Last Updated: May 20, 1999
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ASNE on the move
ASNE has selected six winners of the 1999 Distinguished Writing Awards
and Jesse Laventhol Prizes:
Bartholomew Sullivan, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn.,
deadline news reporting, individual
The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash., deadline news reporting, team
DeNeen L. Brown, The Washington Post, non-deadline writing
Mirta Ojito, The New York Times, covering the world
Bailey Thomson, Mobile (Ala.) Register, editorial
J. Peder Zane, The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C., commentary
The 1999 ASNE contest attracted nearly 500 entries. The awards will
be made April 16, during the convention in San Francisco. The winning entries
will be published in Best Newspaper Writing 1999 by The Poynter Institute.
They will also be accessible on ASNE’s Web site.
Bartholomew Sullivan’s Laventhol Prize for deadline work by an individual
recognized news accounts of three different events — the conviction of
a Ku Klux Klan wizard for a three-decades-old murder of a black civil rights
worker, the funeral of country star Carl Perkins, and a tornado that hit
northeast Arkansas.
The News Tribune in Tacoma earned its Laventhol Prize for deadline reporting
by a team for a dramatic account of an avalanche that turned a brilliant
day on Mount Rainier into a disaster that took the life of one young mountain
climber.
The non-deadline writing category attracts the largest number of entries
in the ASNE contest. Washington Post staff writer DeNeen L. Brown’s winning
articles were on a variety of topics about life in the nation’s capital,
from spanking children to being falsely charged with murder.
Judges recognized New York Times reporter Mirta Ojito in the covering
the world category for a her first-person stories on what Cuba has become.
This award recognizes work that helps readers understand international
news that affect their communities and lives. Ojito came to the U.S. in
the 1980 Mariel boatlift.
Bailey Thomson, Mobile (Ala.) Register, was awarded for a series of
editorials on the theme of Dixie’s Broken Heart. He focused on Alabama’s
failures in environment, education and other areas in the context of a
gubernatorial election.
The commentary/column writing winner, J. Peder Zane of The News
& Observer, was cited for writing on many topics, including gossip,
the Tutsi genocide in Rwanda and American slavery.
The judges also recognized the work of other newspaper writers as finalists:
Deadline news reporting/individual: Seth Mydans, The New York
Times; Peter St. Onge, The Huntsville (Ala.) Times; Mike Vaccaro,
The Star-Ledger, Newark, N.J.
Deadline news reporting, team: The Boston Globe and The Oregonian,
Portland.
Editorial: Paul Greenberg, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Little
Rock; Howell Raines, The New York Times.
Non-deadline writing: Erin Hoover Barnett, The Oregonian, Portland.
Covering the world: Eric Black, Star Tribune, Minneapolis; Rhea
Wessel, The Anniston (Ala.) Star.
Commentary/column writing: Colbert I. King, The Washington Post;
Peter H. King, The Sacramento (Calif.) Bee; Cynthia A. Tucker,
The Atlanta Constitution.
The Jesse Laventhol Prizes are named in honor of a longtime Philadelphia
newspaperman. They are endowed by his son, David A. Laventhol, consulting
editor for Times Mirror Co., longtime member of ASNE, and member and former
chair of the ASNE Writing Awards Board.
Rena M. Pederson of The Dallas Morning News chaired the 1998-99
ASNE Writing Awards Board. Other ASNE members who participated in the judging
were: Gilbert Bailon, The Dallas Morning News; Joann Byrd,
Seattle Post-Intelligencer; Leonard Downie Jr., The Washington Post;
Robert H. Giles, Media Studies Center, New York; Clark Hoyt,
Knight Ridder; Maxwell E.P. King, The Philadelphia Inquirer; Craig
Klugman, The Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, Ind.; Forrest M. Landon,
retired ASNE member; David A. Laventhol, Times Mirror, New York;
Carolyn Lee, The New York Times; Sandra Mims Rowe,
The Oregonian, Portland; Paul C. Tash, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times;
Gil Thelen, The Tampa (Fla.) Tribune; Cynthia A. Tucker, The
Atlanta Constitution; and Howard A. Tyner, Chicago Tribune.
