Review-Journal wins nine awards in annual journalism contest
The Las Vegas Review-Journal earned nine awards in the 2015 Best of the West contest, an annual competition that recognizes journalistic achievement among more than 50 news outlets in 14 states. Over 900 entries were submitted in 26 categories.
"I'm very proud of the work our staffers produced last year and happy for their Best of the West recognition, because they deserved it," Review-Journal Editor Michael Hengel said. "This is against the very toughest competition."
2015 was the Review-Journal's most successful year in the Best of the West's 13-year history. The paper's previous high of six awards came in 2012.
Copy editor Matthew Crowley was the Review-Journal's lone first-place winner, taking the top spot in headline writing for a portfolio that included "Wrappers' Delight," "Cook 'em Danno" and "Hazardous Waists."
The first two headlines, both pop culture references, "make me happy," a Best of the West judge wrote, "and they work."
The judge described another Crowley headline, "Now in previews: The vagina analogues," as the best he'd seen this year.
"Inspired-risk taking at its best," the judge wrote.
George Riggle took second in the headline category, for "more great pop culture twists," including "It's not easy fleeing green," "In death: Michael Jackson King of Popping Back Up," "Ya'll Strum Back Now," "Flip the Scripture" and "Indelible Mark."
" 'Flip the Scripture' nailed what 'The Book of Mormon' is all about," the judge said. "Then there's the perfect word choice in 'Indelible Mark.' "
R-J columnists Ed Graney and Glenn Cook each got awards. Graney took second in special topic column writing for a portfolio that included "The birthplace of Little League," "U.S. loves soccer but can't play it - yet" and "Clean base hits tangible triumph for autistic boy."
Graney also got an honorable mention in sports reporting for his July 2014 piece "Peers explain what made Maddux smartest pitcher ever."
"Ed Graney is that rare sports columnist who writes about life through the lens of athletic competition. Good balance between opinion and storytelling. Sometimes touching, other times he offers a punch to the gut," a judge wrote.
Cook grabbed two third place awards, in editorial writing and general interest column writing.
His editorial winner, a piece on the standoff with Cliven Bundy and the federal Bureau of Land Management, "shows tremendous institutional knowledge about the BLM and is filled with a wealth of examples to back up its point," a judge wrote.
Cook's trio of "Gun control lobby wrong on Wilcox," "On pro sports, proceed with caution" and "Sounding the alarm on pension reform" earned third-place recognition in the general interest column writing.
"(Cook) has a commanding, get-to-the point writing style," a judge wrote.
Review-Journal environmental reporter Henry Brean won third place in short form feature writing, for his June 30 article "Quest for quiet leads Henderson man into the wild."
"Unexpected, engaging," a judge said of Brean's story. "Makes us all stop for a moment to consider the noise that surrounds us in our everyday lives."
R-J breaking news staff, including reporters Colton Lochhead, Annalise Little and Mike Blasky, took third in breaking news for their reporting on a spree of Las Vegas murders by two professional burglars.
"The reporters demonstrated a superb eye for detail and didn't make the critical mistake of bogging down the story with a bunch of cop-speak," a judge wrote. "The events were laid out logically and economically, with plenty of details to keep the reader riveted."
Jennifer Robison, who covers the Affordable Care Act and real estate, earned an honorable mention in explanatory reporting with three articles on the Nevada health insurance exchange.
"Exceptional explanation of the forces causing nightmarish problems for Nevada residents trying to sign up under the state's new health care registry," a judge wrote.
Contact Chris Kudialis at ckudialis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283. Find him on Twitter: @kudialisrj
