News & Awards
Sierra Nevada Media GroupSNMG Publications Win More Than 100 Awards This MonthSeptember 30, 2009Continuing the legacy of media excellence in Nevada, SNMG publications brought home a variety of awards from this year’s Nevada Press Association convention in Winnemucca.
Outstanding Journalist –Weeklies Annie Flanzraich, North Lake Tahoe Bonanza “Extremely versatile. Is able to engage the community in a variety of ways. Listens to the readers and can tackle tough issues.” Journalist of Merit Adam M. Trumble, Nevada Appeal “Adam shows more layout savvy than many of the so-called experts we spend thousands on. Impressed with the easy reading of his pages.” Best Spot News Story Honorable Mention: F.T. Norton, Nevada Appeal “Man fires shot to get attention” “Good solid story. Subject never just made it more interesting. Well told.” Best Business Coverage 3. Nevada Appeal “Local pieces are well written and interesting reads. Nice job!” Best Local Non-Staff Column 1. Guy Farmer, Nevada Appeal “Politics covered in an entertaining and interesting manner. Honorable Mention: Joe Santoro, Nevada Appeal Best Spot News Photo Coverage Honorable Mention: Cathleen Allison, Nevada Appeal “Washoe Fire” “Wonderful visually. Art and headline are perfect combo.” Best Special Section (Advertising) 1. Terri Thomas, Nevada Appeal “Boomers” “Remarkable job. Visually appealing! Nice layout and great advertising design.” 2. Terri Thomas, Nevada Appeal “In Focus” “Another visually appealing publication! Very easy to read and loved the concept of the overall publication.” CLASS 2 General Excellence 1. Sierra Sun “Fantastic community coverage and use of staff to fill majority of paper with well-written local content. Would like to see broader coverage on opinion page – particularly more letters. As for appearance, would like to see more consistent reproduction with press and climate muddy photos.” Journalist of Merit 1. Sara Thompson, Tahoe Daily Tribune Best Spot News Story Honorable Mention: Staff, Sierra Sun “Historic” “Good local reaction to historic events. However, were there no Republicans marching?” Best Feature Story 1. Greyson Howard, Sierra Sun “One step at a time” “Great lead, really drops you onto the trail. Great details.” 3. Greyson Howard, Sierra Sun “Trail blazers” “Similar to winning story, not quite as visual, but more focused.” Best Business Coverage 1. Tahoe Daily Tribune Numerous – by Sara Thompson “The author does a nice job of letting the readers get a glimpse of the subjects. I am sure her articles are well received within her community.” Best Business News Story 1. Michael Maresh, Lahontan Valley News “Assisted living center closing” “Great coverage of a story with a lot of local impact – very informative.” Best Business Feature Story 1. Nick Cruit, Sierra Sun “Long live the video store” “Interesting take on a national trend and how it affects a local businesswoman.” 2. Sylas Wright and Paul Raymore, Sierra Sun “Praxis pride” “Interesting back story to highlight the business.” Best Explanatory Journalism 3. Gregson Howard, Sierra Sun “Climate change” Best News Feature Story Best Investigative or In-depth Story or Series 1. Adam Jensen, Tahoe Daily Tribune “‘Climate Survey’ is critical of police department management” Best Local Sports Story 2. Sylas Wright, Sierra Sun “Truckee skier overcomes paralysis to ski again” “Description of injuries draws reader in for this feature.” Best Local Sports Feature 1. Sylas Wright, Sierra Sun “Bard of the backboard” “The lead of this feature draws readers into the story and much of the writing continues sharp through the rest of the story. By far, the best written piece in this category.” 