I’m sure you are all anxiously awaiting results of the 2011 SPJ Northwest Excellence in Journalism contest. We have about 85% of the entries judged, but are still waiting on a number of categories. We will begin making contest notifications this week, starting with the broadcast categories. We will make notifications throughout the week and into next week, if necessary. Daily Newspapers, all three circulation sizes, will be the last to receive the notifications because that group has the largest number of categories waiting to be judged.

Please note that we will notify media organizations and entrants that they have won a 1st, 2nd or 3rd place award. However, we will not specify which award or category. You’ll have to wait until May 19 to receive the complete list of winners.

The Western Washington and Greater Oregon Pro Chapters will host banquets on the night of Sat., May 19 where all winners will be announced. Those chapters will hand out trophies and certificates to those within their chapter. For more information about those banquets, please contact the appropriate chapter. For additional information about the awards within your chapter, please contact your chapter representative:

- Farthest North (Alaska):  Marmian Grimes
- Oregon and SW Washington:  Laurent Bonczijk or Nigel Duara
- W. Washington:  Clay Holtzman
- William O. Douglas (E. Washington, including Tri-Cities):  Paula Horton
- Inland Northwest (greater Spokane area):  Mark Peterson or Pia Hallenberg
- Snake River (Idaho):  Becky Tallent
- Montana: Ian Marquand

For other questions, please contact Ruth Pettis, contest administrator, or Dana Neuts, regional director.

From Montana Pro Chapter President Ian Marquand:

The next gathering will be:

Thursday, May 10, starting at 6:00 p.m.
Downstairs at the Brewhouse (the one on Highway 12 between Benton and Last Chance Gulch across from Carroll)

If you haven’t visited the new Downstairs at the Brewhouse, you’re in for a treat. It’s a very pleasant space with wine and beer available, and it has a meeting room that’s more like a living room with very comfy furniture. I’ve reserved that room for the 10th. I’ve got a couple of things to share with you regarding SPJ, and I may even bring a special guest with me. More on that later.

Hope to see you there!

- Ian

The death penalty is the most extreme action a state may undertake. All of the steps required in carrying out that penalty are subject to legal review and have been, in fact, at the heart of legal battles over the penalty’s Constitutionality in state after state. The press serves as a monitor – a watchdog – on government’s actions on behalf of Idaho’s citizens who have an undeniable right to know that the death penalty is being administered properly, in conformance to law and Constitutional requirements. Idaho’s press does not seek access for its own ends, but rather to serve the interests of citizens.

- Snake River Pro Chapter, SPJ

Did you attend the 2012 SPJ Region 10 Spring Conference at PLU in Tacoma last weekend? If so, tell us what you thought.

Take Survey Now

Yes, you read that correctly! We are already planning next year’s spring conference. The 2013 conference will be held in early to mid April in Spokane. Have ideas for programs? Venue or sponsor suggestions? Other recommendations? Contact Pia Hallenberg, The Spokesman Review, of the Inland Northwest Chapter or Dana Neuts, regional director.

The staff at PLU reports a few items were found over the weekend. They may belong to participants in last weekend’s SPJ Spring Conference. Lost items:

• Cell phone (black Samsung)
• Rain Jacket (light green, Pac Tech, Ladies Medium)
• Sun filter for a camera

PLU will hang onto the items until Fri., April 13, 2012. Contact Kelley Kohlwes at PLU to claim your items.

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Northwest Chapter, is hosting its 25th anniversary Emmy Nomination Party and Battle of the Bands on Friday, April 20 at Hard Rock Cafe in Seattle. Visit www.natasnw.org to buy tickets or call 206-575-3444. Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door.

In addition to nominations, NATAS NW will host a Scholarship Auction to raise money for the NATAS NW and Tricia Moen scholarship funds.

Friday, April 20
Hard Rock Cafe
116 Pike St.
Seattle, WA  98101
5:30 – 11:15 p.m.

Members of the SPJ Student Chapter at Pacific Lutheran University recreated the Working Press for this weekend’s SPJ conference. Inviting students from around the region to participate, the Working Press site includes session recaps, speaker handouts, photos, an agenda, list of Mark of  Excellence Award winners and more. If you missed the conference, or if you attended and want to see more on sessions you missed, check it out. It is a great site with lots of useful information.

