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2000 winners of the ASNE Writing Awards announced
Posted 3/29/2000 2:31:00 PM
RESTON, Va. — The AmericanSociety of Newspaper Editors has selected six winners in the 2000 DistinguishedWriting Awards and Jesse Laventhol Prize competition: - Leonora Bohen LaPeter, Savannah (Ga.) Morning News, Jesse Laventhol Prize for Deadline News Reporting by an Individual
- St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times, Jesse Laventhol Prize for Deadline News Reporting by a Team (Steve Huettel, Linda Gibson, Kathryn Wexler, Leanora Minai and David Karp)
- Cynthia Tucker, The Atlanta Constitution, for commentary/column writing
- Dianne Donovan, Chicago Tribune, for editorial writing
- Mitchell Zuckoff, The Boston Globe, for non-deadline writing
- Michael Dobie, Newsday, Melville, N.Y., for diversity writing
The Laventhol prizes each carrya $10,000 cash award. The ASNE Writing Award winners will receive $2,500 prizes.The awards will be made April 14, during the Society’s convention in Washington.The winning entries and interviews with the winners and finalists will be publishedin “Best Newspaper Writing 2000,” by The Poynter Institute for Media Studies,St. Petersburg, Fla. A look at the winners: LaPeter won the LaventholPrize for her series of stories on the trial of a regionally notorious killer.Despite a change of venue that took her to an unknown area, her unfamiliaritywith the case (covering the trial was her first exposure to it) and late nightsmandated by the judge to move the case along, she wrote powerful and flowingstories on deadline. “She delivered a riveting and human picture, in a veryhumane and conversational tone, that was based on horrific testimony,” the judgessaid. Reporters and editors fromthe St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times won the Laventhol Prize for their reportingon the killing of four people at a Tampa hotel. The story was put together withthese handicaps: it happened late in the day; the police didn’t release thesuspect’s name until 11 p.m.; the police shut down access to witnesses at thehotel; initial scanner reports gave contradictory information, making chasingthe story difficult; it happened on Dec. 30, a time of many vacations in thenewsroom. “In merely eight hours, the newspaper staff unraveled a myriad ofdetail about a horrific shooting that left five dead, used database reportingto profile a suspect that police didn’t charge until minutes before presstimeand delivered all of the information to the next morning’s readers in a rich,authoritative and balanced style.” Tucker, editorial page editorof The Atlanta Constitution, won the award for columns that included tough commentaryon Jesse Jackson visiting Belgrade, the family of Martin Luther King Jr. allyingitself with a politician of questionable honesty, and the minority set-asideprograms of Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell. Other topics she addressed includedan examination of John F. Kennedy Jr.’s legacy and a call on Jefferson descendants— all of them — to break bread together and mend fences. “Tucker’s writing isa wonderful blend of tough and thoughtful,” the judges said. “She takes on difficultissues with direct, even spare, word choices that are powerful and effective.” Donovan won the award foreditorials about the blue moon; Ralph Ellison, author of “Invisible Man”; theclosing of Houston’s Astrodome; and the absurdity of criminally trying a 9-year-old.“Her writing is elegant and graceful, even on tough and complex issues,” thejudges said. Zuckoff series, “ChoosingNaia: A Family’s Journey,” won for non-deadline writing. The series documentedone family’s emotional, medical and moral journey with genetic testing, andthe birth, and first birthday of a Down syndrome child. “Zuckoff used reportingprecision and a compelling writing style to take readers on a journey that includedsome of the most difficult issues and sub-themes of life. Still, while exudinghumanity, he did not let emotional arguments interrupt the path of effectivenarrative story-telling.” Dobie won the diversitywriting award for his series, “Race and Sports in High School.” It examinedhow sports — some of which are still identified as “black” or “white” — canhelp ethnically and racially diverse players form close friendships, yet can’tkeep them from wondering how long these relationships will last once the gamesend. “Michael’s work goes very deep because of what he accomplished in a verydifficult year of reporting at Glen Cove High School on Long Island: gettinghigh school students to speak candidly on a tough subject. Then, with remarkablyclear style, he crafted a revealing story about the way race permeates life.” The ASNE judges also recognizedthe work of other newspaper writers as finalists: Jesse Laventhol Prizefor Deadline Reporting by an Individual - David Finkel, The Washington Post
- Hugo Kugiya, Newsday, Melville, N.Y.
Jesse Laventhol Prize forDeadline Reporting by a Team - Chicago Sun-Times (Mark Skertic, Bryan Smith, Scott Forner, Carlos Sadovi, John Carpenter)
- Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk (Diane Tennant, Earl Swift and Lane DeGregory)
Commentary/column writing: - Gail Collins, The New York Times
- Colbert I. King, The Washington Post
- Mike Littwin, The Denver Rocky Mountain News
Editorial writing: - Verlyn Klinkenborg, The New York Times
- Kate Stanley, Star-Tribune, Minneapolis
Non-deadline writing: - Anne Hull, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times
- Robert L. Kaiser, Chicago Tribune
- Jenni Laidman, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio
Diversity: - Somini Sengupta, The New York Times
This year’s contest attractednearly 500 entries from news organizations throughout the United States and Canada;the largest contest was for the non-deadline writing award, which garnered 123entries. 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 served as a member of theWriting 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 Writing Award prizes. The Poynter Institute administers the competition.“Best Newspaper Writing 2000” will be edited by Christopher Scanlan, directorof writing programs at Poynter. The awards were made forwork completed in 1999. 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. Sandra Mims Rowe, editorof The Oregonian, Portland, chaired the Writing Awards Board. The other membersinvolved in the judging were: Joann Byrd, editor of the editorial page at theSeattle Post-Intelligencer; Leonard Downie Jr., executive editor of The WashingtonPost; Michael R. Fancher, executive editor of The Seattle Times; Robert H. Giles,executive director of the Media Studies Center, New York; Karla Garrett Harshaw,editor of the Springfield (Ohio) News-Sun; Clark Hoyt, Washington editor forKnight Ridder; Carolyn Lee, assistant managing editor of The New York Times;Gregory L. Moore, managing editor of The Boston Globe; Michael Parks, editorof the Los Angeles Times; Robert Rivard, editor of the San Antonio Express-News;Edward L. Seaton, editor-in-chief of The Manhattan (Kan.) Mercury; Paul C. Tash,executive editor of the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times; Cynthia A. Tucker, editorialpage editor of The Atlanta Constitution and Howard A. Tyner, editor of the ChicagoTribune. 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.
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