|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The Wake Weekly among state's best newspapers
When the North Carolina Press Association handed out honors in its 2005 News, Editorial and Photojournalism Contest last week, The Wake Weekly captured more awards than ever in its 58-year history.
The paper tallied 13 awards in all, including a second place for General Excellence and five for Sports Editor Tim Candon. The awards were given out Feb. 23 at a ceremony in Research Triangle Park. All of The Wake Weekly's awards were in the association's Community Division for newspapers with a circulation between 3,500-10,000. Entries were judged by journalists in Indiana and Pennsylvania. Awards for General Excellence, the most competitive and highly sought prize, are based on excellence in news coverage, promotion of community interests, graphics and appearance, editorial vigor, use of photographs and advertising enterprise. "Energetic, breezy feel with this newspaper, which takes on the routine and out-of-the ordinary news with equal vigor," said judge Mike Perkins. "Plenty of opinion. This newspaper doesn't miss much of what's happening in its coverage area." Publisher Greg Allen congratulated his entire staff, saying that 13 awards "sets the standard that we look forward to trying to meet again next year. "Tim's five awards were well deserved. He has done an outstanding job of getting beyond just the score of the game and giving our readers a chance to see a more personal side to some local athletes," Allen continued. "I'm excited by all the awards we won, but especially the second place in general excellence. Editor Suzy Rook has done an excellent job guiding a talented editorial staff. Production Manager Al Merritt has done the same with the layout and design team. "General Excellence is the one award that recognizes every single person on the staff because they all made a difference in the final product." Six staff members were honored with awards for their writing and photography, including Candon, the sports editor, who received a quintet of honors. He took home three first-place awards: for Sports News Reporting, Sports Features Writing and Sports Coverage, a category which judges sports sections as a whole. He was also honored for two third-place honors for Sports Feature Writing and Sports Columns. Former Wake Forest-Rolesville High swimmer Amanda Duncan proved to be Candon's good luck charm. His story chronicling her 2005 state championship and another on the heart condition that threatens her health both took first place. A July 2005 story on Jennifer Dyer, a two-sport athlete at WF-R, took third for features. Stephanie Taylor, who judged Sports Columns, said Candon "writes in an engaging, easy-to-read style," and said his trio of submissions were "very enjoyable." Columnist Pete Hendricks, who began writing for this newspaper just a year ago, nabbed first place for Serious Columns. Judge Curt Kovener said Hendricks' Outside the Lines column "kept my interest engaged." Second place in the Feature Writing category went to former Staff Writer Kristina Leighton for her piece Who said money doesn't grow on trees? The article focused on local farmers who grow mushrooms in drilled-out logs. "Quality reporting with good selection of sources. Fluid writing style makes this a quick read," said judge Edith Hughes. Associate Editor Johnny Whitfield, who covers Wake Forest, took third for News Enterprise Reporting for a series of articles surrounding the February shooting of a teenage girl by a Wake Forest police officer trying to apprehend her brother and its aftermath. Whitfield examined not only the incident, which wounded the child, but wrote about the town's handling of the officer's eventual dismissal and other police departments' concerns about the weapon involved. A story exploring safety issues with the Glock .45 caliber handgun captured judge Rosalyn Demaree's eye. "It took the storyline well beyond the story," she wrote. Allen, who has won numerous honors for his photographs, received a second and a third for Feature Photography. A picture capturing a watermelon-seed-spitting contest at Wake Forest's Fourth of July celebration was commended by the judge as was a photo of a young girl mesmerized by saxophonist Freddie Green at last May's Meet in the Street Festival. "Creativity, curiosity and talent," judge Vince Luecke said of the festival pic. Rook was awarded second place in the Lighter Columns category for her column Writer's Block. "You have a way of telling it like it is," said judge Rebecca Zemencik. "The neat thing is you do it with humor." The newspaper staff was also honored in the Use of Photographs category, taking a third.
Last Updated On: March 2, 2006
Copyright 2006 The Wake Weekly