A great way to cut down on the cost of obtaining public records is to make your own copy.

In the past, that would have meant bringing in your own portable photocopier or one of those 110 spy cameras like they show in old movies on late-night TV. But today, with high-resolution digital cameras, cellphone cameras and tablet computers, it’s really easy.

So easy that Durango, Colo., wants to outlaw it.

The Durango Herald reports the city is going to vote on an ordinance Tuesday to bar records requesters from taking pictures of the documents they are seeking. City Clerk Amy Philips said the practice is costing the city money, in that the staff takes time to assemble “the records and let people come in and observe the records and tag which ones they want copies of, but we’re finding out now that people are able to come in with a phone and just (photograph) the copies.

“Then we don’t retrieve the money we spent.”

Along with banning photography, the city is planning to charge people $30 an hour for records requests to cover staff time spent filling the request on top of the 25-cent fee for copies.

The Durango City Council will vote on the proposal at the June 17 meeting.

We saw a similar argument in Utah, when that state’s legislature pushed through a bill gutting the state’s Government Records Access and Management Act. One of the changes it proposed was to add overhead costs — employee benefits, building utilities, rent, etc. — to the fees charged for records.

There are a couple problems with calls to “recoup” fees for public documents.

The fees charged for copying usually go well above and beyond the actual costs. When adding the costs of paper, toner and depreciation on the photocopier, the actual cost is about 1.5 cents per copy, which explains how copy centers can charge 7 cents a copy and stay in business.

I’ve personally seen a 911 dispatch center in Utah charge $20 for a recording of an emergency call on a compact disc. Depending on where you shop, a CD can cost about 25 cents a copy, and if Apple can get away with selling songs for 99 cents, a $1.25 would be a reasonable cost.

As far as the employees’ time, filling a records request, especially if it is a request that benefits the public, is just part of their job, which the public is already paying for through their taxes. Essentially, a records requester is being asked to pay twice for the same employee.

High fees can be used as a tool to deny access, especially for people of modest means.

A real-life example of this happened when the Utah Democratic Party sought records and correspondence releated to the Republican-dominated Legislature’s redistricting efforts. The Legislature charged them almost $15,000 for three boxes.

Officials only backed down when media outlets asked for the records.

A records fee could be justified in cases where a business is making the request solely for self-interest. But bureaucrats shouldn’t use public records as a revenue stream.

The Top of the Rockies contest, our unofficial regional contest, were recently announced. Congratulations to those who entered.

CLASSIFICATION D: Circulation Less than 10,000

 

Info Graphic

Third Place: Chad Collins and Molly Armbrister, “Inside the Max,” Northern Colorado Business Report

Second Place: Mike Reid, “Market Snapshot,” Colorado Springs Business Journal

First Place: Mike Reid, “Memorial: the constant topic and blockbuster deal that shaped 2012,” Colorado Springs Business Journal

 

Single Page Design

Third Place: Robert L. Ortiz, “Thunderstorms jump page,” The Southern Ute Drum

Second Place: Chad Collins, “2012 Energy Book,” Northern Colorado Business Report

First Place: Mike Reid, “More retail steps up to fill Tejon vacancies,” Colorado Springs Business Journal

 

Feature Page Design

Second Place: Robert L. Ortiz, “Tribal Fair,” The Southern Ute Drum

First Place: Mike Reid, “People who shaped the year,” Colorado Springs Business Journal

 

Front Page Design

Third Place: Mike Reid, Colorado Springs Business Journal

Second Place: Travis Kelly, Four Corners Free Press

First Place: Travis Kelly, Four Corners Free Press

 

Headline Writing:

First Place: Ace Stryker, “Bluegrass grows in Ignacio sun/Bearly hanging on/Glomerulonephritis,” The Southern Ute Drum

 

Special Section

Second place: Staff, “Discoveries 2012: Universities, Labs and the Economy,” Northern Colorado Business Report

First Place: Rowdy Tompkins, Rob Larimer, “Engage Colorado Springs,” Colorado Business Journal

 

Sports Photography

Third Place: Jeremy Wade Shockley, “Tri-Ute athletes face off in Towaoc,”The Southern Ute Drum

Second Place: Jeremy Wade Shockley, Christopher R. Rizzo, “Youth bull riding finals come to Ignacio,” The Southern Ute Drum

First Place: Jeremy Wade Shockley, “Dancers welcome top cyclists,” The Southern Ute Drum

Feature Photography

Third Place: Christopher R. Rizzo, “Youth workers clock out as summer’s end nears,” The Southern Ute Drum

Second Place: Robert L. Ortiz, “Cabin fever takes hold in Ignacio,” The Southern Ute Drum

First Place: Randy Siner, “Joe Badal,” New Mexico Business Weekly

 

News Photography

Second Place: Jeremy Wade Shockley, “20th Ignacio Bike Week kicks into gear,” The Southern Ute Drum

First Place: Jeremy Wade Shockley, “Hozhoni Days Powwow rocks the Fort,” The Southern Ute Drum

 

Spot News Photography

Third Place: Robert L. Ortiz, “Walking together,” The Southern Ute Drum

Second Place: Jeremy Wade Shockley, “Southern Ute Tribe rings in spring with traditional Bear Dance,” The Southern Ute Drum

First Place: Robert L. Ortiz, “Thunderstorms prompt worries of new fire starts,” The Southern Ute Drum

 

Blog

First Place: John Hazlehurst, Colorado Springs Business Journal

 

Health: Enterprise Reporting

First Place: Amy Gillentine, “Mental Illness: It’s the elephant in our room,” Colorado Springs Business Journal

 

Health: General Reporting

Second Place: Sonja Horoshko, “Living with poison,” Four Corners Free Press

First Place: Amy Gillentine, “Mental health task forces to address gaps in care,” Colorado Springs Business Journal

 

Environment: Enterprise Reporting

First Place: Jim Mimiaga, “Ute tribe challenges uranium-mill license renewal,” Four Corners Free Press

 

Environment: General Reporting

Third Place: Gail Binkly, “A balancing act for Sand Canyon,” Four Corners Free Press

Second Place: Anne Minard, “A bird on the brink,” Four Corners Free Press

First Place: Amanda Miller, “Green building LEEDs way to a sustainable future,” Colorado Springs Business Journal

 

Legal: Enterprise Reporting

Second Place: Amanda Miller, “Burglary? Investors seize houses before they officially own them,” Colorado Springs Business Journal

First Place: Amy Gillentine, “Religious lawsuits fill court dockets,” Colorado Springs Business Journal

 

Legal: General Reporting

Third Place: Ace Stryker, “Fiscal limbo,” The Southern Ute Drum

Second Place: Jim Mimiaga, “Reefer gladness,” Four Corners Free Press

First Place: Gail Binkly, “A taxing situation,” Four Corners Free Press

Politics: Enterprise Reporting

First Place: Ace Stryker, “Mr. Olguin goes to Washington,” The Southern Ute Drum

 

Politics: General Reporting

Second Place: Gail Binkly, “All Republican, all the time,” Four Corners Free Press

First Place: Sonja Horoshko, “A dispute over representation,” Four Corners Free Press

 

Agriculture: Enterprise Reporting

First Place: Amy Gillentine, “Industrial hemp could jump-start economy,” Colorado Springs Business Journal

 

Agriculture: General Reporting

First Place: Anne Minard, “Oil-seed crops take root in the region,” Four Corners Free Press

 

Education: Enterprise Reporting

First Place: Monica Mendoza, “UCCS: Driving the region’s economic growth,” Colorado Springs Business Journal

 

Education: General Reporting

Third Place: Gail Binkly, “Far-reaching teaching,” Four Corners Free Press

Second Place: Jeremy Wade Shockley, “’Secret Garden’ teaches kids about health, stewardship,” The Southern Ute Drum

First Place: Deb Hurley Brobst, “A Strong Soul,” Evergreen Newspapers

 

A&E: Enterprise Reporting

First Place: Sonja Horoshko, “An identity crisis for the cultural center?,” Four Corners Free Press

 

A&E: General Reporting

Third Place: Sonja Horoshko, “Native filmmakers share the spotlight,” Four Corners Free Press

Second Place: Gail Binkly, “Part Libertarian, part granola-cruncher, Fayhee offers a distinct perspective,” Four Corners Free Press

First Place: Monica Mendoza, “Forbes gives nod to remake of Jay-Z, Beatles‚ mash-up,” Colorado Springs Business Journal

 

Business: Enterprise Reporting

Third Place: Amy Gillentine, “Mayor Bach sets aggressive jobs goal, but is it possible?” Colorado Springs Business Journal

Second Place: Monica Mendoza, “City of Fountain pitching itself to national retailers,” Colorado Springs Business Journal

First Place: Steve Lynn, “Abound Solar plagued by defective panels,” Northern Colorado Business Report

 

Business: General Reporting

Third Place: Monica Mendoza, “Women’s Chamber plots new strategy,” Colorado Springs Business Journal

Second Place: Steve Lynn, “Refugees place big burden on schools,”Northern Colorado Business Report

First Place: Amy Gillentine and John Hazlehurst, “Marijuana: Economic stimulant, or just a can of worms,” Colorado Springs Business Journal

 

Sports: General Reporting

First Place: Christopher R. Rizzo, “Sun Ute lifeguard laces up for international championships,” The Southern Ute Drum

 

Personal or Humor Column

Third Place: Suzanne Strazza, Four Corners Free Press

Second Place: John Hopkins, Four Corners Free Press

First Place: David Fryxell, Desert Exposure

 

News Column

Third Place: Gail Binkly, Four Corners Free Press

Second Place: Katharhynn Heidelberg, Four Corners Free Press

First Place: Allen Greenberg, Northern Colorado Business Report

 

Editorials

Third Place: David Fryxell, Desert Exposure

Second Place: Ralph Routon, Colorado Springs Business Journal

First Place: Gail Binkly, Four Corners Free Press

 

News Feature

Third Place: Amanda Miller, “Developers opting not to build apartments downtown,” Colorado Springs Business Journal

Second Place: Deb Hurley Brobst, “A Century of Fortitude,” Evergreen Newspapers

First Place: Deb Hurley Brobst, “When all winds become ill winds,”Evergreen Newspapers

 

Investigative/Enterprise Reporting

First Place: Dennis Domrzalski and Steve Ginsberg, “Labs in the balance,”

New Mexico Business Weekly

 

General Reporting: Series or Package

Third Place: Monica Mendoza and Amanda Miller, “The business of aging,” Colorado Springs Business Journal

Second Place: Jeremy Wade Shockley and Ace Stryker, “Southern Ute wildlife series,” The Southern Ute Drum

First Place: Ace Stryker, “Utes bless Christmas tree destined for U.S. Capitol/Tribal members tour Meeker historical sites,”The Southern Ute Drum

 

Breaking News

Second Place: Ace Stryker, “It’s official: Chimney Rock a national monument,” The Southern Ute Drum

First Place: Megan Kamerick, “Sony Pictures Imageworks to leave New Mexico,” New Mexico Business Weekly

 

General Reporting: Single Story

Third Place: Ace Stryker, “Pair of Christmas trees blessed by Ute elders arrives in D.C.,” The Southern Ute Drum

Second Place: Sonja Horoshko, “A firestorm over water,” Four Corners Free Press

First Place: Jeremy Wade Shockley, “Traditions live on in Buffalo Harvest,”The Southern Ute Drum

 

 

Public Service

First Place: Amy Gillentine and John Hazlehurst, “City hasn’t learned from long-ago wildfires,”Colorado Springs Business Journal

 

CLASSIFICATION: RADIO

 

Enterprise Reporting

Third Place: Storee Powell, “Women’s Education,”Utah Public Radio

Second Place:Grace Hood, “Overworked and Underpaid? Teacher Staffing at Colorado Virtual Academy,”KUNC

First Place: Grace Hood, “With District Changes Looming, Colorado’s Largest Online School Considers Split,” KUNC

 

Feature Reporting

Third Place: Grace Hood, “A Day in the Life of a Wildfire Evacuee,” KUNC

Second Place: Megan Kamerick, “ISEA artists explore intersections of nature and technology,” KUNM

First Place: Nathan Heffel, “El Sistema: Transforming Youth Through Classical Music,”KUNC

 

Multimedia Story

First Place: KUNC News Staff, “Nano Beer Series,” KUNC

 

General Website Excellence

First Place: KUNC

 

Political Reporting

First Place: Storee Powell, “Democratic Congressional Candidates Debate this Week: Get to Know Them Before the Primary,” Utah Public Radio

 

A&E Reporting

First Place: Storee Powell, “Introducing the Logan Film Festival,” Utah Public Radio

 

News Feature

First Place: Storee Powell, “From New York to Utah: An Eyewitness Account of Hurricane Sandy,” Utah Public Radio

 

News Reporting

Third Place: Storee Powell, “Analyzing Women Voters: How They’ll Vote and Why,” Utah Public Radio

Second Place: Nathan Heffel, “The High Park Fire Base Camp: A Respite From The Blaze,”KUNC

