The Deadline Club is pleased to announce the winners in the 2008 Annual Awards Contest, which honors excellence in journalism in 2007. The Deadline Club Awards recognize the best in New York area journalism – printed, broadcast or otherwise distributed. Winners were announced at the Annual Awards Dinner at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square on Thursday, May 15, 2008. The evening featured a keynote address by Paul Steiger, Editor-in-Chief and Chief Executive of ProPublica.
1. The Daniel Pearl Award for Investigative Reporting
Newspapers and Wire Services – Enterprise or in-depth coverage of an important topic whose publication had or could have significant public impact. Entries may be a single article or a series of no more than five related articles, and may include sidebars
Winner
Investigative Staff, New York Daily News, “School Bus Disgrace”
Finalists
Gary Cohn, David Dietz and Darrell Preston, Bloomberg News, “The Insurance Hoax”
Staff, Newsday, “LIRR Gap. They Failed to Act”
2. Beat Reporting
Newspapers and wire services – Coverage by one reporter of a particular subject area. Entries may include four to six articles concerning that subject, and may include sidebars.
Winner
Elizabeth Bernstein, The Wall Street Journal
Finalists
Erin Einhorn, New York Daily News
Tom Robbins, The Village Voice
3. Feature Reporting
Newspapers and wire services – Trend, profile, human-interest or any other type of feature that is not a breaking, hard-news story. Entries may be a single article, and may include sidebars.
Winner
Beth Whitehouse, Newsday, “The Match”
Finalists
David Gonzalez, The New York Times, “House Afire”
John Lippert, Bloomberg, “The Fall of Detroit”
4. Spot News Reporting
Newspapers, Circulation over 100,000 – Deadline reporting of a single event. Entries must have appeared in the newspaper issue that directly followed the event. Entries must be a single article, and may include sidebars.
Winner
Staff, New York Post, “Midtown Volcano!”
Finalists
Staff, New York Post, “Village Shootout”
Staff, The Wall Street Journal, “Murdoch Wins His Bid for Dow Jones”
5. Spot News Reporting
Wire services – Coverage of a single event as it is unfolding or immediately following. Entries must have been published no later than the day following the event. Entries may be a single article or a series of up to 10 updates over a day’s time, and may include sidebars.
No winner
6. Reporting
Newspapers, Circulation under 100,000 – Spot news, series, investigative or feature stories. Entries may be a single article or a series of up to three related articles, and may include sidebars.
Winner
Michael Luongo, Gay City News, “Our Man in Baghdad”
Finalists
Alex MacInnes, Herald News,” Cashing in on the Needy”
Nathaniel Popper, Forward, “Battle Forming over Jewel of Yiddish Stage”
7. News, Series or Investigative Reporting
Magazines – Reporting on any news event or issue as a single story, series or investigative report. Entries may be a single article or a series of up to three related articles, and may include sidebars.
Winner
Staff, Newsweek, “He’s Still Out There: The Hunt for Bin Laden”
Finalists
David Dietz and Darrell Preston, Bloomberg News, “The Insurance Hoax”
Bill McGee, Consumer Reports, “An Accident Waiting to Happen?”
8. Feature Reporting
Magazines – Trend, profile, human-interest or any other type of feature that is not a breaking hard-news story. Entries may be a single article, and may include sidebars.
Winner
Charles Fishman, Fast Company, “Message in a Bottle”
Finalists
Robert D. Hof, BusinessWeek, “Who’s Afraid of Google?”
Melinda Liu, Newsweek, “Mao to Now”
Clive Thompson, Fast Company, “Motorhead Messiah”
9. Web News Exclusive
Online – Coverage of any breaking event or discovery in a Web-only publication or in the Web version of a traditional news outlet. Entries must be a single article, package of words and photos, or package of words and video, and may include sidebars.
No winner
10. News Blog
Online – Coverage of any news event or issue in a Web-only publication or in the Web version of a traditional news outlet. Entries
can be a single article or up to three related articles, and may include sidebars. Entries will be judged on quality of original
reporting, sourcing, accuracy, balance and clarity.
Winner
Elizabeth Benjamin, New York Daily News, “The Daily Politics”
Finalists
Peter Abraham, The Journal News, New York Yankeescoverage
Staff, Herald News, Election Day coverage
11. Multimedia Presentation
Online – A cohesive package of written stories, photographs, graphics, audio and/or video covering a single issue that is not a breaking,
hard-news story. Entry must include at least three of these elements and must have appeared in a Web-only publication or in the Web version of a traditional news outlet.
