Daily Herald earns 10 awards at Illinois AP Media Editors competition
The Daily Herald garnered 10 awards Thursday at the Illinois Associated Press Media Editors competition.
A first-place award went to staff writer Jerry Fitzpatrick for “Snowstorm Doesn't Stop Playoff Football.”
“Great action shots,” judges said of the entry, which won for spot news/spot sports video. “Narration very well done. Celebration scenes really stood out. Excellent film work under difficult weather conditions.”
Managing Editor Jim Baumann accepted the awards during the Illinois AP Media Editors annual meeting at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Springfield.
The Daily Herald also received nine other awards, including second place for:
• Best breaking news: Lee Filas, Russell Lissau, Pete Nenni and staff for “The Truth About Gliniewicz.”
Judges said: “When a Fox Lake police officer hailed as a hero killed in the line of duty was revealed to have shot himself as his embezzlement was coming to light, Daily Herald staff scrambled and provided extensive coverage within hours. Reporters both summarized key evidence and broke it down in detail, such as providing the text of deleted-and-recovered phone texts and explaining the steps that led investigators to suspect suicide.”
• Best public service: Tim Broderick, Melissa Silverberg and Linda Lutton for “Generations at Risk.”
Judges said: “It's tough for educators to find ways to break through poverty and produce top test scores in schools with lots of needy students. This well-structured and neatly executed series showed just how daunting that task can be by conducting an extensive database analysis of the correlation of poverty to test scores. But what really turned this into a strong public service project was the way the newspaper then took close-up looks at outliers, schools that found ways to break the pattern.”
• Best editorials: Jim Slusher and the editorial board for “Generations at Risk.”
Judges said: “The series exemplifies the role of news organizations in fostering public debate on important issues.”
Also, third place awards are:
• Best newspaper website: Daily Herald staff.
Judges said: “A clean look and feel on the homepage and story pages.”
• Best feature: Jamie Sotonoff, Marni Pyke and Lauren Rohr for “The Pain Is Never Easier.”
Judges said: “This complete, compelling look back at a school bus/train accident, one of the nation's worst, takes readers right back to that fateful day and places you right in the back of that bus. At the same time, there is a strong sense of reflection of what might have been, who these young people might have become and lessons learned. A great read.”
• Best enterprise series: Lee Filas and Burt Constable for “The Two Faces of Lt. Gliniewicz.”
• Best feature photo: Rick West for “Butterfly Selfie.”
• Best sports feature photo: Steve Lundy for “Mixed Emotions.”
• Best headline writing: Don Friske. Judges said: “With 'Slam Dunc,' 'Pulling Down a Win' and 'All Signs Point North,' Don Friske proves he also has a good eye. Each of those headlines tips a hat to its accompanying photo.”