First Place: Grace Hood and Nathan Heffel, “High Park Fire Displaces People, Animals,” KUNC

 

Public Service

Second Place: Storee Powell, “Concerns Raised for Seniors Over Voter ID Laws,” Utah Public Radio

First Place: Storee Powell, April Ashland, Kerry Bringhurst and Ryan Cunningham, “Mental Illness Awareness,” Utah Public Radio

 

General Broadcast Excellence

First Place: Megan Kamerick, “Public Square: Bullying,” KNME

 

CLASSIFICATION: TV

Feature Reporting

First Place: Ben Winslow, “Brigham Young’s Secret Wife?”KSTU FOX 13

 

News Reporting

First Place: Ben Winslow and Paul Sanchez, “Steven Powell Guilty,” KSTU FOX 13

 

Enterprise Reporting

Third Place: Keli Rabon and Jason Foster, “Moving Mess,” KMGH 7 News

Second Place: Gadi Schwartz, Peter St. Cyr and Laurie Passman, “4 On Your Side: Campaign workers caught offering alcohol to voters” KOB TV

First Place: Keli Rabon and Jason Foster, “Testing the System: Justice for Rape Victims,” KMGH 7 News

 

 

CLASSIFICATION C: Circulation between 10,001-29,999

 

Info Graphic

Third Place: Luis Uribe, “Denver Home Market,” Denver Business Journal

Second Place: Boots Gifford, “Regulatory Reform Progress,”Denver Business Journal

First Place: Kiah Staley, “Beer cruise,”Wyoming Tribune Eagle

 

Agriculture: Enterprise

First Place: Joel Dyer, “Monsanto’s point of no return,”Boulder Weekly

 

Agriculture: General Reporting

Third Place: Pamela Hasterok, “Shares of LOVE Small-scale farms supply healthy, organic produce,”Durango Herald

Second Place: Elizabeth Miller, “Sprayed trespass,”Boulder Weekly

First Place: Cathy Proctor, “Coming up dry: Companies adjust as drought boosts food prices / Lack of water ripples through economy,”Denver Business Journal

 

Single Page Design

Third Place: Boots Gifford, “Single page 9-28-12,”Denver Business Journal

Second Place: Boots Gifford, “Single page 3-2-12,”Denver Business Journal

First Place: Angela St. Clair, “Jake Byrd presents,”Wyoming Tribune Eagle

 

Front Page Design

Third Place: Cynthia Miller, “Slices of History”Santa Fe New Mexican – 2

Second Place: Kristina Dunham, “Red-letter moment,”Santa Fe New Mexican – 2

First Place: Brian Barker, “Obama,” Santa Fe New Mexican – 2

 

Headline Writing

Second Place: Bruce Goldberg, Denver Business Journal

First Place: Dave Shelles, Spencer Elliott, Wyoming Tribune Eagle

 

News Column

Third Place: Joel Dyer, “Is City Council above the law?” Boulder Weekly

Second Place: Neil Westergaard, “Gaylord’s proposal wasn’t right from the start,” Denver Business Journal

First Place: Jefferson Dodge, “Papers, please: An attempt to infiltrate a closed meeting of a Boulder County board” Boulder Weekly

 

Feature Page Design

Third Place: Carlos Lopez, “Taste,” Santa Fe New Mexican – 2

Second Place: Carlos Lopez, “Turn up the steam,” Santa Fe New Mexican – 2

First Place: Angela St. Clair, “The monster in us,”Wyoming Tribune Eagle

 

Special Section

Third Place: Staff, “Forty under 40,”Denver Business Journal

Second Place: Staff, “Power Book,” Denver Business Journal

First Place: Staff, “Outstanding Women in Business,” Denver Business Journal

 

Sports: Enterprise Reporting

Second Place: Alex Riley, “South bound for success,”Wyoming Tribune Eagle

First Place: David Accomazzo, Jefferson Dodge, “Colorado football players collected scholarship money despite legal troubles,”Boulder Weekly

 

Sports Photography

Third Place: James Brosher, “East beats the clock,”Wyoming Tribune Eagle

Second Place: Steve Lewis, “STATE WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS,” Durango Herald

First Place: Michael Smith, “Lassoed by the lens,”Wyoming Tribune Eagle

 

Feature Photography

Third Place: Kathleen Lavine, “Jetlinx,”Denver Business Journal

Second Place: Miranda Grubbs, “You know what you’re doing, right?”Wyoming Tribune Eagle

First Place: Jane Phillips, “Cozy Coats for Kids,”Santa Fe New Mexican – 2

 

News Photography

Third Place: Jane Phillips, “Slow Burn”Santa Fe New Mexican – 2

Second Place: Jane Phillips, “Best from behind the lens,”Santa Fe New Mexican – 2

First Place: Michael Smith, “Defender of democracy,”Wyoming Tribune Eagle

 

Spot News Photography

Third Place: Jerry McBride, “Search on for shooter,” Durango Herald

Second Place: Jane Phillips, “2 Killed ‘execution style’ in Rio Arriba,” Santa Fe New Mexican – 2

First Place: Jane Phillips, “Smoky Skyline,” Santa Fe New Mexican – 2

 

Multimedia Story

Second Place: Staff, “Forty under 40 multimedia,” Denver Business Journal

First Place: Staff, “Outstanding Women in Business multimedia,” Denver Business Journal

 

Mobile Applications

First Place: Staff, “Outstanding Women in Business multimedia,” Denver Business Journal

 

Blog

Second Place:Neil Westergaard, Denver Business Journal

First Place: Mark Harden, Denver Business Journal

 

General Website Excellence

Third Place: Staff, “WyoSports,” Wyoming Tribune Eagle

Second Place: Staff, Durango Herald

First Place: Staff, Denver Business Journal

 

Health: Enterprise Reporting

Second Place: Ed Sealover, “Proposed trauma center changes spark worry,” Denver Business Journal

First Place: Deborah Busemeyer, “A cannabis catch 22,”Santa Fe New Mexican – 2

 

Health: General Reporting

Third Place: Bruce Krasnow, “Doctor’s dismissal leaves questions,”Santa Fe New Mexican – 2

Second Place: Hadley Vandiver, “Penny wise,” Boulder Weekly

First Place: Ed Sealover, Keeley Blakely, Allison Sylte, “Health Care Quarterly: Looking toward the future,”Denver Business Journal

 

Environment: Enterprise Reporting

Third Place: Cathy Proctor, Kathleen Lavine, “College student’s filing blocks Gates’ demolition,” Denver Business Journal

Second Place: Elizabeth Miller, “A road too far,”Boulder Weekly

First Place: Joel Dyer, ”Fracking lessons,” Boulder Weekly

 

Environment: General Reporting

Third Place: Cathy Proctor, “Initiatives worry water world,”Denver Business Journal

Second Place: Elizabeth Miller, “Blue Colorado,” Boulder Weekly

First Place: Joel Dyer, Jefferson Dodge, “Waste injection wells: The Earth’s invisible dump,”Boulder Weekly

 

Science: Enterprise Reporting

First Place: Greg Avery, “Why Accelr8 left Colo. for new Tucson home,”Denver Business Journal

 

Science: General Reporting

Second Place: Paul Weideman, “Disgruntled Ancestors: Scott G. Ortman on the conflicts that drive migration” Santa Fe New Mexican – 1

First Place: Greg Avery, “Ball picked for first private deep space project,”Denver Business Journal

 

Legal: General Reporting

Third Place: Steve Weishampel, “Boxed in: Resident says he turned to shipping containers after pressure,” Boulder Weekly

Second Place: Jefferson Dodge, “Trampled anti-war veteran gets his day in court,” Boulder Weekly

First Place: David Accomazzo, “A tale of two predators,” Boulder Weekly

 

Politics: Enterprise Reporting

Third Place: Jefferson Dodge, “Heavy hitter to fight Longmont fracking ban,”Boulder Weekly

Second Place: Jefferson Dodge, “Can your vote be traced?,”Boulder Weekly

First Place: Jefferson Dodge, Joel Dyer, “Unzipped,” Boulder Weekly

 

Politics: General Reporting

Second Place: Trevor Brown, “Hunting RINOs,” Wyoming Tribune Eagle

First Place: Staff, “Election 2012: What happens next?” Denver Business Journal

 

Education: Enterprise Reporting

Second Place: Robert Nott, “When you are hungry and you are tired, how can you learn?”Santa Fe New Mexican – 2

First Place: Jefferson Dodge, “Fracking and academic freedom,”Boulder Weekly

 

Education: General Reporting

Third Place: Bruce Goldberg, “Tomorrow’s workforce STEMs from today’s young students,” Denver Business Journal

Second Place: Aerin Curtis, “We have a bullying problem,”Wyoming Tribune Eagle

First Place: Chase Olivarius-McAllister, “DHS aims to work some magic,” Durango Herald

A&E Enterprise Reporting

Third Place: David Accomazzo, “In the heart of Cirque du Soleil,”Boulder Weekly

Second Place: Joel Dyer, “Pilgrims of the stage,” Boulder Weekly

First Place: Elizabeth Miller, “The reintroduction of Clyfford Still,” Boulder Weekly

 

A&E Criticism

Third Place: Elizabeth Miller, “Written with a needle,” Boulder Weekly

Second Place: Elizabeth Miller, “Of adverbs and experimentation,” Boulder Weekly

First Place: Adele Oliveira, “Faith in Love: Paloma at Teatro Paraguas,”

Santa Fe New Mexican – 2

 

A&E Single Story

Third Place: Paul Weideman, “First Faces: Native American portraits at the New Mexico History Museum,” Santa Fe New Mexican – 1

Second Place: Josh Rhoten, “Jake Byrd presents,” Wyoming Tribune Eagle

First Place: Adele Oliveira, “A Wild Domesticity: Randall Davey and the Audubon Center,” Santa Fe New Mexican – 2

 

Business: Enterprise Reporting

Third Place: Ed Sealover, “Pinnacol’s pricey push / Insurer paid Huggins’ salary as chairman,”Denver Business Journal

Second Place: Heather Draper, “The New Janus: CEO of battle-hardened money manager plots comeback,” Denver Business Journal

First Place: Emery Cowan, “SUDS & CRAFTS As appreciation for microbrews grows, makers rewarded for exploring and pushing boundaries,”Durango Herald

 

Business: General Reporting

Third Place: Bruce Krasnow, “Charter school bonds: A day of reckoning,” Santa Fe New Mexican – 2

Second Place: Heather Draper, Dennis Huspeni, “With Amendment 64 law, what’s next for Colorado?,” Denver Business Journal

First Place: Ed Sealover, “Behind United’s Tokyo deal,” Denver Business Journal

 

Sports: Columns

Third Place: Dale Shrull, Cortez Journal

Second Place: Alex Riley, Wyoming Tribune Eagle

First Place: Robert Gagliardi, Wyoming Tribune Eagle

 

Sports: General Reporting

Third Place: Jayme Moye, “New Heights” Women’s Adventure Magazine

Second Place: Elizabeth Miller, “One stage to rule them all,” Boulder Weekly

First Place: Josh Rhoten, “A big night at Big Country,” Wyoming Tribune Eagle

 

Editorials

First Place: Reed Eckhardt, Wyoming Tribune Eagle

 

Personal or Humor Column

Third Place: Neil Westergaard, Denver Business Journal

Second Place: John Peel, Durango Herald

First Place: Dale Shrull, Cortez Journal

 

Public Service

Third Place: Joel Dyer, Jefferson Dodge, Elizabeth Miller, “The Ghosts of Valmont Butte series,” Boulder Weekly

Second Place: Emery Cowan, “A HISTORIC PROMISE,” Durango Herald

First Place: Heather Draper, “Denver Public Schools bonds,” Denver Business Journal

 

News Feature

Third Place: Julie Ann Grimm, “Chief at Crossroads,” Santa Fe New Mexican – 2

Second Place: Elizabeth Miller, “Chasing the White Horse,” Boulder Weekly

First Place: Joel Dyer, “Motive behind the madness in Sikh shooting,” Boulder Weekly

 

Investigative/Enterprise Reporting

Third Place: James Chilton, “Secret agenda at city hall?” Wyoming Tribune Eagle

Second Place: Joe Hanel, “The state’s No. 1 dangerous pass is … Herald looks at snow, accidents, switchbacks to make determination,” Durango Herald

First Place: Julie Ann Grimm , Geoff Grammer, “Small Change Hustle,” Santa Fe New Mexican – 2

 

General Reporting- Series or Package

Third Place: Jefferson Dodge, Don Tartaglione, Michael Callahan, Travis Mannon, “Crews continue battling Flagstaff Fire outside of Boulder,” Boulder Weekly

Second Place: Dale Rodebaugh, Jordyn Dahl, “Missionary Ridge 10 Years later 39 DAYS OF DESTRUCTION,” Durango Herald

First Place: Staff, “The changing face of patriotism,” Boulder Weekly

 

Breaking News Story

Third Place: Shane Benjamin, “Family of 3 survives explosion,”Durango Herald

Second Place: Heather Draper, “Michael Van Gilder steps down as brokerage CEO amid trading probe,” Denver Business Journal

