28 Press Club awards for Empire and CCW

We’re proud of the work we do at the Juneau Empire and our sister publication, the Capital City Weekly. So it comes with great pleasure to announce that we earned 28 Alaska Press Club awards for the 2016 calendar year.

The awards were handed out during the annual Alaska Press Club Conference in Anchorage on April 20-22.

The Empire and the CCW worked hard in 2016 to produce these stories, but it couldn’t be done without our community members. We benefitted greatly from a community who was willing to trust us to share their stories. We would like to thank the people of Juneau and the larger Southeast community for inviting us into their homes, workplaces, schools and lives to be able to do just that.

From our columnists, photographers and reporters, to our editors, page designers, graphic designers, circulation, advertising and print crews — we feel we have, pound-for-pound, one of the strongest teams in the state.

Here’s to another year of great journalism in our little corner of the Last Frontier.

Best Graphic

First Place – “A visual guide to (most of) the Alaska state budget” by James Brooks.

Second Place – “A visual guide to the money behind Tuesday’s primary election” by James Brooks.

Best Illustration

Second Place – “Welcome to the ‘Indian School’” by Melissa Griffiths.

Best Portrait, large

Third Place – “Senior Singalong” by Michael Penn.

Best Humor

Second Place – “Off the Beaten Path: Dear National Geographic, please produce my reality TV show, ‘Toughest Alaskan’” by Bjorn Dihle.

Best Reporting on Government or Politics

Third Place – “Mayor plans to boot homeless” by Sam DeGrave.

Best Arts Criticism

First Place – “When equality loses its self-evidence” by Geoff Kirsch.

Best Alaska Outdoors Story

First Place – “‘There’s No Fighting Back’: Mauling survivor recalls moments he was in the grips of brown bear’s bite” by Paula Ann Solis.

Best General News Reporting

Second Place – “‘We’re Sinking:’ Juneau Family’s Fast Actions Save Lives at Sea” by Paula Ann Solis.

Third Place – “Alaska’s top anti-rape leader forced out” by Lisa Phu.

Best News Photo

Second Place – “Aurora Harbor boat fire” by Michael Penn.

Third Place – “Apartment fire aftermath” by Michael Penn.

Best Scenic Photo (Large)

First Place – “Sunrise over Aurora Harbor” by Michael Penn.

Best Profile

Third Place – “This gritty ex-con rebuilt his life. Now, he’s trying to rebuild the Bergmann” by Sam DeGrave.

Best Arts Reporting

Second Place – “Breathing life into a new beginning” by Mary Catharine Martin.

Best Short Feature

Second Place – “Folk Fest performer highlight: Theo ‘Fysh’ Houck” by Mary Catharine Martin.

Best Short Feature

First Place – “For Juneau babies, safe sleep comes in a box” by Clara Miller.

Best Reporting on Crime or Courts

Third Place – “Driver in fatal car crash sentenced to one year” by Sam DeGrave.

Best Reporting on Science

Second Place – “Juneau scientist helps discover new whale species” by Lisa Phu.

Third Place – “Tracking Juneau’s endangered bats” by Kevin Gullufsen.

Best Alaska History Story

First Place – “When terrorism came to Juneau: Solving the mystery behind the Peerless Bakery bombing” by James Brooks.

Best Sports Reporting

Second Place – “Two hospitalized as Ketchikan forfeits over safety concerns” by Kevin Gullufsen.

Best Sports or Outdoors Column

Second Place – “Off the Beaten Path” by Bjorn Dihle.

Third Place – “Woodshed Kings” by Dick Callahan.

The Suzan Nightingale Award for Best Columnist

First Place – “On Writing” by Jim Hale.

Best Culture Reporting

Third Place – “Going home in a 40-foot spruce canoe” by Mary Catharine Martin.

Best Culture Reporting

Third Place – “Building Bridges for Native LGBTQ: ‘You’re Not Alone’” by Paula Ann Solis.

Best Feature Photo

Third Place – “Dressed for success” by Michael Penn.