Daily Herald wins 6 Illinois AP awards
The Daily Herald newsroom was recognized Thursday night with six journalism awards in the annual Illinois Associated Press Media Editors contest.
Deputy Managing Editor Jim Slusher received a first-place award in Editorial Writing and Senior Staff Photographer John Starks earned a first-place honor in Sports Action Photography for a photo of high jump from a high school track meet in Cary Grove.
Those awards were one of two Slusher and Starks each received in the contest.
Slusher also won a third-place award in column writing for the "Letter to Readers" column he writes on Thursdays' Opinion page.
And Starks also won a third-place award in Spot News Photography for a photo of a fire fighter forced back from a fire at a Prospect Heights apartment complex.
In addition, the Daily Herald received two awards for its sports coverage: a second-place award for Blackhawks expert John Dietz in Sports Breaking News for his reporting on the dismissal of coach Joel Quenneville, and a third-place award for White Sox expert Scot Gregor in Sports Breaking News for his reporting on the brain hemorrhage that threatened the life of pitcher Danny Farquhar.
The Daily Herald competed in the large-circulation category of the contest, which reviewed newspaper coverage from 2018.
Editor John Lampinen accepted the awards at the IAPME's annual banquet Thursday night at the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel in Springfield.
"I'm proud as always of the recognition our staff has earned," Lampinen said, "but prouder still of the commitment our staff has to serving our readers."
In addition, the Daily Herald's downstate sister publications with the Southern Illinois LOCAL Media Group won five awards in the small-circulation category:
Reporter Holly Kee and Managing Editor John Homan of the Marion Republican won a first-place award for Breaking News coverage.
Second-place awards went to Kee for Feature writing; Justin Walker, former sports editor for the Republican, for Sports Breaking News; and Michael Dann, sports editor for the Harrisburg Register, for Sports Action Photography.
Travis DeNeal, reporter for the Harrisburg Register, won a third-place award for Breaking News coverage.