Winner
David Alpern, Jonathan Groat and Jennifer Molina, Newsweek, “Voices of the Fallen”
Finalists
Roben Farzad, BusinessWeek, “Can Greed Save Africa” and “Extreme Investing: Inside Columbia”
Staff, The Journal News, Empire State Games
12. Arts Reporting
Specialized writing – Coverage of theater, dance, literature, film, music or visual art. Entries may be trend stories, profiles, reviews, criticism or investigation. Entries may be a single article or up to three related articles, and may include sidebars.
Winner
Hillel Italie, Associated Press, Interview with “The Outsiders” author S.E. Hinton
Finalists
Rob Harvilla, The Village Voice, “Hot, Hot Heat”
James S. Russell, Bloomberg News, “Architectural Embarrassments”
13. Business Feature
Specialized writing – Trend, profile, human-interest or any other type of business feature that is not a breaking, hard-news story. Entries may be a single article, and may include sidebars.
Winner
Kate Kelly, The Wall Street Journal, “Bear CEO’s Handling of Crisis Raises Issues”
Finalists
Susan Berfield and Anne Tergesen, BusinessWeek, “I Can Get Your Kid into an Ivy”
Nelson D. Schwartz, The New York Times, “Can the Mortgage Crisis Swallow a Town?”
14. Business News, Series or Investigative Reporting
Specialized writing – Coverage of any business news event or issue as a single story, series or investigative report. Entries may be a single article or a series of up to three related articles, and may include sidebars.
Winner
Charles Duhigg, The New York Times, Series on businesses exploiting the elderly
Finalists
Gary Cohn, David Dietz and Darrell Preston, Bloomberg News, “The Insurance Hoax”
David Henry and Matt Goldstein, BusinessWeek, “Bear’s Hocus Pocus”
15. Opinion Writing
Specialized writing – Editorial, regular column or guest column on any topic. Entries may be a single article or up to three articles.
Winner
Jocelyn Noveck, Associated Press
Finalists
James S. Russell, Bloomberg News
Fareed Zakaria, Newsweek
16. Science, Technology, Medical or Environmental Reporting
Specialized writing – Breaking news, feature, analysis or investigation about scientific discovery, application or situation. Entries may be a single article or up to three related articles and may include sidebars.
Winner
Daphne Eviatar, New York Magazine, “The Ooze”
Finalists
Sharon Begley, Newsweek, “The Truth About Denial (of global warming)”
Carlos Caminada and Michael Smith, Bloomberg Markets, “Ethanol’s Deadly Brew”
17. Sports Reporting
Specialized writing – Coverage of an event, feature, profile or business story related to organized sports. Entries may be a single article or up to three related articles, and may include sidebars.
Winner
Murray Weiss, Stefanie Cohen, Patrick Gallahue, Tom Liddy, Jana Winter, Marc Berman and Fred Kerber, New York Post, “Fixed! NBA Ref in Mob Betting Scandal”
Finalists
Jerry Bembry, ESPN, “The Legacy of Jalen Rose and Jimmy Walker”
18. Spot News Photo
Photography and graphics – Photo of a breaking news story, either scheduled or unscheduled. One to three related photos per entry.
Winner
Ahmad Reza Halabisaz, Associated Press, “Hanged”
Finalists
Steve Chen, Associated Press, “Deadly Jaws”
James Keivom, New York Daily News, “Four Die in Bloodbath”
19. Feature Photo
Photography and graphics – Photo that does not involve a breaking news story. One to three related photos per entry.
Winner
Brent Stirton, Getty Images/Newsweek, “Slaughter in the Jungle”
Finalists
Cedric Gerbehaye, Agence Vu/Newsweek, “Congo Unrest”
Ari Mintz, Newsday, “Soap Star”
20. Sports Photo
Photography and graphics – Photo of athletes or sports event. One to three related photos per entry.
Winner
Nicolas Gouhier, Sports Illustrated, “Reflected Flight”
Finalists
Kathy Kmonicek, Newsday, “Sir, I RespectfullyDisagree”
Amy Sancetta, Associated Press, “Tuff Loss”
21. Editorial Cartoon
Photography and graphics – Editorial cartoon appearing on an editorial or opinion page. One cartoon per entry. This category is for best cartoon, not cartoonist.
