Columbian staff receives professional awards

The Columbian won 26 awards, including second place for general excellence, for its staffers’ work in 2012 in a five-state competition organized by the Society of Professional Journalists.

Nine first-place awards — the most given to any mid-sized daily newspaper with a circulation of 25,001 to 65,000 — were for crime and justice reporting, government and politics reporting, business columns, sports feature story, sports columns, editorial and commentary, page design, feature photography and portrait photography.

The annual contest judged more than 2,100 entries from more than 250 news outlets in SPJ’s Region 10, which is Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. Categories included daily newspapers (small, mid-sized and large), nondaily newspapers, alternate newsweeklies, magazines, TV, radio and online.

The awards were announced at the SPJ Oregon and Southwest Washington Chapter’s annual banquet Saturday in Portland.

MID-SIZED DAILY NEWSPAPERS

(Circulation 25,001–65,000)

General Excellence

• Second place: The Columbian

Crime and Justice reporting

• First place: Laura McVicker, “Horror of Heroin“

Government & Politics Reporting

• First place: Stevie Mathieu, “Elected officials’ postal privileges: Few regulations apply to campaign materials“

• Third place: Andrea Damewood, “Official: Planned bridge too low“

Environment & Science Reporting

• First place: Eric Florip, “Dam-free river plots new course“

Business Columns

• First place: Aaron Corvin

• Second place: Cami Joner

Social Issues Reporting

• Third place: Scott Hewitt, “Saving lives on the border“

Sports Reporting

• Third place: Paul Valencia, “Fort, Bay building from ground up“

Sports Features

• First place: Jacques von Lunen & Ray Legendre, “Brief Impact: Serious Consequences“

Sports Columns

• First place: Greg Jayne

• Second place: Candace Buckner

Editorial & Commentary

• First place: Greg Jayne

• Second place: John Laird

General Columns

• Third place: Lou Brancaccio

Page Design

• First place: Romana Wood

• Second place: Jennifer Krieger

• Third place: Dave Magnuson

Headlines

• Third place: Susan Abe

Feature Photography

• First Place: Zachary Kaufman, “Courage to continue”

Portrait Photography

• First place: Troy Wayrynen, “Mountain View swim team”

• Third place: Troy Wayrynen, “Dog and pony show”

Sports Photography

• Third place: Troy Wayrynen, “State pole vault champion”

Photo Page, Story or Essay

• Second place: Steven Lane, “Spartan Race”

Photo Portfolio

• Second place: Zachary Kaufman

DAILY NEWSPAPERS, ALL SIZES

Graphics & Illustrations

• Third place: Marsha Matta