2. Thomas Ranson, Lahontan Valley News “An Olympic dream” “Interesting story on Fallon athlete who hopes to reach the Olympics. It lacks in physical description, but explains his motivation well.” 3. Steve Yingling, Tahoe Daily Tribune “Toomey recalls 1968 trials, Olympic Games” “A flashback to history and what’s changed since he competed in the trials. The lead is intriguing, with Toomey trying to find a souvenir from the site and failing. But the story of that is buried deep. Need to focus first on what’s in the lead– tell the story of why he’s looking back at that time.” Best Local Sports Column 2. Sylas Wright, Sierra Sun “I liked the baseball fashion debate column and even the one on personal history with grandfather at college baseball games, but column lacks stories on local sports and those in competition.” Best Page One Design 1. Sierra Sun “Nice use of photo overlays. Designer obviously took some time to think about placement of each copy block. Be careful not to let them get too busy. Pay more attention to color box. Some photos get a little dark, making them difficult to read.” Best Special Section (Editorial) 3. Lahontan Valley News “Silver State International” “Good local content.” Best Spot News Photo Coverage 1. Jim Grant, Tahoe Daily Tribune “Two arrested” “Good job catching breaking news and getting a good photo to summarize the article.” 3. Jonah M. Kessel, Tahoe Daily Tribune “Wind-whipped fire” “Nice photos.” Best Feature Photo 3. Kim Lamb, Lahontan Valley News “First day jitters” Honorable Mention: Jim Grant, Tahoe Daily Tribune “Go fish” Best Multiple Feature Photos 1. Jonah M. Kessel, Tahoe Daily Tribune “Training to be heroes” “Extremely comprehensive essay that covers the subject from many interesting angles. In this one, the photos tell the story.” 2. Jonah M. Kessel, Tahoe Daily Tribune “Mount Morrison” “Dramatic photos and great layout. Very appealing page.” Best Portrait 1. Jim Grant, Tahoe Daily Tribune “Family of fallen sergeant” “Photo captures the emotions of the subject well.” 3. Jonah M. Kessel, Tahoe Daily Tribune “Medicinal pot” “Captures the mood of the subject while protecting his identity.” Best Illustrated Photo 3. Kim Lamb, Lahontan Valley News “USA” “Wham! Bam! Very active illustration.” Best Sports Photo 2. Jim Grant, Tahoe Daily Tribune “Penalty kicks” “Nice moment captured away from the action. Nice capture of emotion on faces.” Web Site Community Participation 1. Sierra Sun Best Multi-Color Ad 3. Keigh Cox, Tahoe Daily Tribune “Christmas sale” “Good design – problems with registration results in less impact.” Best Special Section (Advertising) 1. Keigh Cox, Tahoe Daily Tribune “Tahoe Ski and Board 2009” “Great overall design. Incredible photos and loved the use of color in layout. Awesome cover design. Ads were designed to target the ski and snow-boarding demographic.” 2. Michelle Morton, Tahoe Daily Tribune “Tahoe Summer” “Nice layout and great content. Creative layout design on separating North and South Shore content. A definite hold-on-to publication for locals and tourists.” 3. Terri Thomas, Sierra Sun “Tahoe Winter” “Very informational! Great job on the content and graphics.” CLASS 3 General Excellence 2. The Record-Courier Journalist of Merit Annie Flanzraich, North Lake Tahoe Bonanza “Is there anything this reporter doesn’t do? Great news and feature writing. Wonderfully thorough series work. Very easy to read. Well done.” Community Service 1. North Lake Tahoe Bonanza “Election forums” “Newspapers are in a unique position to link voters and candidates. Congratulations to you for going above and beyond the call to do just that.” 2. North Lake Tahoe Bonanza “Locals” “Nice community piece.” Best Spot News Story Honorable Mention: Kurt Hildebrand, The Record-Courier “Pilot spots hurt man in Black Rock” “Unusual story, well told. Would have liked condition info on injured man.” Best Feature Story 1. Annie Flanzraich, North Lake Tahoe Bonanza “The algae effect” “Thanks for the editorial! Entertaining and informative.” Best Business Coverage 3. Scott Neuffer, The Record-Courier “A nice job covering local topics.” Best Business Feature Story 2. Sara Thompson, Tahoe Daily Tribune “Closed” “Candid look at how the downturn has affected the community.” 3. Kyle Magin, North Lake Tahoe Bonanza “Staying within the family” “Sweet story behind a local business.” Best Explanatory Journalism 1. Annie Flanzraich, North Lake Tahoe Bonanza “One mussel, one world of trouble” 3. Annie Flanzraich, North Lake Tahoe Bonanza Best Local Sports Story 2. Kevin MacMillan, North Lake Tahoe Bonanza “Hot blooded” “Cannot deny the headline brings in the reader, and the 0-0 tie is unique.” 3. Joey Crandall, The Record-Courier “Douglas grad Miller named to All-American first team” “Good feature on a solid player.” Best Local Sports Feature 2. Kyle Magin, North Lake Tahoe Bonanza “The ‘buddy’ system” “Nice start to story, but writing lacks clarity or focus – gets too long to hold a reader’s attention.” 