The Best Of Issue Awards - May 4, 2009 issue

Another great issue. I can't wait to see what next year will bring.

Best News Piece-
"Bill could allow handguns in school" by Chris Smith. By going down to the Capitol, listening to and reporting the testimony about the bill, and interviewing someone with a deep personal connection to the story (John Woods), Chris has illustrated the power of true reporting. He could have easily surfed the internet for information, watched some of the testimony over the video feed and made a few phone calls and written a good piece. By going down there, he was able to write a great piece. Chris also did a good job of incorporating the ACC angle with the Bacak quote. This piece is balanced, informative, and (most importantly) complete. The writing is strong. The reporting is exceptional.

Best Feature Piece-
"Sixth Street violence ends with fatal blow" by Teodora Erbes. I consider this a news feature. Although it is about recent events (news), the focus of the story is on the people involved and their story (feature). This is Tea's first attempt at writing a full piece, and she did a great job! The interviews with the family and others involved in this story are amazing. It is well written, informative, and has emotional impact. I am also very impressed with the angle that Teodora chose. While the city and national print and broadcast press have covered this, they have focused mainly on the sperm extraction angle. The Accent is providing an important service to the readers and our community by focusing on on the fact that the killer is still not captures, and by giving the mother a chance to really tell the the the story of who Nikolas was. This story respects the members of our community. This is what a community paper should do.

Best News Photo -
APD on Sixth Street by Kevin Forester. This photo gives the viewer a good sense of place, and the police in the foreground really help to illustrate the increased presence on Sixth. The lighting and composition of this shot were tricky. Kevin did a great job of making it work when he was given this late assignment. 90% of photojournalism is being there. Kevin went there.


Best Feature Photo -
Aikido shot (See slide 3 in the slide show) by Teodora Erbes. This is an excellent example of having the eye to know when and what to shoot and having the technical skills to shoot it well. Capturing the sensei's face and freezing the mid-air fall is no simple task. This is a great moment frozen with a high shutter speed which leads to a great action shot.

Best Illustration-
Editorial Cartoon by Karen Kuhn - Creepy baby! This (as always) well drawn cartoon is exactly the type of easily decoded "in your face" expression of an opinion that has real impact on viewers.

Best Column -
"-30- Column" - In her final column, Jamie hit the mark perfectly. This is a great example of taking a personal experience, analyzing it in order extract lessons, mixing it with humor, facts, and a distinct writer's voice and creating a final product that enjoyable to read, thought provoking, and profoundly human. It also doesn't hurt that she says nice things about me and the paper. -30-


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