First Place: Becky Orr, Trevor Brown, Josh Mitchell, “American Eagle leaving,” Wyoming Tribune Eagle

 

News Reporting- Single Story

Third Place: Josh Rhoten, “Homeless in the Capital City,” Wyoming Tribune Eagle

Second Place: Nico Roesler, “Jury watches interview with man charged in child‚Äôs death,” Santa Fe New Mexican – 2

First Place: Ed Sealover, “Bidding on this state contract may cost your company 7 iPads,” Denver Business Journal

 

 

CLASSIFICATION B: Circulation between 30,000-74,999

 

Single Page Design

Third Place: Joshua Joye, “We Can be Queereos, Just For One Day,” SLUG Magazine

Second Place: Joshua Joye, “Ross Imburgia,” SLUG Magazine

First Place: Joshua Joye, “INVDRS,” SLUG Magazine

 

Feature Page Design

Third Place: Joshua Joye, “Super Top Secret,” SLUG Magazine

Second Place: Joshua Joye, “Torche,” SLUG Magazine

First Place: Joshua Joye, “Handcrafted Hacking,” SLUG Magazine

 

 

Front Page Design

Third Place: Robin Banks, “April 2012 – Record Store Day,” SLUG Magazine

Second Place: Joshua Joye, “November 2012 – A Place To Bury Strangers,” SLUG Magazine

First Place: Sean Hennefer, “June 2012 – Torche,” SLUG Magazine

 

Sports Photography

Third Place: Andy Wright, “Parker Duke,” SLUG Magazine

Second Place: Weston Colton, “Devin York,” SLUG Magazine

First Place: Lindsay Pierce, “Rocky Mountain Scottish Athletes practice,” YourHub Arvada

 

Feature Photography

Third Place: Seth A. McConnell, “Franktown students ride horses to school,”YourHub Douglas County

Second Place: Lindsay Pierce, “Preparing Hercules, a 290-pound pig, for JeffCo Fair,”YourHub Arvada

First Place: Seth A. McConnell, “Colorado Vintage Base Ball Association,” YourHub Douglas County

 

News Photography

Third Place: Seth A. McConnell, “Westernaires Practice,” YourHub Golden

Second Place: Lindsay Pierce, “Aurora Police program steps up DUI enforcement efforts,” YourHub Aurora

First Place: Seth A. McConnell, “Northern Arapaho Tribe at Arapahoe High School,” YourHub Arapahoe County

 

Mobile Application

First Place: Staff, SLUG Magazine iPhone App

 

Blog

Second Place: Gavin Sheehan, “Gavin’s Underground,” Salt Lake City Weekly

First Place: Colin Wolf, “The Secret Handshake,” Salt Lake City Weekly

 

Multimedia Story

Third Place: Candida Duran, “Summer of Death – Roughside 3,” SLUG Magazine

Second Place: Staff, “African-American infants die twice as often,” Colorado Public News

First Place: Matt Pothier, “Joshua James Album Release,” SLUG Magazine

 

General Website Excellence

Third Place: EdNews Colorado

Second Place: Colorado Public News

First Place: SLUGMag.com

 

Health: Enterprise Reporting

Third Place: Erika Gonzalez, Carol McKinley, “Be healthy, win a bonus from the boss,” Colorado Public News

Second Place: Erika Gonzalez, Carol McKinley, “Bankruptcies up as medical costs soar,” Colorado Public News

First Place: Staff, “Drug prices in Colorado all over the map,” Colorado Public News

 

Health: General Reporting

Third Place: J. Adrian Stanley, “In a smoke-filled room …” Colorado Springs Independent

Second Place: Ann Imse, Carol McKinley, “State touts healthy population to entice companies, boost jobs,” Colorado Public News

First Place: Cara DeGette, Carol McKinley, “Dental issues in pregnant women put babies at risk,” Colorado Public News

 

Environment: Enterprise Reporting

Second Place: Stephen Dark, Jason Crosby, “Toxic Secret in Sandy: Dry-cleaning chemicals fester beneath Canyon Shopping Center,” Salt Lake City Weekly

First Place: J. Adrian Stanley, “Fifty shades of green,” Colorado Springs Independent

 

Environment: General Reporting

Third Place: Ann Imse, Drew Jaynes, “Colorado has backlog of 1,800 air pollution permits for oil and gas,” Colorado Public News

Second Place: Jayme Moye, “Cry Wolf,” Elevation Outdoors

First Place: Laura Paskus, “Death By A Thousand Cuts: Will Santa Fe’s campaign to buy up water rights kill the Rio Grande?,”Santa Fe Reporter

 

Science: General Reporting

First Place: Beth Potter, “Biotech on quest to market gel,” Boulder County Business Report

 

Legal: Enterprise Reporting

Third Place: Stephen Dark, “Lost in the Hole: Mentally ill felons are locked in their own circle of hell,” Salt Lake City Weekly

Second Place: Eric S. Peterson, “The Wild Bunch: Public lands office goes in guns blazing, hiring cronies and sparing no taxpayer expense fighting the feds,” Salt Lake City Weekly

First Place: Chet Hardin, “Blood and circus; the vapor trail,” Colorado Springs Independent

 

Legal: General Reporting

Third Place: Ann Imse, Carol McKinley, Stephen Swofford, “Marijuana arrests up despite medical cards,” Colorado Public News

Second Place: Stephen Dark, “Warped Desire: A look inside the mind of a child pornographer,” Salt Lake City Weekly

First Place: Steve Knopper, “After Columbine,” Super Lawyers

 

 

Special Section

First Place: Staff, “InSider: 2012 Annual Manual to the Pikes Peak Region,” Colorado Springs Independent

 

Sports: Enterprise Reporting

Second Place: Joe Vaccarelli, “Denver’s Yvonne Phan climbs ranks in growing sport of roller derby,” Your Hub Denver,

First Place: Staff, “USA Pro Challenge preview,” Colorado Springs Independent

 

Sports: General Reporting

Third Place: Joe Vaccarelli, “New Denver minor league hockey team has passionate fan base,” YourHub Denver

Second Place: Katie Panzer, “Julian Carr,” SLUG Magazine

First Place: Dylan Chadwick, “Ultra Championship Wrestling,” SLUG Magazine

 

Politics: Enterprise Reporting

Second Place: Chet Hardin, “Liar, liar,” Colorado Springs Independent

First Place: Stephen Dark, “An Audit They Couldn’t Refuse: To help a church friend, Utah Lt. Gov. Greg Bell put DCFS on the hot seat,” Salt Lake City Weekly

 

Politics: General Reporting

Third Place: Bill Forman, “Western Tradition Partnership reporting,” Colorado Springs Independent

Second Place: Chet Hardin, “Left out,” Colorado Springs Independent

First Place: Jonathan Thompson, “Red State Rising,” High Country News

 

Agriculture: General Reporting

Third Place: Emilie Rusch, “Jeffco considers allowing backyard chickens, bees in residential lots,” YourHub Lakewood

Second Place: Tanya Ishikawa, “Veterans to Farmers – Iraq Vet Finds a Fresh Start in the Greenhouse,” Boulder Magazine

First Place: Matt Jenkins, “Water Warrior,” High Country News

 

Education: Enterprise Reporting

Second Place: Clayton Woullard, “Douglas County teachers react to uncertainty,” YourHub Douglas County

First Place: Staff, “Medical marijuana and K-12 schools,” EdNews Colorado

 

Education: General Reporting

First Place: Nancy Mitchell, Rebecca Jones, Burt Hubbard, Todd Engdahl, “State investigating two Denver schools,” EdNews Colorado

 

A&E Enterprise Reporting

Second Place: Scott Renshaw, “Funny Business,” Salt Lake City Weekly

First Place: Colin Wolf, “Heavy Metal: With swords at the ready, Utah history re-enactors wage a protest against the 21st century,” Salt Lake City Weekly

 

A&E Criticism

Third Place: Bryce Crawford, “Appetite reviews,” Colorado Springs Independent

Second Place: Bill Frost, “True TV Guide Fall Preview,” Salt Lake City Weekly

First Place: Scott Renshaw, “Shhhhhh!” Salt Lake City Weekly

A&E Single Story

Third Place: Mike Furness, “The Mormon Masterpiece,” Salt Lake City Weekly

Second Place: Kirsten Akens, Matthew Schniper, Sara Michael, “How to succeed in film,” Colorado Springs Independent

First Place: Colin Wolf, “Latter-Day Reality: Reality TV shines a spotlight on Utah stereotypes,” Salt Lake City Weekly

 

Business: Enterprise Reporting

Third Place: Joe Vaccarelli, “Denver’s Rockbar losing liquor, cabaret licenses,”

YourHub Denver

Second Place: Eric S. Peterson, “Deserted News: From family values to Windergate, the Deseret News, one year after mass layoffs,” Salt Lake City Weekly

First Place: Pam Zubeck, “Close UP,” Colorado Springs Independent

 

Business: General Reporting

Third Place: Greg Hanscom, “The Hardest Climb,” High Country News

Second Place: Matthew Schniper, “Adventures in crowdfunding,” Colorado Springs Independent

First Place: Jason Stevenson, “Why Outdoor Retailer and its $40 million convention may be about to “Take a Hike””Salt Lake City Weekly

 

 

Personal or Humor Column

Third Place: Rich Tosches, “Ranger Rich,” Colorado Springs Independent

Second Place: Doug Storum, Boulder County Business Report

First Place: John Rasmuson, “Man of Words,”Salt Lake City Weekly

 

News Column

Third Place: Laura Paskus, “First Person,” Santa Fe Reporter

Second Place: Rebecca Walsh, “Wright Wrong, Women’s Work, Rich Mitt,” Salt Lake City Weekly

First Place: Ralph Routon, “Between the Lines,” Colorado Springs Independent

 

Editorial

First Place: Boulder County Business Report

 

News Feature

Third Place: Pam Zubeck, “Cracks in the code,” Colorado Springs Independent

Second Place: Eric S. Peterson, “What I Saw: A reporter’s eyewitness account of the Main Street police standoff,” Salt Lake City Weekly

First Place: Leticia Steffen, “THE END IS NEAR … or maybe not,” Pueblo Chieftain

 

Investigative/Enterprise Reporting

Third Place: Carolyn Campbell, “Sweetheart Swindlers: In the pursuit of love, smart women can be easy prey for scoundrels,” Salt Lake City Weekly

Second Place: Colin Wolf, “Steal this Bike: What does it take to get someone to steal a bike in this town?” Salt Lake City Weekly

First Place: Eric S. Peterson, “Campaign Confidential, Dialing for Dollars and Phone Predators,” Salt Lake City Weekly

 

General Reporting- Series or Package

Third Place: Joey Kirchmer, “Brighton pit bull remains in quarantine after reported attacks; Detained Brighton pit bull, Dre, set to go home,” YourHub Adams County

Second Place: Joey Kirchmer, “More budget cuts heading to Adams 12 Five Star Schools,” YourHub Adams County

First Place: Staff, “Waldo Canyon Fire coverage,” Colorado Springs Independent

 

News Reporting- Single Story

Third Place: Joey Kirchmer, “Aurora Police program steps up DUI enforcement efforts,” YourHub Aurora

Second Place: Joey Kirchmer, “Fundraiser for victims of Aurora theater shootings,” YourHub Aurora

First Place: Josie Klemaier, “Denver-Glenwood Springs bike path nearing reality,”YourHub Golden

 

Public Service

Second Place: Joey Kirchmer, “Aurora Warms the Night cools down homeless during heat wave,” YourHub Aurora

First Place: Jason Stevenson, Joseph Jarvis, “The Great Obamacare Scare: Ten reasons Utahns greatly fear the Affordable Care Act, even if none is true,” Salt Lake City Weekly

 

CLASSIFICATION A: Circulation more than 75,000

 

Info Graphic

Third Place: Cathryn Cunningham, “Spring Fling,”Albuquerque Journal

Second Place: Severiano Galvn, “”We weren’t novices”: Getting out of hand”Denver Post

First Place: Severiano Galvn, ““Missile” Missy ready for launch” Denver Post

 

Agriculture: General Reporting

Third Place: Steve Raabe, Tender Wagyu muscles onto meat scene, makes stock-show exhibition debut, Denver Post

Second Place: Marjorie Cortez, Cattle branding ritual endures as Western ranchers await new regulations on animal ID, Deseret News

First Place: Carol McGraw, Still tall in saddle, Colorado Springs Gazette

 

Single Page Design

Second Place: Elizabeth Trujillo, Last Bell, Albuquerque Journal

First:Jenna Busey, BYU Passing Offense: 40 years in the air, Salt Lake Tribune

 

Front Page Design

Third Place: Leah Derrington, Duke City’s ‘Bad’ Boy, Albuquerque Journal

Second Place: Leanna Efird, A BRIGHTER DAY IS GOING TO COME, Denver Post

First Place: Staff, All eyes on the sky; ‘Something better awaits us’;'This was just evil’; Emilie, the way she was, Salt Lake Tribune

 

