Citizen Staff Writer
CHIHAK COLUMN
MICHAEL A. CHIHAK
mchihak@tucsoncitizen.com
Four first-place awards, seven seconds, three thirds and two honorable mentions.
That was the stellar outcome for the Tucson Citizen and its staff members in the annual Arizona Associated Press Managing Editors awards competition. Results were announced one week ago in Phoenix.
Beside the staff and individual winners, the Citizen was named Arizona AP Member of the Year for providing the wire service with stories and photos well in advance of print publication.
Citizen first-place winners:
• Editorial writing: The Citizen Voices staff, led by Associate Editor Mark Kimble. He and Opinion Editor Billie Stanton write most editorials, with assists from Voices Editor Paul Schwalbach and staff artist Arnulfo Bermudez.
• Sports columns: Anthony Gimino, a prize winner since joining the staff in 2004.
• Sports deadline reporting: Sportswriter Steve Rivera and Gimino for the story about the temporary coaching change for the University of Arizona men’s basketball team.
• Spot news photography: Senior photographer Francisco Medina, the ace among Arizona newspaper photographers, with first-place finishes in 13 of the last 14 years.
Second-place winners:
• Beat reporting: A.J. Flick for her coverage of the criminal justice system.
• Business writing: Database reporter Eric Sagara for his early analytical look at home mortgage foreclosures.
• Best columns: Kimble, whose weekly commentary on politics and the community appears each Thursday.
• Deadline reporting: The news reporting staff for its work on the death of a child in the 2007 Tucson Rodeo Parade.
• Headline writing: News Editor Bill Clemens, who oversees the Citizen’s experienced crew of copy editors.
• Best multimedia storytelling: Multimedia manager Dan Buckley for his feature story and video on the anniversary of South Tucson’s El Casino Ballroom.
• Sports deadline reporting: Gimino for his coverage of the UA softball team winning the 2007 NCAA championship.
Third-place winners:
• Feature writing: Family Plus Editor Gabrielle Fimbres for a story on a man still living with the scars of his abuse as a child.
• Sports enterprise: Sportswriter John Moredich for a look at college sports and academics.
• Best Web site: Citizen staff.
Honorable mentions:
• Headline writing: Copy editor Jim Wyckoff, the Citizen’s longest-serving employee at nearly 36 years.
• Page design: Presentation editor Jennifer Judge Hensel for a package on the UA mission to Mars.
Congratulations to all the winners and all the hard-working members of the Citizen staff.
Because of their labor, the real winners are you, our readers and online users, who benefit from the work of this excellent assemblage of journalists.
Reach Michael A. Chihak at 573-4646 or mchihak@tucsoncitizen.com.