Annual contest/convention
Below is a summary of the 2008 NPA convention and banquet at the CasaBlanca in Mesquite.
Congratulations to Tonia Cunning and Anne Pershing, the newest inductees into the Nevada Newspaper Hall of Fame, and to Supreme Court Justice William Maupin, named a First Amendment Champion by the NPA.
Click here for a list of all BNC winners.
Above is Leila Navidi’s photo of the year, from the funeral of Deshira Selimaj.
Story of the Year: Alexandra Berzon, Las Vegas Sun, “Pace is the new peril”
Community Service, Class 1: Las Vegas Review-Journal, “Public health crisis”
Journalists of Merit:
Cassie Tomlin, Boulder City News; Jonah Kessel, Tahoe Daily Tribune; Kevin MacMillan, North Lake Tahoe Bonanza; Laura Ludwick, View Neighborhood Newspapers; and Michael Mishak, Las Vegas Sun
Outstanding Journalists: Valerie Miller, Las Vegas Business Press, and Marshall Allen, Las Vegas Sun
Editorial cartoon winner: Alex Raffi, Boulder City News
Best Feature photo, Class 1: Chad Lundquist, Nevada Appeal
Best Illustrated Photo, Class 2: “Kirkwood” by Jonah Kessel, Tahoe Daily Tribune
Best Feature Photo, Class 3: “Pahrump Valley Winery” by Cary Edmonson, Henderson Home News
Ad of the year: April Miller, Reno Gazette-Journal
(To see winning ads, click here.)
More than 200 people attended the Nevada Press Association’s annual convention and awards banquet on Sept. 29 at the Siena Hotel and National Automobile Museum in Reno.
For the first time, the NPA gave out its First Amendment Champion awards.
2009 award-winners announced in Winnemucca
Better Newspaper Contest award winners were announced Sept. 19 in Winnemucca at the NPA’s annual convention. At the awards banquet, 135 people heard former state archivist Guy Rocha speak on Nevada’s future.
Some of the top awards:
Annie Flanzraich, North Lake Tahoe Bonanza
“Extremely versatile. Is able to engage the community in a variety of ways. Listens to the readers and can tackle tough issues.”
Molly Ball, Las Vegas Review-Journal
“She is tenacious in her coverage. Her writing encompasses a variety of talents – depth, detail, investigation and fairness. I was drawn in, educated and entertained. Good, solid reporting.”
Alexandra Berzon, Las Vegas Sun
“Influenced, OSHA bends”
“Tough choice here. Quality of research, writing made the difference. Good, thorough coverage without ‘alarmist’ overtones. Great!”
Freedom of the Press – Weeklies
Pahrump Valley Times
“$163 million contract is approved”
“Excellent use of FOI request. Good follow-up in getting important info to your readers. Well done!”
Freedom of the Press – Dailies
The Las Vegas Sun
“OSHA fight”
“All three entries were excellent. The Sun did the best job of explaining why readers should care about open records.”
Editorial or the Year
Glenn Cook, Las Vegas Review-Journal
“A budgetary black hole”
“Great opening graph. Everything to follow flows nicely and appropriately. While I give it the max score of 40 for first two criteria, and want to award 40 for importance, I don’t know how the readers reacted. Good job to writers listed below:”
Editorial Cartoon
1. Mike Smith, Las Vegas Sun
“General motor”
“Laughed out loud – and so true!”
Jesse Dunaway, Las Vegas Review-Journal
“Loose diamond sales event”
“Visually stunning – use of open space draws the eye – detail on bottom third of the ad is impressive. Sophisticated feel to the ad – excellent.”
CLASS 1
Adam M. Trumble, Nevada Appeal
“Adam shows more layout savvy than many of the so-called experts we spend thousands on. Impressed with the easy reading of his pages.”
CLASS 2
Sara Thompson, Tahoe Daily Tribune
CLASS 3
Annie Flanzraich, North Lake Tahoe Bonanza
“Is there anything this reporter doesn’t do? Great news and feature writing. Wonderfully thorough series work. Very easy to read. Well done.”
CLASS 5
Laura Emerson, View Neighborhood Newspapers
“Very solid reporting. Good research and strong, tight writing. Excellent job.”
2008 awards
Guy Rocha, former state archivist, speaks during the convention, while emcee Matt Hufman of the Las Vegas Sun listens.
Watch a video of Rocha accepting his First Amendment Champion award.
Watch a video of Brendan Riley’s induction into the Hall of Fame.