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Summer 2004 CAP awards
honor seven outstanding efforts
Special for chipsquinn.org
Posted: Oct. 22, 2004
Five Summer 2004 Scholars were named winners of Chips Achievement Prizes for
outstanding news reporting, feature writing, copy editing and photojournalism.
Two additional Scholars received special mention for work displaying “the true
meaning of diversity in the newsroom.”
The winners are:
Crystal Luong, who worked as an intern at the Statesman Journal
in Salem, Ore., for outstanding news reporting. She won for three special
reports on medical marijuana use
in Oregon.
Judges said of Luong’s work, “Crystal’s stories were thoroughly reported and
exposed, in her words, ‘angles to a controversial issue that hopefully will
spark continued conversation among readers, patients and legislators.’ ”
Luong spent more than four weeks on her stories, which The Associated Press
filed on its state report. The stories, as Luong noted, “encompass social, political
and economic aspects of medical marijuana in Oregon.” They dealt with failed
talks between law enforcement and advocates and complexities that still daunt
local patients and police. Her reports also raised questions about the monitoring
agency’s budget. Judges said her work was “a fine, complex piece of reporting
told with clarity and force.”
Two Scholars won for outstanding feature writing:
- Traci Curry of The Providence (R.I.) Journal,
for the
story of a father
surviving his daughter's suicide.
Said judges, “Traci’s story was compelling and beautifully crafted. The daughter
in her story, a 23 year old, had a painful 18-month battle with bipolar disorder
before committing suicide in 1998. She jumped from the roof of a hospital the
day she was to be released. Traci told the story with passion, compassion and
sensitivity. The father has worked tirelessly to reach out to others who have
ill loved ones. Traci's story goes a long way toward lifting the stigma from
mental illness and suicide.”
Curry’s editor, Carol Young of the Journal, said the story was “the
best we've ever gotten from an intern. It was thoroughly reported, extraordinarily
well organized from the get-go and an easy edit. It also got a huge response
for the Samaritans and their Web site.”
“A quinceañera is a coming-of-age Hispanic ritual that melts culture, religion
and fun together in celebrating a girl entering adulthood at 15," DeLaCruz
explained to readers. She spent about 12 hours with the girl’s family reporting
the story. “The story was not only fun, well-crafted and educational, it was
an enterprise effort that landed on Page One,” judges said. “Excellent work.”
Nicole Pegues of The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Ky., won
for outstanding copy editing for her work on a story titled “Repair affair helps residents in a fix.”
Judges’ comments: “The story Nicole submitted was about volunteers who assist
elderly and disabled people with home renovation. The headline was strong, not
only conveying what the story was about, but using a nice word play to grab
readers' attention. In her entry, Nicole accurately describes keen copy-editing
skill at work: ‘The caption offered additional information that further explained
the headline and subhead. The wording of the jump headline made for easy reference
to the continued story, and the pulled quote gave proper reinforcement to the
point of the story.’”
Michael Schennum of The Post-Crescent in Appleton, Wis., was
honored for outstanding photo work. He won for his
photo reflections of the Wisconsin heartland.
Judges’ comments: “Michael submitted eight strong images, ranging from tornado
damage to rodeo action to a Summer pool dive. He captured his community with
heart, skill and sensitivity.”
Special mention, for work displaying the value of diversity:
- Ahmed Namatalla, The News Journal, Wilmington, Del., for his
story about a group of visiting Iraqi students
at University of Delaware.
Said judges, “The Iraqi students shared their views on life in the United
States while shedding light on their lives back home in Iraq. Without Ahmed,
their story might not have been told to readers of The News Journal.
He conducted the interviews in the only language the students knew -- Arabic.”
- Serena Daniels, The Tribune, San Luis Obispo, Calif., for
an
enterprise story about undocumented workers
fleeing boarder-patrol
sweeps. Said judges, “Serena’s persistence about finding sources to tell this
difficult and dangerous story is a model of what can happen in a diverse newsroom.
Serena’s heritage, her passion for the topic, along with her sensitivity,
created trust between the reporter and sources that allowed this hidden story
to be told.”
Judges for the competition were Chips Quinn Scholars Program Director Karen
Catone and Chips Quinn writing coaches Mary Ann Hogan and Dick Thien. CAP honorees
receive a copy of President Kennedy Has Been Shot by the Newseum (Sourcebooks,
2003).
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