Well done, PLU!

NATAS Northwest is offering three $2,500 scholarships this year to broadcast journalism students studying the field of television. The deadline to apply is April 13, 2012 so apply now!

Visit NATAS NW’s Scholarship Page for more info.

Congratulations to all of the Region 10 winners in this year’s Mark of Excellence (MOE) Awards! Region 10 had more than 300 entries. This year’s winners were honored at an awards luncheon held Sat., March 31 at Pacific Lutheran University. Emceed by PLU student Jack Sorensen, the awards ceremony included a keynote speech by independent video journalist Josh Wolf and the awards presentation by Ian Marquand, Montana Pro Chapter President, and SPJ President John Ensslin. Congratulations to all of our talented students!

SPJ Region 10 includes Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. This year, the contest received more than 4,000 entries across SPJ’s 12 regions. First-place regional winners will advance to the national round of judging. National winners will be announced in late April.

The winners are listed below. For additional information on the Mark of Excellence awards, please contact Awards Coordinator Lauren Rochester at lrochester@spj.org.

REGION 10 WINNERS

Four-year colleges

Breaking News Photography
• First Place: Gunshot – by Nick Gast, University of Montana
• Second Place: Fire destroys waterfront homes on Swinomish land – by Benjamin Woodard, Western Washington University
• Third Place: Fighting back – by Nichole Williamson, Central Washington University

Feature Photography
• First Place: Cosmopolitan cowboy – by Jordan Stead, Western Washington University
• Second Place: Parkour: the world is a playground – by Erin Nash, Western Washington University
• Third Place: Acid tide – by Lauren Owens, Western Washington University

General News Photography
• First Place: Take Back the Night – by Theodore Charles, Pacific Lutheran University
• Second Place: New pledges jump into brotherhood – by Vinay Bikkina, Oregon State University
• Third Place: After air combat, a few precious weeks home – by Benjamin Woodard, Western Washington University

Photo Illustration
• First Place: Smashing good time – by Jordan Stead, Western Washington University
• Second Place: Strategic sleuth – by Jordan Stead, Western Washington University
• Third Place: Journey to the center – by Jordan Stead, Western Washington University

Sports Photography
• First Place: Northwest Collegiate Climbing Challenge – by Jordan Stead, Western Washington University
• Second Place: Ski to Sea kayak finish – by Jordan Stead, Western Washington University
• Third Place: Home ‘sweet’ home – by Zack Berlat, Gonzaga University

Best Student Magazine
• First Place: The Planet, Western Washington University
• Second Place: Ethos, University of Oregon
• Third Place: No award*

Non-Fiction Magazine Article
• First Place: Stuck in dignity – by Deborah Bloom, University of Oregon
• Second Place: Beyond the high: A fight against disease, stigma and jail – by Benjamin Woodard, Western Washington University
• Third Place: HIV+ – by Cody Newton, University of Oregon

Best All-Around Daily Student Newspaper
• First Place: The Daily Barometer, Oregon State University
• Second Place: The Daily Evergreen, Washington State University
• Third Place: No award*

Best All-Around Non-Daily Student Newspaper
• First Place: The Western Front, Western Washington University
• Second Place: The Whitworthian, Whitworth University
• Third Place: The Falcon, Seattle Pacific University

Breaking News Reporting
• First Place: President Hopoi impeached – by Kristin Pugmire, Oregon State University
• Second Place: Western student leaves Egypt amidst protests – by Brianna Gibbs, Western Washington University
• Third Place: Files expose new details on UI murder – by Rochelle Adams, Kaitlin Gillespie, Stephanie Schendel and Anna Marum, Washington State University

Editorial Writing
• First Place: Caitlin Yilek, University of Portland
• Second Place: Al Jacobs, University of Washington Seattle
• Third Place: No award*

Feature Writing
• First Place: The girl I killed – by Billie Loewen, University of Montana
• Second Place: Failure & fortune on the frontier – by Lily Rabil, University of Montana
• Third Place: Student airman uses Skype to attend class – by Heather Bryant, University of Alaska Fairbanks

