Seattle Weekly Wins 16 Awards

Seattle Weekly won the Sweepstakes Award among Northwest alternative newsweeklies in the regional Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Excellence in Journalism Competition. In results announced May 20, SW won 16 awards, edging out Willamette Week of Portland, which had 14.

The competition was for calendar year 2005 and included papers in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska. This was the first year alt-weeklies were limited to their own class of awards, and there were no arts or entertainment categories.

In writing, staff writer Rick Anderson, Editor in Chief Knute Berger, Political Editor George Howland Jr., and Senior Editor Nina Shapiro won first-place awards. In page design, Art Director Karen Steichen, with freelance photographer Rick Dahms and illustrator Ismael Roldan, won first place. Freelance writer Frank Parchman also won a first-place award.

Seattle Weekly also won three second-place awards, five third-place awards, and an honorable mention.

The complete SW winners list:

Consumer/Environmental Affairs Reporting
1. George Howland Jr.
Clean-Energy Frenzy
As the Northwest struggles with soaring fuel and electricity prices, corporate executives and entrepreneurs are joining politicians and activists to develop cleaner, smarter, and self-reliant energy sources.

Social Issues Reporting
1. Rick Anderson
Black and White in Grays Harbor County
In an otherwise-colorful timber town, Angela Walker and her family are taking a stand against racism.

Education Reporting
1. Nina Shapiro
The Stress Test
Choose all that apply: (a) The WASL was intended to improve schools and pupil performance. (b) It's become an unhealthy obsession among teachers, parents, and students. (c) The WASL inspires alarming anxiety among 9-year-olds. (d) It's actually stultifying public education.

Columns
1. Knute Berger
Mossback
A Back-to-School Column
Bill Gates and the tide of American stupidity.

Science and Health Newsfeatures
1. Frank Parchman (freelance)
The Super Flood
Forget an eruption. The real threat of Mount Rainier is a surging wall of mud that could bury the suburbs and splash Seattle.

Page Design
1. Rick Dahms (freelance), Ismael Roldan (freelance), Karen Steichen
Rising & Shining
Seattle's star glows bright in the international bread-making firmament.

Feature Photography
1. Kevin P. Casey (freelance), Karen Steichen
The God Life
James King had dozens of people under his sway, and his obscure New Gnostic Church had few issues with the outside world˜until he and his mistress seduced the 17-year-old daughter of two church members.

Investigative Reporting
2. Rick Anderson
Dead-End Jail
Deaths by suicide or other causes have increased in recent years at the King County Jail, but finding out why˜or by how much˜isn't easy.

Personalities
2. Nina Shapiro
A Good Cop Wasted
The WTO debacle brought down Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper, one of America's most progressive cops. Now he's published a memoir offering a frank look at his rise and fall, and the challenges of reforming law enforcement.

Leisure and Lifestyle Reporting
2. Laura Cassidy
Rising & Shining
Seattle's star glows bright in the international bread-making firmament.

Government/Political Reporting
3. Philip Dawdy
Time To Grow Up
Mayor Greg Nickels says a taller, denser downtown is inevitable, even desirable. But critics like Peter Steinbrueck say bigger isn't better unless you do it right.

Leisure and Lifestyle Reporting
3. Brian Miller
Down From the Mountain
How I nearly died climbing in the North Cascades last summer˜were it not for the people I met along the way.

Special Sections
3. Staff
A Day in the Life
What goes on in Seattle's musical life over a 24-hour span? Seattle Weekly's music writers spent Friday, Oct. 21, roaming around the city to find out.

Education Reporting
3. Bob Geballe (freelance)
Bill Gates' Guinea Pigs
The Gates Foundation wants to remake American education, and ground zero for their billion-dollar experiment is Mountlake Terrace High School. Results so far? It's been a learning experience.

Business News/Criticism
3. Bruce Rushton (freelance)
98.8 Percent Overhead
The North Seattle Community College Foundation is one of the nation's biggest credit-counseling agencies, but hardly any of the millions of dollars in revenue goes to helping students. Most of it goes to for-profit corporations.

Investigative Reporting
Honorable Mention. Philip Dawdy
The God Life
James King had dozens of people under his sway, and his obscure New Gnostic Church had few issues with the outside world˜until he and his mistress seduced the 17-year-old daughter of two church members.

Complete SPJ list of winners

info@seattleweekly.com