SMALL DAILIES/MEDIUM NON-DAILIES

SMALL DAILIES/MEDIUM NON-DAILIES: Personality profile/feature writing

(45 entries)

Judge: Jim Sachetti, The (Bloomsburg, Penn.) Press-Enterprise
Sachetti is editor of the Press-Enterprise.

First place
MARK DUNCAN and CINDY BARKS
The Daily Courier
"Steiger The man, the myth, the mayor"
"The profiles of Prescott Mayer and former Congressman Sam Steiger are as interesting and complex as their subject. Too many newspaper profiles of local politicians are one-dimensional. Not these. The readers see the mayor from many angles, thanks to the hard work of a reporter who took the trouble to seek out interviews with dozens of people who either loved Steiger or loathed him during his long political career. The portrait is also sharpened by tales gleaned by the reporter from Steiger's long and winding litigation trail. The ledes on both stories promise a lot and the bodies of the stories deliver. Perhaps best of all, the writer never drifts into adulation or condemnation of his subject, choosing instead journalism's best path: presenting the facts and trusting the readers to decide."

Second place
MARY TOLAN
Arizona Daily Sun
"Full-term project: Pregnant teen struggles with the prospect of becoming a mother"
"Interviewing any teen about any subject is tough enough. Getting a pregnant 16-year-old to talk opening about her impending motherhood is a triumph. The reporter not only managed to win this young woman's confidence, she didn't shy away from asking some tough questions. The result: a profile that ought to be must-reading for every teen-ager."

Third place
SALINA SIALEGA
The Daily Courier
"Against the odds: Daughter helps dad fight system, cancer"
"This story grabs readers with a well-told anecdote about children hiding from their father because he smelled so bad when he returned home from his job at a chemical munitions plant. It poignantly underscores the theme of the story: a daughter's battle to save her father's health from the ravages of his work, and her fight to win him compensation.