3. Kevin MacMillan, North Lake Tahoe Bonanza “Cool, calm and collected” “This is more of a state wrestling preview than a feature.” Local Sports Column 2. Joey Crandall, The Record-Courier “The one column tabbed ‘commentary’ on the ending of an all-star classic football game was what lifted this columnist over others. I don’t think you need to tell readers it’s a commentary or analysis. It is a column and should be treated as such.” 3. Steve Yingling, Tahoe Daily Tribune “Column on the family at the Viking Bowl was inspiring. But the multiple-choice column and the one on discipline weren’t as strong. Push yourself to write strong columns every week.” Best Entertainment Writing 1. Jen Schmidt, North Lake Tahoe Bonanza 2. Dan Thomas, Tahoe Daily Tribune 3. Tim Parsons, Tahoe Daily Tribune Critical Writing 1. Dan Thomas, Tahoe Daily Tribune Best Editorial Writing 1. Kurt Hildebrand, The Record-Courier “Solid local editorials that get to the point quickly and accurately. Good job.” Honorable Mention: Kevin MacMillan, North Lake Tahoe Bonanza “Though editorials tend to be a little long, still well done. DUI edit especially good.” Best Editorial Page 1. The Record-Courier “Clean, well-designed edit page. Good mix of columns and editorials. Just a solid page. 2. North Lake Tahoe Bonanza “Nice mix of local and national columns and solid editorials. ‘Word on the street’ needs better questions.” Best Overall Design 3. North Lake Tahoe Bonanza “Love the use of big photos, nice layout. Very good looking paper.” Honorable Mention: The Record-Courier “Good layout. Photos could maybe run a little bigger.” Best Page One Design 2. The Record-Courier “Nice layout. Good use of photos.” Honorable Mention: North Lake Tahoe Bonanza Best Special Section (Editorial) 3. North Lake Tahoe Bonanza “Highlander Memories” “Fun reminiscent stories made this so interesting and entertaining to read.” Best Information Graphic 1. Kurt Hildebrand, The Record-Courier “Park cattle proposal” “Very clean and easy to read. Nice job.” 3. Kurt Hildebrand, The Record-Courier “Beverly Hillbillies” Best General News Photo 1. Jen Schmidt, North Lake Tahoe Bonanza “Burnout” “The combination and contrast between the sky, clouds, earth, fire and smoke give this image a painterly feel. Nice take on an often photographed subject.” 3. Shanon Litz, The Record-Courier “Farewell sweet quads” “Nice use of soft side light to capture moment between father and son.” Honorable Mention: Jen Schmidt, North Lake Tahoe Bonanza “Mock accident shocks…” “Clean composition, nice cropping makes for an impactful photo.” Best Feature Photo 1. Jen Schmidt, North Lake Tahoe Bonanza “Senior prank” “Great action shot. Nice symmetry of horizontal diver and the pool.” 2. Jen Schmidt, North Lake Tahoe Bonanza “Marrying for equality” Best Multiple Feature Photos 1. Shannon Litz, The Record-Courier “Sports previews split” “Unorthodox approach that ends up working well.” 2. Jen Schmidt, North Lake Tahoe Bonanza “A ride-along with Washoe County deputies” “Great photo package with interesting and well-composed shots. Adds significantly to the story.” 3. Shannon Litz, The Record-Courier “Of shells, scales and dandelions” “Great macro shots that shed light on an event rarely seen.” Best Portrait 2. Shannon Litz, The Record-Courier “For Joey” “The positive attitude of this patient is evident in this photo.” Best Illustrated Photo 1. Jen Schmidt, North Lake Tahoe Bonanza “In this cab, the party never stops” “In this illustration, the motion never stops. Great idea. Great photo.” 2. Shannon Litz, The Record-Courier “Skiing” “Very creative and fun idea.” Best Sports Photo 1. Shanon Litz, The Record-Courier “Nice throw” “Nice capture of a split-second moment. I think the image would have more impact if it were cropped tighter on the left and right, and if the horizon were straightened out.” 2. Jen Schmidt, North Lake Tahoe Bonanza “Bringing it home” “Nice capture of emotion. If possible, I think I would like to have seen a tighter composition.” 