Headline Writing

Third Place: Dale Ulland, Denver Post

Second Place: Dale Ulland, Denver Post

First Place: Dale Ulland, Denver Post

 

News Column

Third Place: Peg McEntee, Salt Lake Tribune

Second Place: Barry Noreen, Colorado Springs Gazette

First Place: Joline Gutierrez Krueger, Albuquerque Journal

 

Feature Page Design

Third Place: Jennifer Swanson, Rising to a crescendo, Albuquerque Journal

Second Place: Francisco Kjolseth, Salt Lake Tribune

First Place: Rudy Mesicek, Salt Lake Tribune

 

Special Section

Third Place: Staff, “New Mexico — 100 Years of Statehood,” Albuquerque Journal

Second Place: Staff, “Fire Heroes,” Colorado Springs Gazette

First Place: Staff, “Heroes Among Us,” Denver Post

 

Sports: Enterprise Reporting

Third Place: Benjamin Hochman, “Larry Eustachy, CSU Rams basketball coach, past addiction, problems,”Denver Post

Second Place: Benjamin Hochman, “Nuggets GM Ujiri works overtime in pursuit of greatness,” Denver Post

First Place: Mark Smith, “Kenny Thomas Foundation,”Albuquerque Journal

 

Sports Photography

Third Place: Bryce Boyer, “Golden Girl,” 5280

Second Place: Mark Reis, “color run,” Colorado Springs Gazette

First Place: Helen H. Richardson, “Cowboy Wave,” Denver Post

 

Feature Photography

Third Place:Dana Romanoff, “The Happy Shrewdness of John Hickenlooper,” 5280

Second Place: RJ Sangosti, “Snow Day,”Denver Post

First Place: Joe Amon, “Heroin in Denver,” Denver Post

 

News Photography

Third Place: Francisco Kjolseth, Border agent laid to rest in Utah, Salt Lake Tribune

Second Place: Staff, “Colorado Fire Season,” Denver Post

First Place: Staff, “Aurora Theater Shooting,” Denver Post

 

Spot News Photography

Third Place: Mark Reis, The President’s Shoes, Colorado Springs Gazette

Second Place: RJ Sangosti, Neighborhood on Fire, Denver Post

First Place: Al Hartmann, “’Wall of fire’ devastates,”Salt Lake Tribune

 

Multimedia Story

Second Place: Staff, “Titanic Anniversary: 100 years later,” Denver Post

First Place: Staff, “Heroin in Denver,” Denver Post

 

Mobile Applications

Second Place: Staff, Ski Guide, Denver Post

First Place, Staff, Denver Post

 

Blog

Third Place: Staff, “The Spot,” Denver Post

Second Place: Staff, “First Drafts,” Denver Post

First Place: Staff, “Plog,” Denver Post

 

General Website Excellence

Second Place: Staff, Denver Post

First Place: Staff, Salt Lake City Tribune

 

Health: Enterprise Reporting

Third Place: Heather May, Julia Lyon, Melinda Rogers, “Who is Nicola Riley?” Salt Lake Tribune

Second Place: Kirsten Stewart, “A Prescription for Health,” Salt Lake Tribune

First Place: Michael Booth, “Heroin in Denver,” Denver Post

 

Health: General Reporting

Third Place: Barbara Cotter, “Victims of violence fine relief from pain, fears at hands of fornsic nurses,” Colorado Springs Gazette

Second Place: Lois M. Collins, “Life’s final journey series,” Deseret News

First Place: Kirsten Stewart, Scott Sommerdorf, “Saving Buddy,” Salt Lake Tribune

 

Environment: Enterprise Reporting

Second Place: Brandon Loomis, “Our Dying Forests,” Salt Lake Tribune

First Place: Amy Joi O’Donoghue, “The fight for water: Here’s why the West’s oldest battle could hit you at the tap,” Deseret News

 

Environment: General Reporting

Third Place: Scott Rappold, “See Colorado’s glaciers while you still can,” Colorado Springs Gazette

Second Place: Andrew Wineke, “Drilling requires water – lot’s of it,” Colorado Springs Gazette

First Place: Amy Joi O’Donoghue, “Clearing the air: That air you’re breathing may be slowly killing you,” Deseret News

 

Science: General Reporting

First Place: Andrew Wineke, “Wastewater disposal after drilling a nagging problem,” Colorado Springs Gazette

 

Legal: Enterprise Reporting

Third Place: Aaron Falk, “Roman trial: Doubt takes hold,” Salt Lake Tribune

Second Place: Brooke Adams, Melinda Rogers, “Warrants built case against husband,” Salt Lake Tribune

First Place: Nate Carlisle, Cimaron Neugebauer, “UHP’s blind spot: patrolling itself,” Salt Lake Tribune

 

Legal: General Reporting

Third Place: Marjorie Cortez, “Homeless court metes out justice in accessible setting,” Deseret News

Second Place: Sara Israelsen-Hartley, “Colliding causes: gay rights and religious liberty,” Deseret News

First Place: Aaron Falk, “The Price of Freedom,”Salt Lake Tribune

 

Politics: Enterprise Reporting

Third Place: Matt Canham, “The birth of a politician; 1977: Hatch takes office as a freshman fighter,” Salt Lake Tribune

Second Place: Peggy Stack, Lee Davidson, Matt Canham, “Will black Mormons vote their race or their religion?” Salt Lake Tribune

First Place: Nic Garcia, “Anger spurs action,” Out Front

 

Politics: General Reporting

Third Place: Benjamin Wood, “Cedar Hills residents look for healing and a fresh start following decade of controversy,” Deseret News

Second Place: Lynn Bartels, Jessica Fender, Tim Hoover, “Civil Unions,” Denver Post

First Place: Sara Israelsen-Hartley, “Mending Marriages: States Consider Divorce Reform in Attempt to Preserve Families,” Deseret News

 

Education: Enterprise Reporting

Third Place: Celia Baker, “Flipped classrooms: Turning learning upside down,” Deseret News

Second Place: Celia Baker, “Credit hours vs. competency debate continues for classes,” Deseret News

First Place: Celia Baker, “Crushing debt: Students finding solutions to avoid or survive loans, Deseret News

 

Education: General Reporting

Third Place: Kevin Simpson, “Hickenlooper’s 2004 pledge to students of Denver’s Cole Middle School fulfilled, failed,” Denver Post

Second Place: Kevin Simpson, “Rise in student plagiarism cases attributed to blurred lines of digital world,” Denver Post

First Place: Hailey Heinz, “Diploma Costs Weekend and $200,” Albuquerque Journal

 

A&E Enterprise Reporting

Third Place: Karen Schwartz, “THE PASSION OF THE CHRISTO: Monumental artist talks about unbreakable bond with late wife Jeanne-Claude,” The Daily

Second Place: John Wenzel, “Behind the velvet rope: Getting into Denver’s hottest nightclubs can be a controversial process,”Denver Post

First Place: Rachel Lowry, “The telling of a tale: Christmas stories teach, persuade, define us,” Deseret News

 

A&E Criticism

Second Place: Scott D. Pierce, Salt Lake Tribune

First Place: Sean P. Means, Salt Lake Tribune

 

A&E Single Story

Third Place: Adrian Gomez, “Duke City Bad Boy,” Albuquerque Journal

Second Place: Lindsey B. Koehler, “The Battle Hymn of OneRepublic,” 5280

First Place: Ben Fulton, “The Business of ‘Les Miz’:Why are Utahns so in love with the epic musical?” Salt Lake Tribune

 

Business: Enterprise Reporting

Third Place: Luc Hatlestad, “The Strangest Show on Earth,” 5280

Second Place: Staff, “UTOPIA: Fiber-optic nirvana or nightmare with no way out?” Salt Lake Tribune

First Place: Staff, “Will City Creek’s opening help downtown SLC reclaim its glory,” Salt Lake Tribune

 

Business: General Reporting

Third Place: Derek P. Jensen, Dawn House, “LDS mall rules bad for biz?” Salt Lake Tribune

Second Place: Mark Jaffe, “Xcel’s SmartGridCity plan fails to connect with Boulder,” Denver Post

First Place: Tony Semerad, “Records: Incidents at Utah refineries numerous,” Salt Lake Tribune

 

Sports: Columns

Third Place: Paul Klee, Colorado Springs Gazette

Second Place: Kurt Kragthorpe, Salt Lake Tribune

First Place: Mark Kiszla, Denver Post

 

Sports: General Reporting

Third Place: Bill Oram, “Letters to Lily: Utah football player writes his own story,” Salt Lake Tribune

Second Place: Benjamin Hochman, “Ty & Chico: Lawson, alter ego playing star roles with Nuggets,” Denver Post

First Place: Robert Sanchez, “Golden Girl,” 5280

 

Editorials

Second Place: Sharon Hedrix, Albuquerque Journal

First Place: D’Val Westphal, Albuquerque Journal

 

Column Personal/Humor

Third Place: Jay Evensen, “On Second Thought,” Deseret News

Second Place: Bill Vogrin, “Vogrin columns,” Colorado Springs Gazette

First Place: Robert Kirby, “Robert Kirby columns,” Salt Lake Tribune

 

Public Service

Third Place: Jeff Proctor, “Officers Get Union Checks After Shootings,” Albuquerque Journal

Second Place: Julie Dugdale, Chris Outcalt, “Beneath the Surface,” 5280

First Place: Staff, “Failed To Death,” The Denver Post

 

News Feature

Third Place: Robert Sanchez, “Chasing A Ghost,” 5280

Second Place: Barbara Cotter, “Victims of violence find relief from pain, fears at hands of forensic nurses,” Colorado Springs Gazette

First Place: Kevin Simpson, “Denver woman feels the power of restorative justice after son murdered,” Denver Post

 

Investigative/Enterprise Reporting

Third Place: John Ingold, “Decade after Hayman fire, questions linger about fire’s start,” Denver Post

Second Place: Mike Gallagher, “New Mexico’s love affair with drugs,” Albuquerque Journal

First Place: Jennifer Brown, “Grades out on consultants,” Denver Post

 

General Reporting- Series or Package

Third Place: Staff, “Coming to our Census,” Deseret News

Second Place: Olivier Uyttebrouck, Charles Brunt, Rene Romo, “Returning Veterans Need Help To Heal Invisible Wounds,” Albuquerque Journal

First Place: Lois M. Collins, Jamshid G. Askar, “The war on boys/Losing ground,” Deseret News

 

News Reporting- Single Story

Third Place: Brooke Adams, “Adoption ordeal: Hope, doubts,” Salt Lake Tribune

Second Place: Dennis Romboy, “In search of hope along the U.S.-Mexico border,” Deseret News

First Place: David Montero, Kimball Bennion, “Emilie, the way she was,” Salt Lake Tribune

 

Breaking News Story

Third Place: Staff, “Waldo Canyon fire,” Denver Post

Second Place: Staff, “This was just evil’,”Salt Lake Tribune

First Place: Staff, “Midnight Massacre,” Denver Post

This blog entry also appears on the SPJ FOI blog

It’s been a bit of a roller-coaster ride in Laramie for open-government advocates.

First, in January a district court judge ruled in favor of media organizations that the names for the finalists for the University of Wyoming’s presidency should be public record. The university was planning a secret selection process, using the shop-worn argument that good candidates wouldn’t bother applying if their current employers knew they were looking for a job.

But the ink on the court ruling was barely dry when Wyoming House Majority Leader Kermit Brown, R-Laramie, introduced legislation that would make the finalists information secret. At a committee hearing, university officials testified that four of the eight semi-finalists for the job withdrew after the court decision. The fact that the bill went through the Minerals Committee instead of either a higher-education or judiciary committee raises questions about intent.

SPJ’s FOI Committee weighed in, with Chairwoman Linda Petersen and National President Sonny Alborado writing a letter urging the bill’s veto.

The bill passed through the legislature quickly, and Gov. Matt Mead allowed the bill to become law without his signature, on Feb. 8 due to the veto-proof majorities in the Legislature that passed the bill. There was a glimmer of hope in Mead’s warning that the Legislature should not further erode the state’s open-records law.

But it looked like the presidential search would be shrouded in secrecy. Then, as the Student Press Law Center reported Feb. 22, the university decided that it would make the finalists public.

But the law is still on the books, which means the Wyoming media may have to fight this battle again. But at least it can rely on this presidential search to show that sunlight did not scare off qualified candidates.

It was great seeing fellow Region 9 members at the Excellence in Journalism conference in Fort Lauderdale. Three of our four pro chapters were well represented, and I saw a few of our student members there.

Like other SPJ conventions, it was a great time to meet with folks from other parts of the country, build up the network and renew friendships. But we also got a lot of work done as well.

One great piece of news that came up during the convention was Rio Grande Pro’s decision to host the 2013 regional convention. As those of you who have hosted a regional conference know, this is not a light undertaking. I’ve been there.  I’ve pledged my support to help in any way I can, and I want to urge everyone in the region to pitch in, whether it is expertise, planning assistance or even money. While the folks in New Mexico are gracious enough to host the chapter, let’s remember it is a regional conference and work together to again demonstrate why this is one of SPJ’s greatest regions. If you are interested in helping, contact Julie Ann Grimm in New Mexico or me. And our good friend and now immediate past-president John Ensslin said he would try to adjust his schedule to come to the regional to represent SPJ’s executive committee.

