Sunday, Sept. 19, 2004 | 8:15 a.m.
The Las Vegas Sun won eight first-place awards in the Nevada Press Association's annual journalism contest and swept the awards among its peers for breaking news coverage.
Sun editorial page editor Michael Campbell won the sweepstakes award for Editorial of the Year among all of the state's newspapers for an editorial he wrote for the Sun's sister publication, In Business Las Vegas.
Overall the Sun won 27 awards among the state's daily newspapers: eight for first place, seven seconds, five thirds and seven honorable mentions.
In Business Las Vegas won 15 awards among midsize weeklies: seven first place prizes, three seconds, four thirds and one honorable mention.
The late Mike O'Callaghan, Sun executive editor and former governor, won first place among midsize weeklies for columns he wrote for the Henderson Home News.
The Sun's first place awards Saturday were for spot news, business coverage, business news story, sports column, entertainment writing, spot news photo, feature photo and headline writing.
In Business Las Vegas won seven first places -- for Editorial of the Year, business coverage, business news story, editorial writing, overall design, page one design and page designer.
The Sun also took second place in general excellence among the state's dailies, with the judges praising the Sun as having "the state's most thorough local report and its best editorial pages. There is a strong photo report and excellent space for thorough coverage of a vibrant community."
In Business Las Vegas placed third in general excellence among its peers.
The Sun staff's coverage of the federal indictments of County Commissioner Mary Kincaid-Chauncey and former commissioners Lance Malone and Dario Herrera was judged the best spot news coverage for the past year.
"When I finished the package, all my questions were answered, and the event was put in context," the judge wrote. "I knew something major had happened and that the Sun was on top of it. Thorough, interesting, well-written."
The flash flooding of Aug. 19, 2003, brought the Sun its second place in spot news, with the judge noting, "This newspaper staff was everywhere on this key date in LV weather history. The stories -- solid, interesting and to the point -- hit the important (damage, rescuers, tourism) to the fun (gawkers, kids, etc.)."
Reporter Jen Lawson, with reporting from Jace Radke, Christina Littlefield and Mary Manning, won third place in spot news for her story on the arrest of Ohio sniper suspect Charles McCoy. "The rich detail kept this compelling national story moving," the judge wrote.
The judges also had praise for Campbell's Editorial of the Year about advertising on the Las Vegas Monorail trains, written for In Business Las Vegas.
"This is a nicely crafted editorial, starting with some general observations in support of advertising in mass transit systems, then gently leading the reader into a case where the practice has been badly abused," the judges said. "It doesn't tell the reader he should be outraged, it allows the outrage to come from the reader."
In Business Las Vegas also won best business coverage with "lots of breaking news with a hard edge," according to the judges. "Coverage top-notch."
In Business Las Vegas reporter Kevin Rademacher won first place for the best business news story among midsize weeklies with his coverage of an investigation into fraud allegations against PurchasePro.com software company.
In awarding In Business Las Vegas third place in general excellence, the judges noted the newspaper's clean look, good photos and strong headlines. "A sharp-looking, professional product with advertising that complemented the content," the judges said.
Awards won by the two newspapers:
Las Vegas Sun
-- General excellence: Second place.
-- Community service: Third place for coverage of the Economic Opportunity Board by Timothy Pratt; honorable mention for "Children Left Behind" by Steve Kanigher.
-- Spot news: Staff, first place; staff, second place; Jen Lawson and others, third place.
-- Business coverage: First place, with judges noting, "Excellent local reporting. Nice layout and exceptional use of inside pages."
-- Business news story: First place tie for Richard Velotta's "Planet Hollywood seen as weak link for Aladdin" and Michelle Swafford's story on an American Medical Association report on medical malpractice; third place for Kevin Rademacher's "Nevada Power news bad for everyone"; honorable mention, Jeff Simpson for coverage of a promotional contest's rigging at the Venetian.
Judges said of Velotta's story, "Rich reporting, very detailed. ... The Sun's business section and its writing are top notch!"
Of Swafford's story they said, "Great reporting! Nice to see objective reporting and healthy skepticism of an AMA report."
-- Business feature story: Honorable mention, Steve Kanigher for a story about the quality of jobs in the state.
-- Explanatory journalism: Third place, Kanigher for a story on how police deal with the mentally ill; honorable mention, Lawson for a story on the Nevada Highway Patrol's workforce.
-- Sports feature story: Second place, Brian Hilderbrand for "Takin' it off the streets," on street racing at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
-- Sports column: First place, Ron Kantowski; honorable mention, Dean Juipe. "He weaves an engaging story," judges said of Kantowski, "sets a live scene and tells a poignant tale. He hits the right emotions at every turn while drawing you in so you stay until the end."
-- Entertainment writing: First place, Jerry Fink; second place, Spencer Patterson. Judges called Fink's work, "Entertainment writing that is beyond celebrities and cute phrases. Fink creates stories of depth and substance that give the reader a sense of place."
-- Editorial page: Second place.
-- Spot news photo: First place, R. Marsh Starks for photos of the August 2003 flood.
-- General news photo: Third place, Sam Morris for a photo of a police dog's funeral; honorable mention, Matthew Minard for a race track photo.
-- Feature photo: First place: Ethan Miller.
-- Multiple feature photos: Honorable mention, Minard and Miller.
-- Portrait: Second place: Steve Marcus.
-- Headline writing: First place, John Katsilometes; second place, James Barger.
In Business Las Vegas
-- Editorial of the Year: Michael Campbell.
-- Community service: Third place for stories on problem gambling.
-- Business coverage: First place.
-- Business news story: First place, Rademacher; third place, Liz Benston for a story on Las Vegas Hilton time shares.
-- Business feature story: Second place, Benston and Velotta for "Delivering opportunities."
-- Explanatory journalism: Third place, Rademacher for a story on casinos' charitable giving.
-- Local column: Second place, Alana Roberts; third place, Richard Velotta; honorable mention, Jeff Simpson.
-- Editorial writing: First place, Michael Campbell.
-- Overall design: First place.
-- Page One design: First place.
-- Page designer: First place, Sal DeFilippo.
-- Portrait: Second place: Steve Marcus.
archive
