. “The writers never gotin the way of the stories they told.”

The Star-Ledger team: RussellBen-Ali, Robert Braun, Carol Ann Campbell, Steve Chambers, David Cho, Kate Coscarelli,Sue Epstein, Robin Gaby Fisher, William Gannon, David Gibson, Rebecca Goldsmith,Kelly Heyboer, Rudy Larini, John Mooney, Mark Mueller, Mary Jo Patterson, MattReilly, Ted Sherman, Guy Sterling and Angela Stewart.

Pitts won the award forhis unpredictable, principled columns about everything from the confederateflag, to individuality to reparations. “His passion is there, but the readerdoes not have to confront it,” the judges said. “He writes across a broad rangeof subjects and brings an originality of thought to all that he does.”

Henderson won the awardfor editorials about privatizing public schools, a death penalty case filledwith doubt, and a call to Baltimore residents to speak out about crime. “StephenHenderson’s editorials are well-crafted, clear-headed, powerful and elegantlywritten,” the judges said. “He is as passionate in offering praise as criticism,an endearing and often unusual trait on editorial pages.”

Magagnini won the diversitywriting award for a personal examination of Sacramento’s Hmong community, whichhas a tortured history and an uncertain future. These are stories of those strugglingto assimilate while clinging to the past: a family tale of self-destruction,a woman trying to break the bonds of culture and those peering into the futurefor hope and survival. “Magagnini’s extraordinary stories deliver a remarkable,caring insight into the inner workings and humanity of this urban culture,”the judges said.

Hallman is a second-timewinner, having also been honored in the same category in 1997, nondeadline writing.He won this year for a story exploring the journey of a horribly deformed youngsterwho risked everything in a dangerous surgery he hoped would make him look morenormal. “He draws the reader inside the family without intruding or being exploitive,”the judges said. “There are no barriers between the writer and the reader inthis polished and compelling narrative.”

Beale won the inauguralphotojournalism award for a collage of stunning images showing the importanceand diversity of religious faith in the Pittsburgh area. “The photos demonstratedthe importance of faith to rich and poor as they paid homage to Jehovah, Allah,the Creator, Jesus, the Supreme Being and God (or gods),” the judges said.

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

Jesse Laventhol Prizefor Deadline News Reporting by an Individual

• Darrin Mortenson, The Virgin Islands Daily News, St. Thomas

Jesse Laventhol Prizefor Deadline News Reporting by a Team

• The Miami Herald: Sandra Marquez Garcia, Tyler Bridges, Curtis Morgan, Manny Garcia, Carolyn Salazar, Andres Viglucci
• St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times: Sue Carlton, Tom French, Anne Hull

Commentary writing

• Colbert I. King, The Washington Post
• Paul Vitello, Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

Editorial writing

• Paul Greenberg, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Little Rock
• Bailey Thomson, Mobile (Ala.) Register

Nondeadline writing

• Michelle Kearns, Sun Journal, Lewiston, Maine
• Charlie LeDuff, The New York Times

Diversity

• Mark Bixler, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Community Service Photojournalism

• Thom Scott, The Times-Picayune, New Orleans
• Leigh Daughtridge, The Beacon-News, Aurora, Ill.

This year’s contest attractedmore than 500 entries from news organizations throughout the United States andCanada; the largest contest was for the nondeadline writing award, which garnered123 entries.

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,who is now publisher of the Columbia Journalism Review. Laventhol has been amember of ASNE for many years and has chaired and serves as a member of theASNE 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 ASNE Foundation – whichis supported by gifts from ASNE members, newspaper companies and foundations– funds the other prizes. The Poynter Institute administers the competition.Keith Woods of The Poynter Institute will be the editor of “Best Newspaper Writing2001.”

The awards were made forwork completed in 2000. Daily newspapers and wire services in the United Statesor Canada are eligible to enter. Also eligible are other newspapers in the Americas,wire services, and other organizations that gather and publish information fordaily newspapers that are headed by an active member of ASNE. The work mustbe in English.

Cynthia A.Tucker, The AtlantaConstitution, chaired the Awards Board this year. Other judges were: AndrewN. Alexander, Cox Newspapers, Washington; Richard Aregood, The Star-Ledger,Newark, N.J.; Martin Baron, The Miami Herald; Leonard Downie, Jr., The WashingtonPost; G. Maria Henson, Austin (Texas) American-Statesman; Clark Hoyt, KnightRidder, Washington; David A. Laventhol, New York; Joseph Lelyveld, The New YorkTimes; Walker Lundy, St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press; Gregory L. Moore, The BostonGlobe; Richard A. Oppel, Austin (Texas) American-Statesman; Michael Parks, Universityof Southern California, Los Angeles; Robert Rivard, San Antonio Express-News;Sandra Mims Rowe, The Oregonian, Portland; Edward L. Seaton, The Manhattan (Kan.)Mercury; and N. Don Wycliff, Chicago Tribune.

Carolyn Lee, The New YorkTimes, chaired the photojournalism award panel. Other judges were: Craig Gemoules,The Tampa (Fla.) Tribune; Kenny Irby, The Poynter Institute, St. Petersburg,Fla.; Zach Ryall, Austin (Texas) American-Statesman; Cynthia A. Tucker, TheAtlanta Constitution; and N. Don Wycliff, Chicago Tribune.

With nearly 900 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.