No winner
22. Information Graphic
Photography and graphics – Visual representation of information using graphics. Illustrations that present no information are not eligible. Entries may be a single graphic or a series of graphics presented in a single story package.
Winner
Rod Eyer and Andrew Wong, Newsday, “Selecting a Match/Diamond Blackfan Anemia”
Finalists
Rod Eyer and Andrew Wong, Newsday, “Toxic Vapors”
Rod Eyer, Gustavo Pabon, James Rupert and J. Stephen Smith, Newsday, “Operation Red Wing”
23. Page Design
Photography and graphics – Design of a features page or pages demonstrating style and creativity while enhancing content. Entries may be a single page or a series of no more than three related pages.
No winner
24. Spot News Reporting
Radio – Coverage of an event as it is unfolding or immediately following. Entries may be up to 15 minutes long.
Winner
Staff, CBS Radio News, “Steam Pipe Explosion”
No Finalists.
25. General Reporting
Radio – Feature, series or investigative report on any topic. Entries may be a single broadcast or a series of up to three parts.
Complete entries may be up to 30 minutes long.
Winner
Carole Zimmer, Bloomberg Radio, “Subprime Meltdown: the Families”
Finalists
Gideon D’Arcangelo and David Krasnow, Pri’s Studio 360, “Migrants Lovesong”
Carole Zimmer, Bloomberg Radio, “Banning the Burqa”
26. Spot News Reporting
Television – Coverage of an event as it is unfolding or immediately following. Entries may be up to 15 minutes long.
No winner
27. Feature Reporting
Television – Trend stories, profiles, humor, human-interest stories or any other type of feature. Entries may be a single broadcast up to 20 minutes long.
Winner
Virginia Huie, Brian Jingeleski, Jim Luning, News 12 Long Island, “Fighting Spirit”
Finalists
John Capriotti and Dave Grunebaum, News 12 New Jersey, “Nobel Prize Winner”
Sandra King, New Jersey Network Public Television & Radio, “America’s Concentration Camps”
28. Series or Investigative Reporting
Television – Series or investigative report on any topic. Entries may be a single broadcast or a series of up to three parts. Complete entries may be up to 45 minutes long.
Winner
Brian Ross, Maddy Sauer, Justin Rood, Asa Eslocker, Avni Patel, ABC News, “Raped in Iraq: The Halliburton Victims”
Finalists
Barbara Nevins Taylor and the I-Team, WWOR-TV/My 9 News, “No Way to Live”
29. Business Reporting
Television – Business story reported as spot news, feature, series or investigative report. Entries may be a single broadcast or a series of up to three parts. Complete entries may be up to 30 minutes long.
Winner
Gary Matsumoto, Karin Annus, Antony Michels, Mike Schneider and Mary Linnane Bloomberg, “Phantom Shares”
Finalists
Karin Annus, Mary Linnane, Gary Matsumoto, Antony Michels, Mike Schneider, Bloomberg, “Subprime in the Schoolhouse”
Allan Chernoff, CNN, “Soaring Gas Prices”
30. Minority Focus
Omnibus awards – Coverage of a particular minority community, or of an issue with particular impact on such a community, that has import to the community at large. Entries may be a single article or broadcast or a series of no more than five related parts, including editorials, commentary and sidebars.
Winner
Gary Fields, The Wall Street Journal, Series on the American Indian justice system
Finalists
David Gonzalez, The New York Times, “House Afire” series on Latino Pentecostalism
Chloe A. Hillard, The Village Voice, “Girls to Men” feature on hip-hop lesbians
31. The James Wright Brown Public Service Award
Omnibus awards – Given to a news organization that renders a public service to the communities it serves through extensive coverage of controversial issues facing those communities. For newspapers and magazines, entries may be a single article or a series of no more than five related articles. They may include editorials, commentary and sidebars. Radio and television entries may be a single broadcast or a series of no more than five related parts.
Winner
David Evans and Richard Tomlinson, Bloomberg News, “Toxic Debt”
Finalists
Gary Cohn, David Dietz and Darrell Preston, Bloomberg News, “The Insurance Hoax”
Jarrett Murphy, City Limits, “Prisoners Dilemma”