The Juneau Empire received 25 awards from the Alaska Press Club during an awards ceremony in Anchorage on Saturday.
The Empire competed in the large newspaper division in many categories, and against large and small newspapers, radio and TV stations in others.
The 25 awards, which included eight first place, 10 second place and seven third place honors, were the most since the Empire began keeping a digital database for its articles in the late 1990s.
Emily Russo Miller led the way with six individual awards, including three first place honors. Miller was named the Empire’s deputy editor in January and previously served as its cops and courts reporter since 2011. Michael Penn captured four awards in the photography category and Mary Catharine Martin received three awards for science and outdoors reporting, with two first place finishes. Martin was promoted to editor of the Capital City Weekly in March.
“Everything we do is for our readers, but it’s always nice to be acknowledged by our peers for the work we do,” said Empire Director of Audience Charles L. Westmorealnd. “In the digital age it’s a challenge to balance quality with quantity, and in recent years I think our staff has met that challenge well and the recognition we received Saturday says as much. I’m incredibly proud of our staff and appreciate the hard work they put in day and night serving the people of Juneau.”
The Alaska Dispatch News took home the most awards with 44, including 23 first place honors. The Empire finished second among newspapers and the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner earned 16 awards for third.
The Empire’s sister paper the Capital City Weekly took home three awards. Dick Callahan won first place for the best outdoors/sports columnist, and Jim Hale took home the Suzan Nightingale Award for best columnist.
Individual award recipients were as follows:
1st place
• Vern McCorkle Award for best business reporting, Emily Russo Miller, “Flipping Douglas Island”
• Best graphic, James Brooks, “Alaska’s Arteries: A visual map of ferry system anemia”
• Best Alaska outdoors story, Mary Catharine Martin, “Catching ‘chromers’ in Yakutat”
• Best science story, Mary Catharine Martin, “Kupreanof fossils paint picture of a warm and ancient Earth”
• Best reporting on crime or courts, Emily Russo Miller, “In Hoonah cop slayings, did darkness fall where light shone?”
• Best arts reporting, Emily Russo Miller, “Herb Bonnet and his unfinished work”
• Best general news reporting, Sam DeGrave, “Life in a smile”
• Best sports game/event reporting, Klas Stolpe, “Hayward’s heroics lifts Metlakatla”
2nd place
• Best graphic, James Brooks, “The cost of Thanksgiving”
• Best series, Emily Russo Miller, “Empire heroin series – B”
• Best page layout and design, Randi Spray, “Empire, Nov. 15, A1”
• Best breaking news story, Emily Russo Miller, “Murder in the Valley”
• Best news photo, Michael Penn, “Cook memorial”
• Best science reporting, Mary Catharine Martin, “Taku Glacier’s advance stagnates”
• Best general news reporting, Melissa Griffiths, “Same-sex marriage mixes with tribal sovereignty”
• Best portrait, Melissa Griffiths, “Skagway Christmas – Riding the Santa train”
• Best reporting on government or politics, Stephanie Shor, “Hidden Valley, hidden controversy”
• Best feature photo, Klas Stolpe, “Capturing the moment” (Click link, and see image 8 of 15)
3rd place
• Vern McCorkle Award for best business reporting, Sam DeGrave, “Bringing LNG to the CBJ”
• Best short feature, Emily Russo Miller, “How to move a library”
• Best portrait, Michael Penn, “Obama visit 2”
• Best news photo, Michael Penn, “Obama visit 1”
• Best scenic photo, Michael Penn, “Termination dust”
• Best science reporting, Charles L. Westmoreland, “Alaska Airlines turning to tree power”
• Best sports feature, Klas Stolpe, “Making state, one stroke at a time”
