Chicago Headline Club Announces Lisagor Award Winners
CHICAGO, May 3, 2013 The Chicago Headline Club, the largest Society of Professional Journalists chapter in the country, today announced the winners of its 2012 Lisagor Awards at its annual awards dinner tonight before more than 350 people at the Union League Club of Chicago.
Headlining the awards ceremony honoring the best in Chicago journalism in 2012 were the Lifetime Achievement Awards given to nationally syndicated columnist and Chicago Tribune editorial board member Clarence Page and WBBM Newsradio reporter John Cody.
Chicago Sun-Times reporter Kim Janssen received the second annual Anne Keegan Award for Reporting on the Little Guy. Mr. Janssen wrote a compelling and emotional story about the life of 62-year-old Mexican immigrant Delfino Mora who was senselessly murdered by alleged Chicago gangbangers. The killers were caught in part because they posted the beating on Facebook. The author went well beyond the typical police blotter story. He got to know Mr. Mora’s family at his Chicago wake and followed the casket back to Mexico in his hometown of Michoacan where he was buried in a grave he built himself. Mr. Janssen’s piece offered a glimpse into the life of a selfless man who worked tirelessly to make a better life for his family, traveling to and from the U.S. frequently to work in construction and other jobs. Once an accomplished musician in Mexico who became known as “Don Vale” for his popular singing, Mr. Mora became an U.S. citizen in 2006 and was extremely proud of that fact before his life was taken from him too soon.
And the 2012 Watchdog Award for Excellence in Public Interest Reporting went to Christy Gutowski and Bill Ruthhart of the Chicago Tribune for their “Children at Risk” series. Their package of stories shined a light on new, treacherous risks to one of the most vulnerable populations and led to an overhaul of the state agency charged with protecting children.
The winners in the other categories were:
MULTIMEDIA COLLABORATION
Hoy Staff, Chicago Tribune Graphics Staff, CU-Citizen Access.org Staff, “Midwest Chronicles: Diversity Flourishes”
EDITORIAL CARTOON
Roger Schillerstrom, Crain’s Chicago Business, “And would you have an opinion…; All most got it; Let’s try and stay between the…; Chicago budget; ComEd; Open December 25”
FEATURE WRITING
Non-Daily, circulation more than 20,000
Bryan Smith, Elizabeth Fenner, Chicago Magazine, “The $53 Million Bamboozle”
Non-daily, circulation less than 20,000
Kate Sosin, Erica Demarest, Bill Healy, Windy City Times, “Generation Halsted: LGBTQ Youth Series”
Online
Dave Hoekstra, Jon Sall, Chicago Sun-Times, “The Giving Soul of Mitty Collier”
Television
Roz Varon, IritNayden, Steve Erwin, Mike Maher and Patricia Ryan, WLS-TV, “Interstate Identities”
Radio
Chip Mitchell, Natalie Moore, Cate Cahan, WBEZ, “A decade on, coaches try to bridge racial divide”
Daily newspaper, circulation 250,000 or more
Jared Hopkins, Chicago Tribune, “Understanding Brandon Marshall”
Daily newspaper, circulation 250,000 or less
Sarah Tompkins, The Times, “Paula Cooper: A second chance”
Specialty/Trade
Doug Trapp, American Medical News, “Health care’s 1%: Who are the chronically costly?”
FEATURE PHOTOGRPAHY, DAILY
Daily Newspaper, circulation more than 250,000
Nam Huh, Associated Press, “Tornado Troubles”
Daily newspaper, circulation less than 250,000
Joseph P. Meier, SouthtownStar, “Boo Who?”
