ASNE awards recognize excellence

ASNE has selected seven winners of its annual awards for distinguished writing and photography.

Winners of the 2001 ASNE Awards are:

Steven Erlanger, The New York Times — Jesse Laventhol Prize for Deadline News Reporting by an Individual

The Star-Ledger, Newark, N.J.: a team of 17 journalists — Jesse Laventhol Prize for Deadline News Reporting by a Team

Leonard Pitts, The Miami Herald, commentary/column writing

Stephen Henderson, The Sun, Baltimore, editorial writing

Stephen Magagnini, The Sacramento (Calif.) Bee, diversity writing

Tom Hallman Jr., The Oregonian, Portland, nondeadline writing

John Beale, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, community service photojournalism

The Laventhol prizes each 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. The awards will be made April 6, during the convention in Washington. The winning entries and interviews with the winners and finalists will be published in “Best Newspaper Writing 2001,” by The Poynter Institute for Media Studies, St. Petersburg, Fla.

A look at the winners:

Erlanger won the Laventhol Prize for his stories on a strike at the Kolubara coal mine and subsequent uprisings that signaled the beginning of the end for Slobodan Milosevic. “Steve Erlanger saw the fall of Slobodan Milosevic before the Serbian despot did. His story telling puts the reader there,” the judges said.

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

The Star-Ledger team included: Russell Ben-Ali, Robert Braun, Carol Ann Campbell, Steve Chambers, Kate Coscarelli, Sue Epstein, Robin Gaby Fisher, David Gibson, Rebecca Goldsmith, Kelly Heyboer, Rudy Larini, John Mooney, Mary Jo Patterson, Matt Reilly, Ted Sherman, Guy Sterling and Angela Stewart.

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

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

Magagnini won the diversity writing award for a personal examination of Sacramento’s Hmong community, which has a tortured history and an uncertain future. These are stories of those struggling to 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 future for 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-time winner, 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 youngster who risked everything in a dangerous surgery he hoped would make him look more normal. “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 in this polished and compelling narrative.”

Beale won the inaugural photojournalism award for a collage of stunning images showing the importance and diversity of religious faith in the Pittsburgh area. “The photos demonstrated the 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 recognized the work of other newspaper journalists as finalists:

Jesse Laventhol Prize for Deadline News Reporting by an Individual: Darrin Mortenson, The Virgin Islands Daily News, St. Thomas.

Jesse Laventhol Prize for 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 Photo journalism: Thom Scott, The Times-Picayune, New Orleans; Leigh Daughtridge, The Beacon-News, Aurora, Ill.

Home Page | This issue's table of contents | American Editor | Kiosk