PHILADELPHIA – The Illinois statehouse press corps and Stateline.org were among the big winners Saturday night (Aug. 4) during an awards ceremony honoring the nation’s best statehouse journalism.
The awards – announced during the eighth annual meeting of Capitolbeat, a nationwide association of reporters and editors who cover state government – acknowledged excellence in newspaper, magazine, online, radio and television journalism focusing on state politics and policy.
News outlets from Illinois took home a combined 10 awards across seven categories, led by Illinois Issues magazine (four awards) and The State Journal-Register (three awards), both based in Springfield .
Reporters from the Chicago Tribune, WUIS/Illinois Public Radio and the Springfield bureau of The Associated Press rounded out the honors for the Illinois state press corps. Each organization picked up one award.
Stateline.org , meanwhile, fared better than any other single news organization in the awards ceremony, claiming seven total honors across four categories in online journalism.
Bruce Rushton, a staff writer with The State Journal-Register, won the prestigious John Aubuchon Freedom of Information Award for his six-part series exploring open-government laws in Illinois .
Barbara Peterson of the First Amendment Foundation of Florida, who judged Rushton’s stories, praised The State Journal-Register for giving the series prominence.
“The competition was fierce, but The State Journal-Register did something that I’ve not seen another newspaper do: It made access to government information a front-page story, above the fold, every day for an entire week,” Peterson said in her critique of the series.
Bethany Carson of Illinois Issues won three awards, including first-place honors for online beat reporting, which she shared with colleague Deanese Williams-Harris. Charles N. Wheeler III captured another first place for Illinois Issues for magazine commentary.
Amanda Vinicky of WUIS/Illinois Public Radio won first place for in-depth radio reporting.
Daniel C. Vock, a staff writer with Stateline.org , took home three awards, including first-place honors in the category of best single online report for his story ” Quick cancer mandate raises health concerns.”
Pamela M. Prah and Pauline Vu of Stateline.org each received a pair of second-place honors. Prah was acknowledged for online beat reporting and in-depth online reporting for her story ” 2006 is year of surpluses, social issues“; Vu was honored for best online commentary (shared with Vock) and best single online report for her story ” Lake Wobegon, U.S.A. – where all the children are above average.”
Christine Vestal of Stateline.org was awarded third-place honors for in-depth online reporting for her story ” States probe limits of abortion policy.”
The Northest News Network won four awards for radio reporting. Olympia , Wash. , correspondent Austin Jenkins took home first-place honors for best radio beat reporting and best single radio report, and won second place for in-depth radio reporting along with Salem. , Ore. , reporter Chris Lehman. Lehman also took third place for best single radio report.
Capitolbeat was founded in 1999 and has 250 members.
All Capitolbeat 2007 awards:
John Aubuchon Freedom of Information Award
Bruce Rushton, The State Journal-Register, Springfield , Ill. : ” Request Denied ”
Commentary, wire services and newspapers with more than 75,000 circulation
- First place: Sheryl Harris, The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio
- Second place: John Brummett, Arkansas News Bureau, Little Rock , Ark.
- Third place: Doug Lyons, The Sun-Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale , Fla.
Commentary, newspapers with less than 75,000 circulation and weeklies
- First place: Jonathan Rivoli, The Bismarck Tribune, Bismarck , N.D.
- Second place: Louis Jacobson, Roll Call, Washington , D.C.
- Third place: Bernard Schoenburg, The State Journal-Register, Springfield , Ill.
Commentary, magazines
- First place: Charles N. Wheeler III, Illinois Issues, Springfield , Ill.
- Second place: Bethany Carson, Illinois Issues, Springfield , Ill.
Commentary, television, markets 1 to 50
None
Commentary, television, markets 51 to 210
First place: Joan Cartan-Hansen, Idaho Public Television, ” Dialogue “
Commentary, radio
None
Commentary, online
- First place: Leslie Robinson, Colorado Confidential, Denver , Colo.
- Second place: Daniel C. Vock and Pauline Vu, Stateline.org , Washington , D.C.
- Third place: Derek N. Wallbank, Lansing State Journal, Lansing , Mich.