Here’s a recap of what happened at the national board meeting.

The board voted to create a traveling Ted Scripps Leadership Institute. SPJ used to conduct this great training program at IUPUI’s hotel/conference center in Indianapolis, but the university is closing it to use the space for classrooms and dorms. To replace it, the board voted to give staff the go-ahead to launch a traveling program. The goal is to visit four regions a year, at a place that will be no more than eight hours’ drive for any SPJ member in the region. The program will allow for more people from chapters to get the leadership training and bring it home to strengthen the chapters. Those of you who have been through the training know what a valuable resource this is, so it is exciting to see that it will continue in a way that will make it accessible to more SPJ members than before.

Starting in January, you’ll be able to pay for your SPJ membership with a credit card. Joe Skeel, our national director, told us the office finally has the software package in place to make this possible. This will allow people to set up an automatic renewal on their membership, as well as to pay their dues on a monthly basis rather than yearly. That should make membership a bit affordable. However, you’ll have to opt in to the program, and it will cost an extra $5 a year to cover the cost of processing credit cards. But it has the potential to reduce dues to a $6.67 monthly payment. I’ll post more details as they become available.

The board also voted to roll out an institutional membership program. This will allow a news outlet to join SPJ and get its employees a $15 discount on annual dues. The program will have three tiers  — bronze, silver and gold — with additional benefits for the higher levels. For example, a gold member would pay $1,250 a year and get a free national convention registration for one person and an in-person in-house training program for all employees. Other benefits include a free regional conference registration, free job postings and customized webinar, which would be available to gold and silver institutional members. If you weigh the costs of sending one employee to Poynter, SPJ National or other training programs, the gold membership can be a bargain when you figure you can bring in a high-quality training program for your entire staff each year. Joe Skeel said the program came about after interviewing newsroom managers about what they wanted out of SPJ. One of the goals is to get the SPJ culture into more newsrooms.

SPJ also prepared guidelines for the best practices in chapter finances in the wake of the embezzlement scandal that rocked Region 8 this year. I will send out copies to the chapter leaders, but essentially it calls for additional oversight of chapter accounts and recommends such things as having second signers on checks and regular reviews of the finances.

The board also adopted procedures for creating chapters overseas. This is a response to journalists overseas who see what SPJ stands for and want to see it in their countries.

During our Sunday meeting, the SPJ national board voted to give each of the national committees that meet during the national convention one free convention registration. This is a measure I fought hard for. At points, I felt like Benjamin Franklin working the salons of Paris trying to convince the French to support American independence. But I believe that the national committee chairs are some of the hardest-working people at SPJ’s national level. And for many of them, it is a serious sacrifice to take time away from jobs and families to come to the convention to conduct committee meetings and other tasks at the convention. While a free convention registration doesn’t fully make up for that, it is a way to thank these people for their service. We’re going to do it for one year, with the option to review it at next year’s convention, which will be at the Anaheim Marriott, next door to DisneyLand.

Utah Headliners and Colorado Pro were both recognized in SPJ’s Circle of Excellence for work in FOI and campus relations respectively. Congratulations to those chapters.

I also want to thank you all for your support. You all are the people who truly make SPJ a worthwhile organization. You are the ones in the trenches fighting the battles for open government, encouraging students that journalism is a worthy profession at a time when others are writing its epitath and carrying SPJ’s standards into newsrooms around the region. You are the folks who make SPJ great, and I consider it a privilege to serve as your representative and voice on the national board.

The Sanpete Messenger, a weekly newspaper serving the communities in Utah’s rural Sanpete County, was in an open-records fight with the Utah Highway Patrol.

Christian Probasco, a reporter with the Messenger, was seeking information on an accident where a teenage boy who wandered away from a group home was hit and injured by a car on a rural highway at night. The UHP provided the information, but redacted the information on the boy. Probasco said he was told that the patrol had a policy to not release minors’ names, despite state laws saying that the media had access to accident reports.

Probasco wasn’t willing to let it go, especially with the possibility that the denial was politically motivated; he and his publisher said the investigating officer might be the co-owner — with a local mayor —of the group home the boy was living at.

Probasco appealed this denial through the Department of Public Safety and was denied, all claiming that releasing the boy’s name would constitute an “unwarranted invasion of privacy.” The next level of recourse was the Utah State Records Committee, a body that hears appeals under the state Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA). Appearing before the committee can be intimidating for the average person. Those who speak have to swear to tell the truth under pain of perjury charges. They have to present their cases in about a half-hour. And they have to face the people withholding the records and their attorneys.

In this case, Probasco and his publisher, Suzanne Dean, were facing an assistant Utah Attorney General. And, they had to take off an entire day to make the trip to Salt Lake City.

Adding to the potential stress level were the consequences if they lost. If the board agreed with the highway patrol, it would set a precedent for withholding minors’ names, and embolden bureaucrats to further shroud records in secrecy.

Fortunately, Dean and Probasco didn’t go in alone. SPJ was at their side.

SPJ National FOI Chairwoman Linda Petersen was there, testifying that the state’s arguments for privacy were a ridiculous twisting of GRAMA. “It is a very dangerous thing when law enforcers become interpreters of the law,” Petersen said.

Sheryl Worsley, president of the Utah Headliners Chapter was there as well. She told the committee that having information like Probasco sought is what helps journalists tell the stories that make a difference, that put human faces on problems and motivate people to right wrongs.

Joel Campbell, a former National FOI chairman, also reminded the committee that the state Legislature said journalists could have all names listed in a motor-vehicle accident report, giving them the historical background on the legislation.

I was there as part of the contingent of reporters covering the hearing, many of whom were alerted by Campbell, Petersen and Worsley to the significance of the hearing.

The good news is that Probasco won. The committee ruled that the state, which even went as far as to suggest the teen should not be named because there was a possibility he might be criminally charged for walking in the road at night, failed to prove the request was a clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy. I can’t say if SPJ’s presence tipped the scales, but it showed that someone was watching and willing to stand up for the public’s right to know.

The case is not over just yet; the state is mulling a possible appeal to district court. But Dean and Probasco know if that should happen, they have friends in SPJ who will stand beside them at the barricades.

And that is why I’m an SPJ member.

The Utah Judicial Council is considering new rules that would allow electronic media, including video and audio, coverage of trials in the state. Currently, the state only allows still photography in district court cases. Another rule  allows for the use of computers, cellphones and other electronic devices in courtrooms, with the judge’s permission. These rules represent a significant change. The comment period is open until Aug. 14. You can comment here. I posted the following there:

As regional director for the Society of Professional Journalists, the nation’s most broad-based journalism organization, I fully support adopting Rule 04-0401.01, which would allow electronic media coverage of court proceedings.
The rule would allow the public to see and hear more accurately what actually takes place in Utah’s courtrooms. For many Utahns,this might provide their first look into the judicial system. This rule change will place Utah’s courts at the forefront of transparency, which benefits the courts, those who appear before its bar and the public it serves.
An open court has been one of the hallmarks of American society. Our nation’s founders understood the abuses of England’s Star Chamber and secret tribunals, and made sure that trials would be for the most part open to the public. Indeed, the U.S. Supreme has recognized the First Amendment right of the public and press to attend court proceedings. Increasing accessibility is a logical extension of the right.
Today, the judicial branch is one of the more powerful branches of government. It not only defines and enforces the laws, but it also has the power to deny people of property, liberty and — in some cases — life. But it is one branch that is partly shrouded in mystery. Most people usually do not have occasion to go to a courtroom. And past rules on media coverage have helped further obscure the court’s operation from the public eye. Permitting journalists’ video cameras and audio recorders into courtrooms will allow people to see better how the courts operate, giving them a better perspective than they would otherwise have.
The court is currently engaged in a campaign to encourage more Utahns to perform their civic duty as jurors. Opening up the courts to digital media would help advance that effort as people would have a better understanding of what happens at a trial, rather than having to rely on what they see in entertainment media.
Openness would also further ensure a defendant’s right to a fair trial. With more people being able to watch or hear a trial, it would allow the public to see whether a defendant truly had his day in court and that the justice that was being administered in their name was done without fear or favor.
This rule, and 04-0401.02, recognize the realities of our modern digital age. It makes sense to allow journalists to use the modern tools of their profession to provide the public with an accurate account of the court’s proceedings. Utah’s journalists have demonstrated their professionalism in following the rules governing still photography, and they will do so with electronic technology as well.
I respectfully urge the judicial council to adopt these rules and allow Utah to serve as an example of transparency.

SPJ National President John Ensslin and I will be doing a regional town hall meeting at noon Saturday, June 23. We’ll talk about issues facing our region and my plans to seek another term as regional director. We will be doing it through gotomeeting.com, which will allow you to either call in or use your computer’s mic and webcam to participate.

Here are the details:

1.  Please join my meeting, Saturday, June 23, 2012 at 12:00 PM Mountain Daylight Time.
https://www4.gotomeeting.com/join/635108231

2.  Use your microphone and speakers (VoIP) – a headset is recommended.  Or, call in using your telephone.

Dial +1 (805) 309-0011
Access Code: 635-108-231
Audio PIN: Shown after joining the meeting

Meeting ID: 635-108-231

Below is SPJ’s press release on the Mark of Excellence winners. It was my pleasure to present the awards at the regional conference in Denver. I hope our first-place winners do well at the national competition.

Contacts:
Lauren Rochester, SPJ Awards Coordinator, 317-927-8000 ext. 210, lrochester@spj.org
Abby Henkel, SPJ Communications Manager, 317-927-8000 ext. 215, ahenkel@spj.org

INDIANAPOLIS – The Society of Professional Journalists is pleased to announce the Region 9 Mark of Excellence Award winners for the 2011 calendar year. The Mark of Excellence Awards honor the best collegiate journalism in the U.S.

SPJ Region 9 includes Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. This year, the contest received more than 4,000 entries across SPJ’s 12 regions.

The honorees were awarded certificates on April 14 during the Region 9 SPJ Spring Conference held at the Tivoli Student Union in Denver, Colo. 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.

Four-year colleges

Breaking News Photography
• First Place: Bash gone bad – by Hunter Thompson, Colorado State University
• Second Place: Denver under occupation – by Jessica Wacker, Metropolitan State College of Denver
• Third Place: End of the standoff – by Hunter Thompson, Colorado State University

Feature Photography
• First Place: Games fuse athletics, services – by Richard Payson, University of Utah
• Second Place: Inversion models could help predict formations – by Richard Payson, University of Utah
• Third Place: Inside Ramadan – by Mike Fabricuis, Rachel Fuenzalida and Brian T. McGinn, Metropolitan State College of Denver

General News Photography
• First Place: Denver shows its pride in style – by Rachel Fuenzalida, Metropolitan State College of Denver
• Second Place: High on the hill – by Michael Bettis, Colorado State University
• Third Place: A closer look at Ramadan – by Rachel Fuenzalida, Metropolitan State College of Denver

Photo Illustration
• First Place: Caitlan Stem – by Hunter Thompson, Colorado State University
• Second Place: From notebook to playbook – by Hunter Thompson, Colorado State University
• Third Place: Shelter from the storm – by Chris Bunker, Brigham Young University

Sports Photography
• First Place: Apo scores touchdown!! – by Luke Hansen, Brigham Young University
• Second Place: Football: The slump continues as a depleted offense strains Ute defense – by Nathan Sweet, University of Utah
• Third Place: Softball sweeps away Regis – by Ryan Borthick, Metropolitan State College of Denver

Best Student Magazine
• First Place: Horizon Magazine, Colorado Mesa University
• Second Place: CSU-Pueblo TODAY, Colorado State University-Pueblo
• Third Place: College Avenue Magazine, Colorado State University

Best All-Around Daily Student Newspaper
• First Place: The Rocky Mountain Collegian, Colorado State University
• Second Place: The Daily Utah Chronicle, University of Utah
• Third Place: No award*

Best All-Around Non-Daily Student Newspaper
• First Place: The Metropolitan, Metropolitan State College of Denver
• Second Place: No award*
• Third Place: No award*

Breaking News Reporting
• First Place: Blown Over – by Spencer Garn, Weber State University
• Second Place: Millner to pledge raise – by Spencer Garn, Weber State University
• Third Place: Two women groped Friday – by Lindsey Wilbur, University of Utah

Editorial Writing
• First Place: The University Journal Editorial Board, Southern Utah University
• Second Place: Jade McDowell, Brigham Young University
• Third Place: The Signpost staff, Weber State University

Feature Writing
• First Place: Graffiti: Acts of art or of vandalism – by David Knight, University of Wyoming
• Second Place: On the Rebound: Cougar student and basketball player Kaufusi fighting strong against her cancer – by Brooke Ward, Brigham Young University
• Third Place: Day Trippin’: Leave holiday stress, catch North Pole Express in Heber – by Allie Jeppson, Utah State University