General Column Writing
• First Place: John Gats and Tony DiTommaso, Gonzaga University
• Second Place: Dylan Hoff, Washington State University
• Third Place: Gavin Mathis, Washington State University

General News Reporting
• First Place: Ride along with the party bus – by Caleb Hutton and Colin Diltz, Western Washington University
• Second Place: Death with Dignity Act may face amendment – by Evan Marczynski, Western Washington University
• Third Place: Haven – by Melissa Steffan, Seattle Pacific University

In-Depth Reporting
• First Place: Pipeline safety vs. property rights – by Benjamin Woodard, Western Washington University
• Second Place: Pride and poison – by Heidi Groover, University of Montana
• Third Place: Students struggle with tuition hikes – by Rochelle Adams and Scott Shigeoka, Washington State University

Sports Column Writing
• First Place: Jesse Severson, Oregon State University
• Second Place: Grady Garrett, Oregon State University
• Third Place: Ryan Burnett, Brett Gleason and Adam Lewis, Washington State University

Sports Writing
• First Place: Please stand and remove your hats… – by Matt Snyder, Gonzaga University
• Second Place: Born to play – by Grady Garrett, Oregon State University
• Third Place: Sports struggle for equality and balance – by Matthew Carstens, Central Washington University

Best Affiliated Web Site
• First Place: The Argonaut (www.uiargonaut.com), University of Idaho
• Second Place: The Sun Star (www.uafsunstar.com), University of Alaska Fairbanks
• Third Place: No award*

Best Independent Online Student Publication
• First Place: Native land, natural resources, University of Montana
• Second Place: No award*
• Third Place: No award*

Online Feature Reporting
• First Place: Undammed: the Elwha River story – by Lauren Owens and Heather Shupe, Western Washington University
• Second Place: WSU student recalls the horrors of Libyan prison – by Kirsty Whitmore, Washington State University
• Third Place: Life really begins in the Geneva underground – by Jack Sorensen, Pacific Lutheran University

Online In-Depth Reporting
• First Place: In rural Northwest, the high cost of war – by Hannah Van Ree and Justin Runquist, Washington State University
• Second Place: Havoc in the herd: Extended coverage – by Kelsey Gobroski, University of Alaska Fairbanks
• Third Place: The Mast staff responds to publication of profanity imbroglio – by The Mooring Mast Staff, Pacific Lutheran University

Online News Reporting
• First Place: Libyan conflict threatens aid for graduate students – by Kirsty Whitmore, Washington State University
• Second Place: Universities struggle with federal crime reporting – by Scott Shigeoka and Rachel Webber, Washington State University
• Third Place: Undammed: the Elwha River story – by Heather Shupe and Lauren Owens, Washington State University

Online Sports Reporting
• First Place: Heading taking a lot of blame as concussions increase in soccer – by Byron Edelman, Washington State University
• Second Place: Social media monitoring of athletes on the rise – by Ryan Burnett, Washington State University
• Third Place: Dodgeball ducks, dips and dives at PLU – by Judah Heimlich, Pacific Lutheran University

Radio Feature Reporting
• First Place: Inner musings – by Adrienne Ellsworth, University of Montana
• Second Place: Mother of mercy – by Bethany Jo Denton, Western Washington University
• Third Place: Placentophagy – by Jeff Emtman, Western Washington University

Radio In-depth Reporting
• First Place: Profiles in diversity – by Adrienne Ellsworth, Clark Hodges and Steele Williams, University of Montana
• Second Place: Bellingham Boo’s – by Bethany Jo Denton, Western Washington University
• Third Place: No award*

Television Feature Reporting
• First Place: A tough transition – by Katherine Kettering and Dizhi Gi, University of Montana
• Second Place: Undie run – by Emily Foster and Matt DeBray, University of Montana
• Third Place: Horse treadmill – by Abby Acone and Christina Jones, Washington State University

