HONOLULU — West Hawaii Today won six awards, including two first-place honors, in the annual journalism contest hosted by the Hawaii chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. West Hawaii Today’s sister paper, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald, took four first place and 10 finalist plaques.
The honors for work done in 2016 were presented at an awards dinner in Honolulu Friday night. The entries were judged by the Louisville, Kentucky, SPJ chapter. Winners were presented with the Hawaii chapter’s signature monkeypod wood engraved plates.
In the category of all media, Nancy Cook Lauer won first place in government reporting for her coverage of a questionable voting process by local Democrats in selecting nominees to fill the late Hilo Rep. Clift Tsuji’s House seat.
“Excellent reporting in uncovering this and writing in a compelling way,” the judges said.
Lauer also took first place in the open category of data journalism story. The judges also praised the layout and photos accompanying the article that looked at rising levels of fecal bacteria at Big Island beaches. The photo was by Laura Ruminski, the layout by Jeff Carter.
“Nancy took a data set over time and made it an easy and relevant read for Hawaii beachgoers while also giving the story a wider context by discussing the decline in testing and the fallout from bacteria scares elsewhere in the country,” the judges said. “The presentation really helped; a photo showing a mom and baby next to a chart of the beach bacteria level. And it was written in a nice narrative style that made people relate to the topic.”
In the open category of news photography/videography, Ruminski was a finalist for “The Shoe,” a portrayal of the aftermath of the death of a little girl struck by a car on a busy highway.
“Accident reports and photographs are always tricky, especially when they involve minors,” the judges said. “Poignant images of the accident that reveal the tragedy and produce sympathy without being overtly graphic.”
Rick Winters was a finalist in the open category sports photography/videography for his prep swimming photo.
“Nicely framed, timed and evocative swimming image,” the judges said. “Always a difficult sport to find a compelling vantage point and view, but Winters has captured it well.”
The open category includes newspapers, television and radio stations, magazines and online news agencies.
In the daily newspaper category of long-form feature writing, Max Dible was a finalist for “The rise of Tulsi.” There were no judges’ comments in this category.
In the daily news category of feature page design, Carter was a finalist for “Entertainment scene.”
“It’s an honor for our entire newsroom to be recognized by our peers for the hard work and dedication the team brings to their craft,” West Hawaii Today Managing Editor Tom Hasslinger said. “We hold the SPJs in the highest regard and will continue to strive to bring compelling, impactful, well-presented stories and images to serve West Hawaii.”
For the Tribune-Herald, Hollyn Johnson took home a first place and a finalist award for two entries in the open photography/videography category.
Her “In the shadows of Hilo,” photos on homelessness took the top award, with judges saying, “Images show an approach to preserving the dignity of the subjects and compassion of the work done by state agencies.”
Johnson’s “peeling away” photo of local banana farmer Richard Ha was a finalist.
“Expert capture of Mr. Ha’s perceived anxiety over closing his banana operation in conjunction with a nicely composed image of the worker draws the reader in,” the judges said.
The Hawaii Tribune-Herald staff was a finalist in the open special section category for “Celebrate hula,” a section on the annual Merrie Monarch festival.
“Takes an event and tells me everything I want to know and puts it in context with a strong design,” judges said.
Former HTH reporter Colin Stewart was a finalist in the open category of public service, considered the top category in the SPJ contest.
“Good, ongoing coverage of a public health issue,” the judges said of Stewart’s work explaining an outbreak of dengue fever.
Tom Callis, working with John Burnett, was a finalist in the open category of breaking news for an article describing the indictment of former Mayor Billy Kenoi.
“Great background on this three-part submission,” the judges said.
In the open category of health reporting, Ivy Ashe was a finalist for her series on concussions.
“Great consumer-friendly story probably read by every parent who picked up the paper to read each part of this well-handled series,” the judges said. “Each segment in the series built upon those before it. Well-rounded package. Kudos to the writers and others who contributed.”
In the daily newspaper category of long-form feature writing, Ashe took first place for “New generation.” Burnett was a finalist for “The king and I.” There were no judges’ comments in this category.
In the daily newspaper category of feature page design, Nathan Christophel took first place for “new thrills.”
“This page has a ton of energy and makes the reader want to jump in and read the story,” judges said.
Christophel also was a finalist for his entry “Feeling blue?”
“This page is clean and well-designed,” judges said.
In addition, Christophel won first place for news page design in the all newspaper category, for his retrospective on the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
“Great photo display on an important anniversary for Hawaii, the country and the world,” the judges said. “Headlines and grid are clean and simple. No tricks needed, no tricks used.”
In the daily newspaper category of general news/enterprise reporting, Burnett was a finalist for “Fired cop accused of sex assault.”
“The extra reporting on this sexual assault case adds essential information that helps readers understand how this assault should have been prevented,” judges said.
In the daily news category of spot news, Callis was a finalist for his story covering Kenoi’s acquittal on theft charges.
“Great analysis on short notice,” the judges said. “Provided plenty of background while capturing the immediate impact of the acquittal.”
In the all newspaper category for business writing, Burnett was a finalist with his entry “Tapped out.”
“Interesting subject matter,” the judges said.