PHOTOGRAPHY, NON-DAILY
Non-daily publication, circulation more than 20,000
Kerrie Kennedy, Simon Perry, Jake Jarvi, Kendall McKinven, John Conatser, Sheridan Road Magazine, “Cafe Society”
Non-daily publication, circulation less than 20,000
Jonathan Gibby, The Chicago Reporter, “Slammed: Photos of juvenile justice”
NEWS PHOTOGRAPHY, DAILY
Daily newspaper, circulation more than 250,000
Charles Rex Arbogast, Nam Huh, Seth Perlman, Paul Beaty, Associated Press, “Occupy NATO”
Daily newspaper, circulation less than 250,000
Matt Marton, SouthtownStar, “Haiti: A Nation of Extremes”
DEADLINE REPORTING
Daily newspaper, circulation more than 250,000
Staff, Chicago Tribune “NATO Summit”
Daily newspaper, circulation less than 250,000
Josh Stockinger, Robert Sanchez, Chris Placek, Marie Wilson, JustinKmitch, Jessica Cilella, Staff, Daily Herald, “Two children stabbed to death”
Specialty/Trade
Tim Jones, Anastasia Ustinova, Elizabeth Campbell, Bloomberg, “Chicago Teachers Strike Coverage”
Online
Greg Hinz, John Pletz, Micah Maidenberg, AlbyGallun, Crain’s Chicago Business, “Google moving 3,000 Motorola Mobility jobs, HQ to Merchandise Mart; Rahm’s recruiting efforts pay off with Google; Now comes the real chance for Motorola Mobility; Motorola’s Chicago move leaves Libertyville in a lurch”
NON-DEADLINE REPORTING
Daily newspaper, circulation more than 250,000
Frank Main, Kim Janssen, Dan Mihalopoulos, Mark Konkol, Chicago Sun-Times, “Chicago Under Fire”
Daily newspaper, circulation less than 250,000
Donna Vickroy, Matt Marton, SouthtownStar, “Haiti: A Nation of Extremes”
Non-Daily Newspaper or Magazine, circulation above 20,000
Elly Fishman, Chicago Reader, “Pariahs Amid The Rainbow”
Non-Daily Newspaper or Magazine, circulation under 20,000
Maria Ines Zamudio, RuiKaneya, Kate Everson, Kyla Gardner, Kaitlyn Mattson, The Chicago Reporter, “Dying for Attention”
Online
Mick Dumke, Chicago Reader, “The shot that brought the projects down”
BREAKING NEWS
Online
Staff, Chicago Tribune, “Coverage of the NATO summit protests”
Television
Joe Kolina, Jennifer Lay-Riske, Allison Rosati, Rob Stafford and Staff
WMAQ-TV/NBC 5 Chicago, “Nato Summit & Protest”
Radio
Mike Krauser, John Waelti, Steve Miller, Bob Roberts, John Cody, WBBM staff, WBBM Newsradio, “The NATO Summit”
NEWSCAST
Radio
Pat Cassidy, Felicia Middlebrooks, Josh Liss, Len Walter, Jim Benes, Staff, WBBM Newsradio, “The WBBM Newsradio 8 a.m. newscast”
Television
Joe Kolina, Jennifer Lay-Riske, Allison Rosati, Rob Stafford and Staff
WMAQ-TV/NBC 5 Chicago, “Nato Summit & Protest, Drew Peterson Verdict, CPS Strike”
GENERAL EXCELLENCE, NON-ENGLISH
Daily Newspaper
Staff ,Hoy, “Three issues of Hoy plus inserts that ran with those editions”
NEIGHBORHOOD/COMMUNITY NEWS, ONLINE
Ellyn Fortino, Austin Talks, “Austin aldermen author few citywide ordinances; Emmet elementary parents accuse administrator of misconduct; Austin LSCs elect new members, some schools citywide still looking to fill seats”
DESIGN
Daily newspaper, circulation more than 250,000
Dan Mann, Chicago Tribune, “The ___ at Illinois; He’s down; Haul mark:22”
Daily newspaper, circulation less than 250,000
Scott Helmchen, Northwest Herald, “2012 Summer Festival Guide, MaDoNnA, It Don’t Mean A Thing If You Ain’t Got That Swing, Unwrap a New Season of Sounds”
Non-daily publication, circulation more than 20,000
Bryan Erickson, Elizabeth Fenner, Chicago Magazine, “Chicagoans of the Year 2012”