Television In-depth Reporting
• First Place: Overexposed: The cost of compassion – by Elizabeth Herzfeldt-Kamprath, Katie Scaff and Hailey Rile, Pacific Lutheran University
• Second Place: Connecting the (406) – by University of Montana Documentary Unit, University of Montana
• Third Place: No award*

Television General News Reporting
• First Place: One long route – by Gillette Vaira, University of Montana
• Second Place: Pine beetle – by Scott Ranf and Faith Cronin, University of Montana
• Third Place: Coal trains – by Scott Ranf and Stephanie Hanson, University of Montana

Television Breaking News Reporting
• First Place: Bicycle-bus accident – by Abby Acone and Gabrielle Lewis, Washington State University
• Second Place: No award*
• Third Place: No award*

Television Feature Photography
• First Place: Pumpkins fly through the air at Punkin’ Chunkin’ Contest – by Bernie Riggs and Emily Foster, University of Montana
• Second Place: Horse treadmill – by Abby Acone and Christina Jones, Washington State University
• Third Place: Big Sky Brain Project – by Emily Foster and Brad Peers, University of Montana

Television News Photography
• First Place: UM Grad Student brings lasting global connection to Missoula – by Bernie Riggs and Annemiek Wilson, University of Montana
• Second Place: No award*
• Third Place: No award*

Television Sports Photography
• First Place: 2nd Annual Treasure State Shred Fest – by Maegan Simmons, University of Montana
• Second Place: Belegarth Medieval Combat – by Bernie Riggs, University of Montana
• Third Place: UM soccer – by Brad Peers and Emily Foster, University of Montana

Two-year and community colleges

Best All-Around Non-Daily Student Newspaper
• First Place: The Sentinel, North Idaho College
• Second Place: The Broadside, Central Oregon Community College
• Third Place: The Communicator, Spokane Falls Community College

Editorial Writing
• First Place: Noura Alfadl-Andreasson, North Idaho College
• Second Place: No award*
• Third Place: No award*

Feature Photography
• First Place: Parkour – by Catherine Mullaney, North Idaho College
• Second Place: Faust photos – by Nick Jacquot, North Idaho College
• Third Place: No award*

Feature Writing
• First Place: Learning lessons through heritage – by Kaye Thornbrugh, North Idaho College
• Second Place: Veteran’s Day: Alan Moorhouse profile – by Alyssa Wilder, Central Oregon Community College
• Third Place: Time to sing a new song – by Viola Ware, Peninsula College

General News Photography
• First Place: Occupy Spokane – by Gabe Green, North Idaho College
• Second Place: No award*
• Third Place: No award*

Breaking News Reporting
• First Place: Hoops heaven! – by Ryan Hueter, Peninsula College
• Second Place: ASCOCC potentially shut down – by Tobey Veenstra, Central Oregon Community College
• Third Place: No award*

Editorial Cartooning
• First Place: Tobey Veenstra, Central Oregon Community College
• Second Place: Shane Wellner, North Idaho College
• Third Place: No award*

General News Reporting
• First Place: Idaho gun bill articles – by Tala Wood, North Idaho College
• Second Place: Students experience poverty – by Connor DeVries, North Idaho College
• Third Place: Peabody-Award winner speaks at NIC – by Joyce Hargrove and Kaye Thornbrugh, North Idaho College

In-Depth Reporting
• First Place: $27,000: Is It a fair use of your student fees? – by Tobey Veenstra, Central Oregon Community College
• Second Place: Elwha articles – by Jameson Hawn and Ryan Hueter, Peninsula College
• Third Place: Campus security – by Kirsteen Wolf, Central Oregon Community College

Sports Photography
• First Place: Rail jam wipeout – by Derek Oldham, Central Oregon Community College
• Second Place: Wrestling flip – by Ethan Schlussler, North Idaho College
• Third Place: No award*

Sports Writing
• First Place: Sigmar Field unveiled – by Ryan Hueter, Peninsula College
• Second Place: Cheer squad wins national title – by Eric Rivera, North Idaho College
• Third Place: The NBA lockout and a case for a return to Seattle basketball – by Tim Foss, Jr., Edmonds Community College

* Mark of Excellence Awards honor the best in student journalism. Judges are not required to select first, second or third place winners.