The Juneau Empire and Capital City Weekly received 17 Morris Journalism Excellence awards, announced its parent company, Morris Communications.<\/p>\n
The awards include 11 first place finishes in 15 categories, and six honorable mentions.<\/p>\n
The annual awards competition is held annually among Morris\u2019 11 daily newspapers and about a dozen non-daily newspapers. The Empire and CCW competed in the small newspaper category.<\/p>\n
Entries were judged by newspaper executives and journalism professors and professionals through the U.S.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese awards confirm what we already know,\u201d said Empire and CCW Publisher Rustan Burton. \u201cThe Juneau Empire does some great work, thanks to a great newsroom.\u201d<\/p>\n
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First place honors<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2022 Community Engagement, Juneau Empire staff, transboundary mining. Wrote the judge: \u201cThe Juneau Empire devoted extraordinary space to reporting, commentary and public response to the issue of Canada\u2019s transboundary mining … and it appears it\u2019s getting results. … A real triumph for a small newspaper.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 Deadline reporting, Emily Russo Miller, Murder in the Valley<\/a><\/strong>. Wrote the judge: \u201cReporter Emily Russo Miller hustled hard all day to get details of a murder on which Juneau Police released almost no information. … The reporter touched all the bases. … Excellent detail and great reporting angles.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 Watchdog Reporting, Paula Ann Solis and Randi Spray, Schools in jeopardy<\/a><\/strong>. Wrote the judge: \u201cThorough look at the impact potential school funding changes could have on local schools. Examines the pros and cons while the proposals are still being vetted, before they get to the legislation stage. That\u2019s a genuine public service for concerned parents. … A great example of a newspaper getting out in front of a story.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 Writing, Emily Russo Miller. Wrote the judge: \u201cEmily Miller has a great writing style. … It is clear and to the point and conveys the story she is telling in excellent form. Douglas Island<\/a><\/strong> and Hoonah trial<\/a><\/strong> are strong uses of detail creating a vivid sense of place. Moving a library<\/a><\/strong> is delightfully offbeat.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 Community Service (tie), Charles L. Westmoreland and Sam DeGrave, Child care crisis in Juneau. Wrote the judge: \u201cWell-focused, comprehensive package that revealed the problem and got immediate results. That\u2019s the definition of community service journalism. Solid work that no doubt helped expedite changes in local ordinances and resulted in it being easier to operate child-care centers in Juneau.\u201d<\/p>\n [http:\/\/juneauempire.com\/local\/2015-08-11\/child-care-boost-passes-assembly<\/a>]<\/p>\n [http:\/\/juneauempire.com\/local\/2015-05-03\/daycare-juneaus-new-crisis<\/a>]<\/p>\n \u2022 Community Service (tie), Emily Russo Miller, Heroin series. Wrote the judge: \u201cKudos to Emily Russo Miller of the Juneau Empire who successfully sounded the alarm on the city\u2019s heroin epidemic \u2014 with several stories and two series. One four-part series<\/a><\/strong> underscored the need for treatment options for heroin addicts and prompted action \u2014 both by the community and by the Alaska Legislature. Community journalism at its best. A lot of gritty details here and a lot of reporting that showed, rather than told, what was going on.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 Commentary, James Brooks. Wrote the judge: \u201cSuch a great example of editorial voice. Thundering at the world, using narrative techniques to make opinion more interesting. Commentary should be compelling. James Brooks makes it so.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 Graphics, James Brooks, Alaska\u2019s arteries<\/a><\/strong>. Wrote the judge: \u201cThis graphic is jam-packed with layers of information. I felt like I was pulling back layers of an onion as I spent time dissecting this infographic. At first glance, it\u2019s almost a bit overwhelming, but it is smartly crafted, with the weights of the lines, the sizes of the dots and the colors all adding to the detail.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 Photography, Michael Penn, Alaska daily life. Wrote the judge: \u201cWhat a wonderful, diverse collection of images, from the majestic to the mundane \u2014 great beauty and great sadness. I feel that I walk away with a sense of what this community is like after clicking through these 14 photos by Penn. This collection beats the bigger papers.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 Videography, Michael Penn, Musical playground<\/a><\/strong>. Wrote the judge: \u201cFun. This story really doesn\u2019t need many words … just let the pictures (and the sound) tell the tale. Nice job capturing the joy that the kids are experiencing when creating all this \u2018music.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 William S. Morris Innovation Award, Juneau Empire and Capital City Weekly, Building audience one village at a time. Wrote the judge: Congratulations to Mary Catharine Martin, Juneau Empire and Capital City Weekly for finding a creative way to finance reporting trips to rural Alaskan villages. Every town should have its own paper and you\u2019re finding a way to make this happen. I\u2019m fairly certain this is the first time I\u2019ve ever given an award due to a partnership with a seaplane company (Alaska Seaplanes), but it works. …The idea of trading ad lineage to increase coverage, especially in a far-flung area, is a great idea.\u201d<\/p>\n [http:\/\/juneauempire.com\/outdoors\/2015-05-01\/catching-chromers-yakutat<\/a>]<\/p>\n [http:\/\/juneauempire.com\/outdoors\/2015-10-16<\/a>]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Honorable mentions<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2022 Deadline Reporting, Sam DeGrave, Sitka landslide<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n \u2022 Writing, Mary Catharine Martin (see “Innovation Award” articles)<\/p>\n \u2022 Commentary, Charles L. Westmoreland<\/p>\n \u2022 Graphics, James Brooks, Cost of Thanksgivin<\/strong>g<\/a><\/p>\n