Editorial Writing
• First Place: The University Journal editorial board, Southern Utah University
• Second Place: Jade McDowell, Brigham Young University
• Third Place: The Signpost staff, Weber State University

General Column Writing
• First Place: Kory Wood, Weber State University
• Second Place: Matt Miller, Colorado State University
• Third Place: Daniel Whitney Smith, Utah State University

General News Reporting
• First Place: U student organizes protest at Chick-fil-A – by Nic Dunn, University of Utah
• Second Place: Bash gone bad at Ram’s Pointe – by Erin Udell, Colorado State University
• Third Place: No award*

In-Depth Reporting
• First Place: Center: Policy or politics? – by Jordyn Dahl, Colorado State University
• Second Place: Utah’s wage gap between men and women largest in nation – by Daniel Whitney Smith, Utah State University
• Third Place: Grim future for higher ed – by Allison Sylte, Colorado State University

Sports Column Writing
• First Place: Daniel Laverty, Thomas Belinski and Matt Hollinshead, Metropolitan State College of Denver
• Second Place: Jake Hibbard, University of Utah
• Third Place: Cris Tiller, Colorado State University

Sports Writing
• First Place: Across the pond, Aggie legends together once again – by Rhett Wilkinson, Utah State University
• Second Place: UW football player saddles up for first time – by Mike Morris, University of Wyoming
• Third Place: Football: Utes’ loss breaks hearts – by Matthew (Bubba) Brown, University of Utah

Nonfiction Magazine Article
• First Place: Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell – by Jaime Pritchard, Colorado State University
• Second Place: Leading lady – by Jaime Pritchard, Colorado State University
• Third Place: No award*

Best Affiliated Web Site
• First Place: SUU News (www.suunews.com), Southern Utah University
• Second Place: The Metrosphere (www.mscd.edu/~msphere), Metropolitan State College of Denver
• Third Place: The Signpost (www.wsusignpost.com), Weber State University

Best Independent Online Student Publication
• First Place: Hard News Café (hardnewscafe.usu.edu), Utah State University
• Second Place: No award*
• Third Place: No award*

Online Feature Reporting
• First Place: JCOM prof is no-nonsense, respected, loved, sometimes ‘dreaded’ – by Shirrel Cooper, Utah State University
• Second Place: From Africa to the WNBA, Logan couple works to help Senegal – by Daniel Smith, Utah State University
• Third Place: Ten years later: Everyone remembers where they were on 9/11 – by Heidi Hansen, Utah State University

Online In-Depth Reporting
• First Place: Notebook to playbook – by Cris Tiller, Kevin Lytle and Hunter Thompson, Colorado State University
• Second Place: USU Gay-Lesbian Center regroups as longtime director departs – by Daniel Whitney Smith, Utah State University
• Third Place: College grads seek other options with fewer jobs in struggling economy – by Mandy Morgan, Utah State University

Online News Reporting
• First Place: “The Dream of Helen” dance drama – by Sarah Webber and Matthew Montgomery, Southern Utah University
• Second Place: ‘Mingi’: Lournalists bring the story of Ethiopian infanticide to USU – by Heidi Hansen, Utah State University
• Third Place: Half-naked, accepting and proud: Undie Run Utahans are not uptight – by Heidi Hansen and Cathy Morgan, Utah State University

Online Opinion and Commentary
• First Place: Stephen Worthington, Max Parker Dahl and Jakob Asplund, Utah State University
• Second Place: Ben Zaritsky, Utah State University
• Third Place:

Online Sports Reporting
• First Place: Injured seniors provide leadership to SUU gymnastics team – by Carter Williams, Southern Utah University
• Second Place: No award*
• Third Place: No award*

Radio In-depth Reporting
• First Place: Forgotten by technology, again – by Brian Grimmett, Brigham Young University
• Second Place: No award*
• Third Place: No award*

Radio News Reporting
• First Place: Hunting for poachers – by Brian Grimmett, Brigham Young University
• Second Place: No award*
• Third Place: No award*

Radio Sports Reporting
• First Place: Inside ‘NFL Blitz’ – by Colton Denning, Ryan Garbarino and Jon Lander, Metropolitan State College of Denver
• Second Place: No award*
• Third Place: No award*

Best All-Around Television Newscast
• First Place: Weber State News, Weber State University
• Second Place: KRWG News22, New Mexico State University
• Third Place: The Met Report, Metropolitan State College of Denver

Television Feature Reporting
• First Place: Mock disaster make-up – by Jenne Anderson, Brigham Young University
• Second Place: Dig this – by Anna Hayes, Brigham Young University
• Third Place: High school quarterback reaches beyond his limits – by Simone VonRivenburgh, Metropolitan State College of Denver

Television General News Reporting
• First Place: Fishing vs. fashion – by Anna Hayes, Brigham Young University
• Second Place: Dump truck accident – by Britta Anderson, Utah State University
• Third Place: Obama talks student debt at Auraria – by staff, Metropolitan State College of Denver

Television Sports Reporting
• First Place: What’s a Libero? – by Christine Assily, Brigham Young University
• Second Place: An oft overlooked trio – by Kevin Hall, Metropolitan State College of Denver
• Third Place: Little League Flag Football – by Stephanie Flores, New Mexico State University

Two-year and community colleges

Best All-Around Non-Daily Student Newspaper
• First Place: Wingspan, Laramie County Community College
• Second Place: No award*
• Third Place: No award*

Breaking News Photography
• First Place: The walking dead – by William Hebert, Laramie County Community College
• Second Place: No award*
• Third Place: No award*

Breaking News Reporting
• First Place: Senate: Armed service does not count as community service – by Jessica Keller, Northwest College
• Second Place: Proposed public records rule postponed – by William Hebert, Laramie County Community College
• Third Place: No award*

Editorial Writing
• First Place: Wingspan staff, Laramie County Community College
• Second Place: Mark Keierleber, Gigi Hoagland and Danny Menig, Northwest College
• Third Place: No award*

Feature Photography
• First Place: Runaway train – by Cody Tucker, Laramie County Community College
• Second Place: No award*
• Third Place: No award*

Feature Writing
• First Place: Leaving Las Vegas – by Cody Tucker, Laramie County Community College
• Second Place: A mother’s love for sons and agriculture benefits NWC club – by Reed T. Tobol, Northwest College
• Third Place: ‘Shamrock’ing in the USA – by Cody Tucker, Laramie County Community College

General Column Writing
• First Place: William Hebert, Laramie County Community College
• Second Place: Shawn Havel, Laramie County Community College
• Third Place: No award*

General News Photography
• First Place: ‘Empty Bowls’ help feed the hungry – by Neal Hines, Northwest College
• Second Place: No award*
• Third Place: No award*

General News Reporting
• First Place: Pulpit of propaganda – by Cody Tucker, Laramie County Community College
• Second Place: B.O.T. hears concerns on policy adherence – by Jessica Keller, Northwest College
• Third Place: College’s low graduation rate misleading – by William Hebert, Laramie County Community College

In-Depth Reporting
• First Place: Student mothers embrace heavy load – by Deborah Cobb, Northwest College
• Second Place: No award*
• Third Place: No award*

Online In-Depth Reporting
• First Place: LCCC’s master plan – by Will Hebert, Jeffrey Pallak, Susann Robbins and Katie Blaser, Laramie County Community College
• Second Place: No award*
• Third Place: No award*

Online News Reporting
• First Place: Schaffer named as next college president – by Will Hebert, Jeffrey Pallak, Courtney Tray and Amy Walker, Laramie County Community College
• Second Place: Follow-up morale discussion sheds more light on campus issues – by William Hebert, Laramie County Community College
• Third Place: Trustees postpone public records rule approval – by William Hebert, Laramie County Community College

Photo Illustration
• First Place: Zombies: Brains on the plains – by William Hebert, Laramie County Community College
• Second Place: Lucky number seven – by Neal Hines, Northwest College
• Third Place: Veterans’ Day flag – by Jeffrey Pallak, Laramie County Community College

Sports Column Writing
• First Place: Cody Tucker, Laramie County Community College
• Second Place: No award*
• Third Place: No award*

Sports Photography
• First Place: Takin’ it to the mat – by Neal Hines, Northwest College
• Second Place: Blast off – by Jessie Jo Witte, Laramie County Community College
• Third Place: No award*

Sports Writing
• First Place: Runaway train – by Cody Tucker, Laramie County Community College
• Second Place: Men’s soccer continues work in the off-season – by Danny Menig, Northwest College
• Third Place: No award*

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

Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to a well-informed citizenry; works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists; and protects First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press. For more information about SPJ, please visit www.spj.org.

 

 

The Top of The Rockies awards were announced at the Denver Press Club last night.  They highlight some of the great journalism that is happening in our region. Congratulations to everyone who won.

Radio

146 — News reporting

Second Place: Michael Klepper, KSMT for 5 p.m. news 11-18-11

First Place: Michael Klepper, KSMT for KSKE Sports Report

 

147 — Feature Reporting

Third Place: Storee Powell, Utah Public Radio, Utah Women in Municipal office

Second Place: Storee Powell, Utah Public Radio, for New local author talks about janitorial job as his inspiration

First Place: Diane Schmidt, Commentary: MLK Jr.’s message important in corporate age

TV

151 — News reporting

Second Place: Ben Winslow, KSTU Fox, for The Jeffs Tapes

First Place: Ben Winslow, KSTU Fox for FLDS Foster Homes

Online

102 — Breaking News Story

First Place: Storee Powell, CacheValleyDaily.com, for Mendon mansion a total loss after fire.

 

104 — Investigative/Enterprise Reporting

First Place: Storee Powell, CacheValleyDaily.com, for Koch Foundation scholarship program receives national attention

 

106 — Public Service

First Place: Storee Powell, CacheValleyDaily.com, for Mendon plans to build own library

 

Arts and Entertainment

116 — A&E Reporting

First Place: Rachel A. Christensen, CacheValleyDaily.com, for Biggest Loswer contestant brings knowledge home to Chache Valley

 

Law and Order

126 — Feature Writing

First Place: Robert D. Tonsing, Jeremy Hoover, Cara DeGette, Ann Imse, Colorado Public News, for Mother of four facing deportation after traffic stop in Arapahoe Count

 

Science Reporting

129 — Feature Writing

First Place: Storee Powell, CacheValleyDaily.com, for USU researchers look for alternative to honey bee

Health Reporting

134 — General Reporting

Third Place: Carol McKinley, Robert D. Tonsing, Ann Imse, and John W. Stephens, Colorado Public News for State budget slammed as soaring number of Coloradans need Medicaid

Second Place: Erika Gonzalez, Carol McKinley, Laressa Bachelor, and Cara DeGette, Colorado Public News, Many obese Coloradans don’t realize they’ve tipped that scale

First Place: Carol McKinley, Robert D. Tonsing, Ann Imse, Cara DeGette, Mike Laur, and John W. Stephens, Colorado Public News, for Military lags on promising treatment for brain-injured soldiers

 

135 — Feature Writing

Second Place: Carol McKinley and Laressa Bachelor, Colorado Public News, Shortage of family doctors in Colorado intensifies

First Place: Maria Cote, Carol McKinley, Robert D. Tonsing, Ann Imse, and Carolyn Moreau, Colorado Public News, for Children thriving under therapy covered by new Colorado autism law

 

136 — Investigative/Enterprise Reporting

First Place: Cara DeGette, Carol McKinley, Ann Imse, Jeremy Hoover, Carolyn Moreau and John W. Stephens, Colorado Public News for Price shopping for an MRI can save you thousands of dollars

 

Online

137 — General Website Excellence

First Place: Education News Colorado Staff

140 — Multimedia Story

Third Place: Robert D. Tonsing, Jeremy Hoover, Cara DeGette and Ann Imse, Colorado Public News for Mother of four facing deportation after traffic stop in Arapahoe County

Second Place: Carol McKinley, Robert D. Tonsing, Ann Imse, and Cara DeGette, Colorado Public News, for Military lags on promising treatment for brain-injured soldiers

First Place: Burt Hubbard, Nancy Mitchell and Joe Mahoney, Education News Colorado, for Troubling questions about online education

 

Circulation less than 10,000

101 — News Reporting, Single Story

Third Place: Gail Binkly, David Grant Long, Four Corners Free Press, for Just Say No

Second Place: Jeremy Wade Shockley, The Southern Ute Drum, for NCAI hosts 68th conference

First Place: Vicky Gits, Evergreen Newspapers for Man Found guilty in incident with EDS workers

 

102 — Breaking News

First Place: Ali McNally, Law Week Colorado, for Colorado Supreme Court Answers: Are Kids Clients

 

103 — General Reporting, series or package

First Place: Ali McNally, Law Week Colorado, Wal-Mart granted retrial

 

104 — Investigative Reporting

First Place: Delinda Korrey, South Platte Sentinel, Majority of county spending goes to one vendor

 

105 — News Feature

Third Place: Dale Shrull, Cortez Journal, for World War II hero finally gets his medals

Second Place: Vicky Gits and Matt Jonas, Evergreen Newspapers for Beloved dog found alive