3. Jen Schmidt, North Lake Tahoe Bonanza “Showing some determination” “Nice composition and balance. Distracting background is minimized by shallow depth of field (nice job). Basketball hoop/backboard is a little distracting. Maybe shoot from a slightly higher angle.” Honorable Mention: Shannon Litz, The Record-Courier “Soccer” “A nice moment captured, but too many distracting and/or missing elements. Guy in background and sign are distracting. A lot of distance between photographer and subjects.” Best Web Site 1. North Lake Tahoe Bonanza “Beautiful, easy to navigate. Like sales for classifieds.” Web Site Community Participation 1. North Lake Tahoe Bonanza Best Multi-Color Ad 2. Terri Thomas, The Record-Courier “Valley Nail Salon” “Good crisp color. Soft and feminine.” Best Special Section (Advertising) 1. The Record-Courier “Almanac Carson Valley” “Incredible! The photos do a great job of telling the story. Professional layout and outstanding use of photos. Great design elements on ad layout. Honorable Mention: Chris Olesen, The Record-Courier “Fall Activity Guide” CLASS 4 General Excellence 2. Lahontan Valley News “Generally strong news writing, obviously directed to local community. Community news has strong impact. Local columns too long, but interesting. Inviting layout. Generally strong photos.” Best Spot News Story 1. Michael Maresh, Lahontan Valley News “Four students arrested for aggression toward police” “Good, solid, thorough deadline reporting.”“ Best Feature Story Honorable Mention: Christy Lattin, Lahontan Valley News “Fallon’s Sherman Ranch marks its centennial.” Best Business News Story 1. John Seelmeyer, Northern Nevada Business Weekly “Transfer of funds” “The article cold have been dull and boring. Good job of bringing the reader along.” Honorable Mention: Michael Maresh, Lahontan Valley News “Faltering economy forces Jetway to close” “Nice attempt at good story. Quoting television reporter for a news tip is a bit unusual.” Best Business Feature Story 3. Christy Lattin, Lahontan Valley News “Top Chef” Best Investigative or In-depth Story or Series 1. Michael Maresh, Lahontan Valley News “Former softball coach charged” Best Local Non-Staff Column 1. Rick Seley, Lahontan Valley News “Very entertaining.” Best Local Sports Story 1. Larry Barker, Lahontan Valley News “Fallon finishes tonight against Wooster” “The quotes from the coaches are hilarious. They seem to be burned out, and the reporter captures this.” 3. Steve Ranson, Lahontan Valley News “Greenwave ends season with a win” “Good follow-up on this game. Reader gets a good feel for how the game went.” Best Local Sports Feature 1. Steve Ranson, Lahontan Valley News “Falcon Crest – Dahl scores in Atlanta” “Strong opening. A well-written story about Fallon offensive lineman who plays for the Atlanta Falcons after disappointing start with the 49ers.” Best Local Sports Column 1. Larry Barker, Lahontan Valley News Best Editorial Writing 1. Steve Ranson, Lahontan Valley News “Close category but the ‘State Senator is wrong’ edit put this entry on top. Good tone, good research.” Best Editorial Page 1. Lahontan Valley News “Only so much you can do in tab format, but there’s a nice mix. Good columns.” Best Page One Design 2. Lahontan Valley News “Nice organization. Not too many things on front. Easy to read.” Best Page Designer(s) 3. Thomas Ranson, Lahontan Valley News “Good photos for graphics but very simple page layouts with hardly any ads to layout. Basically straight forward. Not creative.” MAGAZINES Best Page One Design 2. Nevada Home “Bold, interesting cover art contrasts nicely with clean simple fonts. Very engaging at first glance and holds attention.” Best Information Graphic 1. Sayuri Yamane, Nevada Home “Tomatoes of a different color” Best Multiple Feature Photos 3. Michael Imus and Sayuri Yamane, Nevada Home “Before, during and after” “Nice use of wide-angle to capture the remodeling process.” Best Illustrated Photo 3. Tom Zikas and Sayuri Yamane, Nevada Home “Summer sips” “Fantastic layout and art. The colors gave a refreshing boost. If I hadn’t had seven beers for breakfast, I would want a drink right now.” SNMG Publications Win Eight Awards This MonthAugust 31, 2009Congratulations to Sierra Nevada Media Group (SNMG) for winning eight awards across three publications, in the Suburban Newspapers of America 2009 Advertising and Promotions Contest. Swift Newspapers, Inc. Swift Newspapers, Inc. Swift Newspapers, Inc. Swift Newspapers, Inc. Swift Newspapers, Inc. Swift Newspapers, Inc. Swift Newspapers, Inc. Nevada Appeal and The Record-Courier |