In-depth reporting, wire services and newspapers with more than 75,000 circulation
- First place: Megan O’Matz and John Maines, The Sun-Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale , Fla. , ” License to carry “
- Second place: Michelle Breidenbach and Mike McAndrew, The Post-Standard, Syracuse , N.Y. , ” New York’s Empire Zone “
- Third place: Emily Ramshaw, Doug Swanson, Holly Becka and Amy Rosen, The Dallas Morning News, Dallas, Texas, ” Texas Youth Commission “
- Honorable mention: Brad Bumsted, Andrew Conte and Debra Erdley, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Pittsburgh, Pa., “Gambling with time”
- Honorable mention: Bob Paynter, Mark Rollenhagen and Diane Suchetka, The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio, ” Medicaid “
In-depth reporting, newspapers with less than 75,000 circulation and weeklies
- First place: Megan Poinski, Tim Fields, Lynn Freehill, Joe Tsidulko, Aesha Duval, Joy Blackburn, Christine Lett, Ian Morrison, The Virgin Islands Daily News, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, “The Turnbull Era: 1999-2006; Eight years at Government House”
- Second place: James Sinks, The Bulletin, Bend , Ore. , “Changing Oregon: Our shifting political landscape”
- Third place: Dean Olsen, The State Journal-Register, Springfield , Ill. , “All Kids Prognosis”
In-depth reporting, magazines
None
In-depth reporting, television, markets 1 to 50
First place: John Daley, KSL-TV, Salt Lake City, Utah, ” Follow the money ”
In-depth reporting, television, markets 51 to 210
None
In-depth reporting, radio
- First place: Amanda Vinicky, WUIS/Illinois Public Radio, “Electric rate shock”
- Second place: Austin Jenkins and Chris Lehman, Northwest News Network, “Gay rights in the statehouse”
- Third place: Emily Kopp, Georgia Public Broadcasting, “Peachcare Finances ”
In-depth reporting, online
- First place: Staff, The Center for Public Integrity, Washington , D.C. , ” Statehouse revolvers “
- Second place: Pamela M. Prah, Stateline.org, Washington , D.C. , ” 2006 is year of surpluses, social issues “
- Third place: Christine Vestal, Stateline.org, Washington , D.C. , ” States probe limits of abortion policy ”
Single report, wire services and newspapers with more than 75,000 circulation
- First place: Andy Furillo, The Sacramento Bee , Sacramento , Calif. , “Prisons’ legal strain”
- Second place: Robert Tanner, The Associated Press, “Arson on Trial”
- Third place: Ted Wendling and T.C. Brown, The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio , “Gas tax”
- Honorable mention: David Lieb, The Associated Press, “Forgotten roads”
Single report, newspapers with less than 75,000 circulation and weeklies
- First place: Ben Jones, The Post-Crescent/Green Bay Press-Gazette, Appleton , Wis. , “Tickets in bounds, candidates say”
- Second place: Ryan Mahoney, Atlanta Business Chronicle, Atlanta , Ga. , “Red state laboratory”
- Third place: Jessica Vanderkolk, Altoona Mirror, Altoona , Pa. , “Sense of finality”
Single report, magazines
- First place: Nate Blakeslee, The Texas Observer, Austin , Texas , ” Hidden in Plain Sight “
- Second place: Gabrielle Gurley, CommonWealth, Boston , Mass. , “Taking off”
- Third place: Bethany Carson, Illinois Issues, Springfield , Ill. , ” Small panel, major players “
Single report, television, markets 1 to 50
None
Single report, television, markets 51 to 210
- First place: Bill McAllister, KTUU, Anchorage , Alaska , “Murkowski profile”
- Second place: Loretta Boniti, WVIR, Charlottesville , Va. , “Political outlook: Virginia Assembly”
Single report, radio
- First place: Austin Jenkins, Northwest News Network, Olympia , Wash. , “War Protest”
- Second place: Bill Cohen, Ohio Public Radio, Columbus , Ohio , “Anti-climax as strip club bill becomes law”
- Third place: Chris Lehman, Northwest News Network, Salem , Ore. , “Bicyclists seek three-foot buffer”
Single report, online
- First place: Daniel C. Vock, Stateline.org , Washington , D.C. , ” Quick cancer mandate raises health concerns “
- Second place: Pauline Vu, Stateline.org , Washington , D.C. , ” Lake Wobegon, U.S.A. – where all the children are above average “
- Third place: Jason Bane, Colorado Confidential, Denver , Colo. , ” Trailhead to nowhere “
Beat reporting, wire services and newspapers with more than 75,000 circulation
- First place: Don Thompson, The Associated Press, Sacramento , Calif.
- Second place: Susan Livio, The Star-Ledger, Newark , N.J.
- Third place: Brett Blackledge, The Birmingham News, Birmingham , Ala.
- Honorable mention: Ray Long, John Chase, Rick Pearson, David Kidwell, Jeff Coen and David Jackson, Chicago Tribune, Chicago , Ill.
- Honorable mention: John O’Connor, The Associated Press, Springfield , Ill.
Beat reporting, newspapers with less than 75,000 circulation and weeklies
- First place: Scott Rothschild, Lawrence Journal-World, Topeka , Kan.
- Second place: Megan Poinski, The Virgin Islands Daily News, St. Thomas , Virgin Islands
- Third place: Jonathan Rivoli, The Bismarck Tribune, Bismarck , N.D.
Beat reporting, magazines
None
Beat reporting, television, markets 1 to 50
First place: Robert Kittle, WSPA-TV, Greenville , S.C.
Beat reporting, television, markets 51 to 210
- First place: Loretta Boniti, WVIR, Charlottesville , Va.
- Second place: Bill McAllister, KTUU, Anchorage , Alaska
Beat reporting, radio
- First place: Austin Jenkins, Northwest News Network, Olympia , Wash.
- Second place: Bente Birkeland, Rocky Mountain Radio, Denver , Colo.
- Third place: Bill Cohen, Ohio Public Radio, Columbus , Ohio
Beat reporting, online
- First place: Bethany Carson and Deanese Williams-Harris , Illinois Issues, Springfield , Ill.
- Second place: Pamela M. Prah, Stateline.org, Washington , D.C.
- Third place: Daniel C. Vock, Stateline.org, Washington , D.C.
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