First Place: Vicky Gits, Evergreen Newspapers for Mission Incredible

 

106 — Public Service

First Place: Ace Stryker, Southern Ute Drum, for Southern Ute election coverage

 

107 — Personal Columns

Third Place: Richard Joyce, Redstone Review,

Second Place: Katharhynn Heidelberg, Four Corners Free Press

First Place: David Fryxell, Desert Exposure

 

108 — Editorials

Third Place: Gail Binkly, Four Corners Free Press

Second Place: Doug Bell, Evergreen Newspapers

First Place: David Fryxell, Desert Exposure

 

Sports

109 — General Reporting

Third Place: Michael Hicks, Evergreen Newspapers for Cougars dedicated season ends

Second Place: Michael Hicks, Evergreen Newspapers for Three times a champion

First Place: Dale Shrull, Cortez Journal for Hobbs leans heavily on his wrestling roots

 

110 — Feature Writing

Third Place: Michael Hicks, Evergreen Newspapers for Mr. Columbine

Second Place: Michael Hicks, Evergreen Newspapers for Strength, will, belief

First Place: Dale Shrull, Cortez Journal, for Crash test maniacs

 

Business

112 — General Reporting

Second Place: Megan Kamerick, New Mexico Business Weekly, POS Lavu finds restaurants hungry for high tech

First Place: Megan Kamerick, New Mexico Business Weekly, for State cuts put squeeze on child care centers, employers

 

113 — Feature Writing

Second Place: Dale Shrull, Cortez Journal, for Lots of books and paperback peddler

First Place: Sonja Horoshiko, Four Corners Free Press, for A landmark in time

 

114 — Investigative Reporting

First Place: Steve Porter, Northern Colorado Business Report, for Spread thin,

 

Arts and Entertainment

114 — A&E reporting

Second Place: Sonja Horoshko, Four Corners Free Press, for Bringing the outdoors to canvas

First Place: Megan Kamerick, New Mexico Business Weekly, for Diversity of Native music defies audience preconceptions

 

Education

119 — General Reporting

Third Place: Ace Stryker, Southern Ute Drum, Tri-Ute council favors youth conference ideas

Second Place: Deb Hurley Brobst, Evergreen Newspapers, Doggin’ It

First Place: Gail Binkly, Four Corners Free Press, Schools get their day in court

 

120 — Feature Writing

Third Place: Deb Hurley Brobst, Evergreen Newspapers for IB status brings energy, distinction

Second Place: Deb Hurley Brobst, Evergreen Newspapers for Students not down over foul weather

First Place: Deb Hurley Brobst, Evergreen Newspapers, Going Green

 

Politics

122 — General Reporting

Third Place: Ace Stryker, The Southern Ute Drum for Chariman candidates take questions on finance

Second Place: Ace Stryker, The Southern Ute Drum for Tribal members form oversight committee

First Place: Ace Stryker, The Southern Ute Drum for History in the Making

 

Law and order

125 — General Reporting

First Place: Jim Mimiaga, Four Corners Free Press, for When jurisdictions collide

 

Science

131 — General Reporting

Third Place: Gail Binkly, Four Corners Free Press, for Changing direction

Second Place: gail Binkly, Four Corners Free Press, Up a creek

First Place: Sonja Horoshiko, Four Corners Free press, for Living with uranium’s legacy

 

132 — Feature Writing

Third Place: Anne Minard, Four Corners Free Press, for Here comes the sun, or maybe not

Second Place: gail Binkly, Four Corners Free Press, for Return of the natives?

First Place: Anne Minard, Four Corners Free Press, for Beetle-mania,

 

Online

138 — Blog

First Place: Megan Kamerick, New Mexico Business Weekly

 

Photography

143 — News Photography

Third Place: Jeremy Wade Shockley, Southern Ute Drum, for Dancers greet first American Airlines flight

Second Place: Jeremy Wade Shockley, Southern Ute Drum, for Museum opening 2 months away

First Place: Robert Ortiz, Southern Ute Drum, Southern Utes cut ribbon at new museum

 

144 — Feature photography

Third Place: Jeremy Wade Shockley, Southern Ute Drum, for Dancing and celebrating Denver powwow

Second Place: Robert, Ortiz, Southern Ute Drum, for Four Corners tribes tackle 19-mile walk

First Place: Jeremy Wade Shockley, Southern Ute Drum, for Native American Heritage Train still steaming

 

145 — Sports Photography

First Place: Jeremy Wade Shockley, Southern Ute Drum, State games open with basketball tournament

 

 

Circulation 10,000 to 75,000

101 — News Reporting, Single Story

Third Place: Geoff Grammar, Santa Fe New Mexican, for Taken for a ride?

Second Place: Stephen Dark, Salt Lake City Weekly, for An upcoming vote on the future of Salt Lake City

First Place: Chet Hardin, Colorado Springs Independent, for Wasted away

 

102 — Breaking News

Second Place: Cathy Proctor, Denver Business Journal, for Colorado lads GE solar plant

First Place: Geoff Grammer, Sandra Baltazar Martinez, Santa Fe New Mexican, for Ex-boyfriend shoots, kills woman

 

105 — News Feature

Third Place: Margaret Matray, Casper Star Tribune for Census finally best Wyoming town population right: 4

Second Place: Stephen Dark, Salt Lake City Weekly, for Sealed Fate

First Place: Ian St. Clair, James Brosher, Wyoming Tribune Eagle, Remembering Isaac Salas

 

106 — Public Service

First Place: Pam Zubeck, John Weiss, Ralph Routon, Colorado Spring Independent, for Why the cheers?

 

107 — Personal Columns

Third Place: Andra Coberly, Yellow Scene Magazine for Editor’s Note

Second Place: Neil Westergaard, Denver Business Journal, Fat times for LARD Index as American bloats up

First Place: Ralph Routon, Colorado Springs Independent, for Between the Lines

 

108 — Editorials

First Place: D. Reed Eckhart, Wyoming Tribune Eagle

 

109 — General Reporting

Third Place: Greg Avery, Denver Business Journal for Denver says, so long, Melo

Second Place: J. Adrian Stanley, Matthew Schniper, Ralph Routon, Kirsten Akens, Colorado Springs Independent for Tour de chance

First Place: Jayme Moye, Elevation Outdoors, for Pushing the boundaries

 

Sports Reporting

110 — Feature Writing

Third Place: Stephen Dark, Erik Daenitz, Salt Lake City Weekly for Immigrant Goal

Second Place: Chris Hawkins, Yellow Scene Magazine, Danger Up High

First Place: Will Browning, Casper Star Tribune, for Mouthful of curt

 

111 — Columns

Third Place: Jim Gordon, Santa Fe New Mexican, for New York Reyes loses by the way he won

Second Place: Ralph Routon, Colorado Springs for End Zone

First Place: Jim Gordon, Santa Fe New Mexican, for Rebuilding a life with strength and service

 

Business

112 — General Reporting

Third Place: Bruce Krasnow, Santa Fe New Mexican, for Christus aims to buy private hospital

Second Place: Cathy Proctor, Denver Business Journal for After two years, Niobrara holds promise, challenges

First Place: Heather Draper, Greg Avery, Dennis Huspeni, Cathy Proctor, Ed Sealover, Denver Business Journal, for Weathering the storm

 

113 — Feature Writing

Third Place: Dennis Huspeni, Denver Business Journal, for Battle of the sexy pizzas

Second Place: Bruce Krasnow, Santa Fe New Mexican, for Families stuck in neutral

First Place: Matthew D. LaPlante, Salt Lake City Weekly, for Swift Justice

 

114 — Investigative Reporting

Third Place: Heather Draper, Denver Business Journal, for DPS faces restructuring dilemma

Second Place: Eric S. Peterson, Salt Lake City Weekly for The Fix It Man

First Place: Julie Ann Grimm, Santa Fe New Mexican, Navigating the metals trade

 

115 — Columns

First Place: Neil Westergaard, Denver Business Journal, for Economy’s wild read

 

Arts and Entertainment

116 — A&E Reporting

Third Place: Nate Perkins, SLUG Magazine, for Prophets of Anarchy

Second Place: Geoff Griffin, Kathleen Curry, Salt Lake City Weekly for Elders Over Broadway

First Place: Scott Renshaw and Erik Daenitz, Salt Lake City Weekly for The 40-year-old Coffee Virgin

 

117 — A&E criticism

Third Place: Bryce Crawford, Colorado Springs Independent, for Cajun rejuvenation

Second Place: Scott Renshaw, Salt Lake City Weekly, for The Boy Who

First Place: Matthew Schniper, Colorado Springs Independent for French Twist

 

118 — A&E Features, Food and Beverage Reporting

Third Place: Matthew Schniper, Colorado Springs Independent, for Deal-a-meal

Second Place: Randy Harward, Ted Scheffier, Jeff Drew, Salt Lake City Weekly, for Proof God Loves Us: beer

First Place: Matthew Schniper, Colorado Springs Independent, Meat Plan

 

Business Reporting

119 — General Reporting

Second Place: Bruce Goldberg, Denver Business Journal for Science and tech school preps students for tomorrow

First Place: J. Adrian Stanley, Colorado Springs Independent, for Control, Halt, Delete

 

120 — Feature Writing

Second Place: Dan Nallen, Salt Lake City Weekly, for The New U

First Place: Andra Coberly, Pat Garner, Yellow Scene Magazine, for Gifted, Talented and Beyond

 

121 — Investigative/Enterprise Reporting

Third Place: Jackie Borchardt, Casper Star Tribune, for Wyoming schools see results from early-literacy efforts

Second Place: Eric S. Peterson, Salt Lake City Weekly, for Bad Call

First Place: Pam Zubeck, Colorado Springs Independent, for Mixed Blessings

 

Political reporting

122 — General Reporting

Second Place: J. Adrian Stanley, Colorado Springs Independent, for Council: The ‘other’ city leaders

First Place: Ed Sealover, Denver Business Journal for How business beat 300 liberal Denver

 

123 — Feature Writing

Third Place: Jesse Fruwirth, Melissa Dow, Salt Lake City Weekly for The Limbo Party

Second Place: Chet Hardin, Colorado Springs Independent, for Anarchy in the GOP

First Place: Eric S. Peterson, Erik Daenitz, Salt Lake City Weekly for Chaffetz Revealed

 

124 — Investigative/Enterprise Reporting

First Place: Jefferson Dodge, Boulder Weekly, for Terrifying telecom tale

 

Law and order

125 — General Reporting

Second Place: Heather Draper, Denver Business Journal, Behind the HRO-Bryan Cave deal

First Place: Geoff Grammar, Santa Fe New Mexican, for coverage of the Scott Owens trial

 

126 — Feature Writing

Third Place: Matthew D. LaPlante, Salt Lake City Weekly, for Special Services

Second Place: Joel Warmer, Super Lawyers for Tackling Giants

First Place: Will Browning, Casper Star Tribune, Of murder and moving on

 

127 — Investigative/Enterprise Reporting

First Place: Pam Zubeck, Colorado Springs Independent, Underwhelming oversight

 

Science reporting

128 — General Reporting

First Place: Greg Avery, Denver Business Journal, for Aerospace jobs await federal funds

 

129 — Feature Writing

Third Place: Paul Weideman, Santa Fe New Mexican, for Climate changed

Second Place: Leticia Steffen, The Pueblo Chieftain, A challenge

First Place: Leticia Steffen, The Pueblo Chieftain, Raising Generation Text

 

Environmental reporting

131 — General Reporting

Third Place: Elizabeth Miller, Boulder Weekly for Watershed Roes

Second Place: Pam Zubeck, Colorado Springs Independent, Oil and water: will they mix?

First Place: Jefferson Dodge, Boulder Weekly, for What the Frack?

