The Durango Herald picked up 12 first places among the 30 awards given to the staff’s newsroom members Friday night at the Colorado Associated Press Editors and Reporters reception at the Denver Downtown Westin.
The Herald also picked up second place for general excellence in its class – newspapers under 15,000 circulation.
The first-place awards were for a wide variety of coverage, from feature stories to photos to headline writing to informational graphics to online stories.
Among the first-place awards:
Public service, Ann Butler, for a series on La Plata County’s large number of nonprofits, to which residents donate $36 million a year.
Informational graphic, David Holub, for a series of graphics including “High-altitude medicine.”
Online general excellence, the staff, for overall coverage.
Headline writing, David Buck, for several headlines including, “Dollars and sense add up to savings.”
Herald photographers Jerry McBride, Steve Lewis and Shaun Stanley each won two first places in individual categories.
“It’s always rewarding to have what we think is good work confirmed by our peers,” said Richard Ballantine, chairman of the board of Ballantine Communications Inc., which owns The Durango Herald. Ballantine is a member of the family that owns BCI.
“We thank our readers and our advertisers for relying on the Herald, which makes good reporting possible.”
A complete list of the other awards to the Herald newsroom staff:
Beat reporting: Second place, Chase Olivarius-McAllister, for stories on Silverton mining pollution cleanup.
Editorials: Third place, Megan Graham.
Environmental story: Third place, Chuck Slothower, “A big bet on coal.”
Feature story: First place, Vanessa Guthrie, “The gift of life ... after death.” Third place, Chuck Slothower, “Enrollment an obstacle for Silverton’s coed basketball squad.”
General news photo: First place, Shaun Stanley, “Beating gravity to the punch.”
Investigative reporting: Second place, Joe Hanel, “Feds probe Pagosa resort.” Third place, Chase Olivarius-McAllister, “Cyprus Cafe owner investigated for labor violations.”
Online breaking news: First place, Brandon Mathis, Shane Benjamin, Chuck Slothower, Shaun Stanley and Chase Olivarius-McCallister, for coverage of a plane crash that killed two. Second place, Chuck Slothower, Shane Benjamin and Jerry McBride, for coverage of a head-on car crash that killed three.
Online special package: Third place, staff, real estate coverage.
Photo illustration: First place, Jerry McBride, “Citrus.” Third place, Jerry McBride, “Today’s veganism.”
Picture story/photo essay: First place, Steve Lewis, “True to the West.” Second place, Steve Lewis, “Ice climbing festival.” Third place, Jerry McBride, “Face-lift for our old friend.”
Photo portfolio: First place, Steve Lewis. Third place, Shaun Stanley.
Portrait/personality: First place, Shaun Stanley, “Criminalizing the sick.” Third place, Shaun Stanley, “Spooky.”
Public service: First place, Ann Butler. Second place, John Peel, Sarah Mueller, Joe Hanel, “Let the sun shine.”
Spot news photo: First place, Jerry McBride, “Brush fire hits north Animas Valley.” Second place, Jerry McBride, “Luckily, this house fire was caught early.” Third place, Steve Lewis, “Accidents snarl traffic on Camino.”
Spot news story: Second place, Shane Benjamin and Ann Butler, “Sudden storm strikes.”
The Herald competed against other newspapers around the state with circulation of 15,000 or less. The awards were for work published between Sept. 1, 2013, and Aug. 31, 2014.
herald@durangoherald.com