 

132 — Feature Writing

Third Place: Laura Paskus, Santa Fe Reporter, for The New Normal

Second Place: Sarah Kramer, Salt Lake City Weekly, for Nuclear Deal

First Place: Christine Peterson, Casper Star Tribune, for Close encounters

133 — Investigative Reporting

Second Place: Christine Peterson, Casper Star Tribune, for On Thinning Ice

First Place: Jefferson Dodge and Joel Dyer, Boulder Weekly for Behind the GMO curtain

 

Education reporting

134 — General Reporting

Third Place: Jefferson Dodge, Boulder Weekly for Clean acres

Second Place: Pam Zubeck, Colorado Springs Independent, for Pure Hope

First Place: Bruce Krasnow, Santa Fe New Mexican, for Essence of time

 

135 — Feature Writing

Third Place: Leticia Steffen, The Pueblo Chieftain, Boomerang Kids

Second Place: Andra Coberly, Yellow Scene, The Renovation

First Place: Josh Wolfson, Casper Star Tribune, After suicides, a family’s journey toward grace

 

136 — Investigative/Enterprise Reporting

First Place: Pam Zubeck, Colorado Springs Independent, Flying solo

 

Online

137 — General Website Excellence

Third Place: Santa Fe New Mexican

Second Place: Salt Lake City Weekly

First Place: Denver Business Journal

 

138 — Blog

Third Place: Mark Harden, Denver Business Journal, Broadway and 17th

Second Place: Colin Wolf, Salt Lake City Weekly, The Secret Handshake

First Place: Neil Westergaard, Denver Business Journal, Broadway and 17th

 

139 — Mobile App

First Place: Denver Business Journal

 

140 — Multimedia Story

Second Place: Stephen Dark, Erik Daenitz, Salt Lake City Weekly, for Immigrant Goal

First Place: Kathleen Lavine, Boots Gifford, Denver Business Journal, for Outstanding Women in Business 2011

 

Photography

142 — Spot News Photography

Third Place: Michael Smith, Wyoming Tribune Eagle for Crop duster crash

Second Place: Jane Phillips, Santa Fe New Mexican, for Standoff ends in arrest

First Place: Jane Phillips, Santa Fe New Mexican, Residents Flee growing inferno

 

143 — News Photography

Third Place: Natalie Guillen, Santa Fe New Mexican, for Penitentes

Second Place: Natalie Guillen, Santa Fe New Mexican, for Child’s burial

First Place: Natalie Guillen, Santa Fe New Mexican, for Hometown hero,

 

144 — Feature Photography

Third Place: Joe Hodgson, Yellow Scene, for Athletic Firsts

Second Place: Clyde Mueller, Santa Fe New Mexican, for Skate Park

First Place: David Newkirk, Slug Magazine, Precision Builds with Pangea speed

 

145 — Sports Photography

Third Place: Natalie Guillen, Santa Fe New Mexican, all four off the ground

Second Place: Chris Swainston, SLUG magazine, for Rocky Hudson Jr.

First Place: Clyde Mueller, Santa Fe New
Mexican, for SF Prep Taos boys soccer

 

Circulation more than 75,000

101 — News Reporting, Single Story

Third Place: Michael Booth, Jennifer Brown, Denver Post, for Food Audits Lack Punch

Second Place: Rene Romo, Albuquerque Journal, for The Slaying of a Foster

First Place: Heather May, Salt Lake Tribune, for Utah children and PTSD

 

102 — Breaking News

Third Place: Jim Monteleone and Jeff Proctor, Albuquerque Journal, for EX UNM president busted

Second Place: The Denver Post Staff, Melo Out

First Place: Dan Boyd, John Fleck, Phil Parker and Kiera Hay, Albuquerque Journal, for Los Alamos Under Siege

 

103 — General Reporting Series or Package

Third Place: Brandon Loomis, Salt Lake Tribune for Our dying forests

Second Place: Vic Vela, Albuquerque Journal, for Mother, boyfriend accused of abuse

First Place: Brian T. Smith and Mike Gorrell, Salt Lake Tribune, for Forecs behind the Jazz’s success

 

104 — Investigative/Enterprise Reporting

Third Place: Christopher Osher, Denver Post, for Enterprise Zones

Second Place: James Carlson, 5280 for The Biggest Green Scam in America

First Place: Jennifer Brown and David Olinger, Denver Post, for 10 Year Laters: Homeland Security

 

105 — News Feature

Third Place: Melinda Rogers, Salt Lake Tribune, for Elizabeth’s Choice

Second Place: Charles Brunt, Albuquerque Journal, for Last Code Talker

First Place: Kristen Moulton, Salt Lake Tribune for Forget basic training

 

106 — Public Service

Third Place: Staff, Salt Lake Tribune, for reporting, editorial stance, lobbying efforts help preserve Utah’s open record laws

Second Place: David Olinger and Kevin Vaughan, Denver Post for Adams County

First Place: Patrick Doyle, Luc Hatlestad, Lindsey B. Koehler, 5280 for State of Disrepair

 

107 — Personal Columns

Third Place: Jay Evensen, Deseret News

Second Place: Peg McEntee, Salt Lake Tribune

First Place: Leslie Linthicum, Albuquerque Journal

 

108 — Editorials

Second Place: D’Val Westphal, Albuquerque Journal

First Place: Sharon Hendrix, Albuquerque Journal

 

Sports

109 — General Reporting

Third Place: Brian T. Smith, Steve Luhm, Tony Jones, Kurt Kragthorpe, Gordon Monson, Bill Oram, Salt Lake Tribune for Coverage of the read of Deron Williams

Second Place: Brian T. Smith, Kurt Kragthorpe, Tony Jones, Steve Luhm, Gordon Monson, Salt Lake Tribune for Coverage of NBA draft

First Place: Brian T. Smith, Steve Luhm, Tony Jones, Kurt Kragthorpe, Gordon Monson, Michael C. Lewis, Derek P. Jensen, Christopher Smart, Salt Lake Tribune, for Coverage of the resignation of Jerry Sloan

 

110 — Feature Writing

Third Place: Ed Johnson, Albuquerque Journal, for A master at more than trumpet

Second Place: Bill Oram, Salt Lake Tribune for McMahon’s No. 1 fan,

First Place: Bill Oram, Colin D. Smith, Salt Lake Tribune for When the Mighty Bambino Came to Town

 

111 — Columns

Third Place: Kurt Kragthorpe, Salt Lake Tribune

Second Place: Rick Wright, Albuquerque Journal

First Place: Gordon Monson, Salt Lake Tribune

 

Business

112 — General Reporting

Third Place: Joey Ferguson, Desert news for Genealogy: expanding the family tree

Second Place: Rivkela Brodsky, Albuquerque Journal, Too Green to pay up?

First Place: Paul Beebe, Lesley Mitchell, Salt Lake Tribune for Turbulent times for the middle class

 

113 — Feature Writing

Third Place: Tom Harvey, Salt Lake Tribune, for Hero scammer: the two sides of Jeremy Johnson

Second Place: Richard Metcalf, Albuquerque Journal, for Urban Legacy Story Behind Iconic Photo Shows

First Place: Patrick Doyle, 5280, for The Last Resort

 

114 — Investigative Reporting

Third Place: Tom Harvey, Matt Canham, Steven Oberbeck, Kirsten Stewart, Salt Lake Tribune, for The State of Supplements

Second Place: Richard Metcalf, Albuquerque Journal, for Legal Fees Eating Up Vaughan Assets

First Place: David Migoya, Denver Post

 

115 — Columns

Second Place: Winthrop Quigley, Albuquerque Journal

First Place: Lesley Mitchell, Salt Lake Tribune

 

Arts and Entertainment

116 — Reporting

Third Place: Sean P. Means, Salt Lake Tribune, for Making Artistic Sense of 9-11

Second Place: Adrian Gomez, Albuquerque Journal, for State-Funded Star Power

First Place: Ben Fulton, Sean P. Means, Derek P. Jensen, Salt Lake Tribune for Boon or Boondoggie

 

118 — Food and Beverage Reporting

Third Place: Patrick Doyle, Natasha Gardner, Geoff Van Dyke, 5280 for A beer for all seasons

Second Place, Tucker Shaw, Denver Post

First Place: Amanda M. Falson, 5280 for Rise and Dine,

 

Education

119 — General Reporting

First Place: Lisa Schencker, Salt Lake Tribune, for From Taxes to classes

 

120 — Feature Writing

Second Place: Luc Hatlestad, 5280, for Transitions

First Place: Jim Moteleone, Albuquerque Journal, for Classroom first

 

121 — Investigative/Enterprise reporting

Second Place: Eric Gorski, David Olinger, Denver Post, for Meeker Elementary

First Place: Jim Monteleone, Albuquerque Journal, for Doubling Down, UNM, NMSU paying

 

Politics

122 — General Reporting

Third Place: Matt Canham, Salt Lake Tribune, for Is hatch’s right turn wrong way for a win?

Second Place: Sara Israelsen-Hartley, Deseret News for Pro-life movement making a comeback

First Place: Patrick Doyle, 5280 for The Tamale Maker of Tejon St.

 

123 — Feature Writing

Third Place: Dan McKay, Albuquerque Journal, for Pulpit and Politics

Second Place: David Montero, Salt Lake Tribune, for Amnesty revisited

First Place: Robert Sanchez, 5280 for Down but not out

 

124 — Investigative/Enterprise Reporting

Third Place: Matt Canham, Salt Lake Tribune, for From an industry insider to regulator

Second Place: David Montero, Salt Lake Tribune, For Arizona law: buyer’s remorse,

First Place: Mike Gallagher, Albuquerque Journal, for Casino Deal that didn’t get done

 

Law and Order

125 — General Reporting

Third Place: Aaron Falk, Salt Lake Tribune, for Dead or alive, Utah attorney remains wanted man

Two Place: Sara Israelsen-Hartley, Desert news, for Innocence Lost

First Place: Elizabeth Stuart, Deseret News, for Stolen innocence: the battle against modern-day slavery in the U.S.

 

126 — Feature Writing

Second Place: Nate Carlisle, Salt Lake Tribune, for The Voice of Utha’s minutemen

First Place: Aaron Falk, Salt Lake Tribune, for Leaving controversy behind, ex-judge starts new chapter

 

127 — Investigative/Enterprise Reporting

Second Place: Jeremiah Stettler, Tony Semerad, Salt Lake Tribune, for Where’s the first

First Place: Nate Carlisle, Salt Lake Tribune, for Criminal Pasts: gone but not forgotten

 

Science and Technology

128 — General Reporting

First Place: Lois M. Collins, Deseret News, for Give thanks for the fruit fly

 

Environment

131 — General reporting

Third Place: Derek Jensen, Judy Fahys, Salt Lake Tribune, Oil Spill is with us still

Second Place: Michael Hartranft, Albuquerque Journal, for Battle over San Juan Feds, PNM at Odds over coast

First Place: Bruce Finley, Denver Post

 

132 — Feature Writing

Second Place: Bruce Finley, Denver Post, GPS has scientists recalculating positions on animals wanderlust

First Place: Judy Fahys, Salt Lake Tribune, EPA special agents: We don’t have jobs, we have missions

 

133 — Enterprise Reporting

Third Place: Karen Crummy, Denver Post, for State tries to Cotter draw fire,

Second Place: John Fleck, Albuquerque Journal, for Driest season recorded stokes fire conditions

First Place: Amy Choate-Nielsen, Deseret News, for The danger down below

 

Health Care

134 — General reporting

First Place: Michael Booth, Denver Post, for Stashes of cash put state health insurers on spot

 

135 — Feature Writing

Third Place: Lois M. Collins, Deseret News, for Unbreakable

Second Place: Elizabeth Stuart, Deseret News, for Seeds of Hope

First Place: Megan Feldman, 5280, for Abbey’s Mom

 

136 — Investigative/Enterprise Reporting

Third Place: Christopher Osher, Jennifer Brown, Michael Booth, Denver Post for Davita Defends Drug Decisions

Second Place: Colleen Heild, Albuquerque Journal, for Back Trouble lawyers

First Place: Heather May, Salt Lake Tribune for Healthy for whom?

 

Online

137 — General Website excellence

Second Place: Denver Post

First Place: Salt Lake Tribune

 

138 — Blog

Third Place: Denver Post political team, Denver Post for The Spot

Second Place: John Hendrickson, Ricardo Baca, John Wenzel, Denver Post for Reverb

First Place: Denver Post Broncos team, Denver Post, for First and Orange

139 — Mobile App

First Place: Allen Klozowski, Dan Schneider, Denver Post

140 — Multimedia Story

Third Place: Jefferson Panis, Julie Dugdale, 5280 for Just Coasting

Second Place: Denver Post staff for 9/11, Ten Years Later

First Place: Mahala Gaylord, Craig F. Walker, Meghan Lyden, Tim Rasmussen, Denver Post for Welcome home: The story of Scott Ostrom

141 — LIve coverage with an online tool

First Place: Denver Post staff for Occupy Denver, Oct. 12-13

 

Photography

142 — Spot News

Third Place: Craig F. Walker, Denver Post for Occupy Clash

Second Place: Rick Egan, Salt Lake Tribune for 21st South Freeway Crash

First Place: Jeffery D. Allred, Deseret News, for Mountain Fire

 

143 — News Photography

Third Place: AAron Ontiveroz, Denver Post, for Fallen Officer

Second Place: Jeffery D. Allred, Deseret News for Unbreakable

First Place: Trent Nelson, Salt Lake Tribune for Troops come home

144 — Feature Photography

Third Place: Steve Griffin, Salt Lake Tribune for Swan and snow

Second Place: John Leyba, Denver Post for Summer Lights

First Place: Karl Gehring, Denver Post, Homecoming

145 — Sports Photography

Third Place: Steve Griffin, Salt Lake Tribune, for FIS skiing at Deer Valley

Second Place: Scott Sommerdof, Salt Lake Tribune, Syracuse vs. Alta

First Place: Jim Thompson, Albuquerque Journal, State-ment

 

Folks,

The Society of Professional Journalists is accepting applications for the Ted Scripps Leadership Institute, which provides excellent training for chapter leaders. Most of the costs are covered; applicants only have to pay $100 to attend. It will run June 1-3 in Indianapolis. I highly recommend attending. The deadline to apply is March 15. For more information, click here.