Non-daily publication, circulation less than 20,000
JesSpivak, Suburban Life Publications, “Ready for the season? SKYWARN spotters are trained to be the first line of defense against severe weather; Few take up postcard collecting as hobby; and Fundraiser provides rare venue for student artists”
GRAPHICS
Daily newspaper, circulation more than 250,000
Alex Bordens, Chicago Tribune, “How US topped China; Playing Fields; A game of speed and distance”
Daily newspaper, circulation less than 250,000
Tim Broderick, Daily Herald, “Title IX: Local schools work to bridge achievement gap”
Non-daily publication, circulation more than 20,000
Chuck Lazar, Hospitals & Health Networks Magazine, “Data Dig”
Non-daily publication, circulation less than 20,000
Christine Wachter, The Chicago Reporter, “Subsidized housing, Wage theft, Juvenile justice”
ILLUSTRATION
Daily newspaper, circulation more than 250,000
Phil Geib, Chicago Tribune, “The toys of summer; Ready to get loose;Lovie’s last”
Daily newspaper, circulation less than 250,000
Scott Helmchen, Northwest Herald, “Anatomy of a Super Summer, Bet on Black, Summer Concert Guide, Holiday Heavyweights”
Non-daily publication, circulation more than 20,000
Red Nose Studio and Angie’s List Magazine Staff, Angie’s List Magazine, “My Doctor Saved My Life, The Spin on Prices, Chasing the Storm”
EDUCATION REPORTING
Daily newspaper, circulation more than 250,000
David Jackson, Gary Marx, Alex Richards, Chicago Tribune, “An empty-desk epidemic”
Daily newspaper, circulation less than 250,000
Marie Wilson, John Leusch, John Radtke, Tara Garcia Mathewson, Patricia Babcock, Staff, Daily Herald, ” Title IX: Four Decades of Fighting for Equality”
Non-Daily newspaper or Magazine circulation above 20,000
Ben Goldberger, Elizabeth Fenner, Chicago Magazine, “Street Fighter”
Non-Daily newspaper or Magazine circulation below 20,000
Larry Gavin, Evanston Roundtable, “District 65 Teachers Oppose New Evaluation System”
SCIENCE, HEALTH, TECHNOLOGY, ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING
Radio
Odette Yousef and Shawn Allee, WBEZ, “North Side community pursues local mental health solution through the vote”
Television
Tasha Ransom, Kimbriell Kelly, Jay Sondheimer, Steve Long, Ken Goss, Bill Barth, WPWR-TV, “There is More to Being Gluten-Free”
Daily newspaper, circulation more than 250,000
Bryan Gruley, Bloomberg, “The Man Who Bought North Dakota”
Daily newspaper, circulation less than 250,000
BowdeyaTweh, LauriKeagle, Vanessa Renderman, The Times, “Fork in the road: ‘Food deserts’ in NWI leave many yearning for access to healthier food”
Online Feature Story
The Medill Justice Project, “Spotlight on Shaken-Baby Syndrome”
USE OF VIDEO
Online
Steve Hendershot, Crain’s Chicago Business, “Want to be the next Michael Bay? There’s an app for that; Better grilling through technology; Managing the info avalanche”
USE OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
Online
David Eads, Joe Germuska, Heather Billings, Chicago Tribune, “Crime in Chicago”
SPORTS STORY
Radio
Michael Puente, Derek John, WBEZ, “Weak fan support darkens Sox Success”
Daily newspaper, circulation more than 250,000
Nancy Armour, Howard Fendrich, Martha Irvine, Associated Press, “The Hardest Hit: Famer Tony Dorsett, other ex-players suing NFL, describe negligence”
Daily newspaper, circulation less than 250,000
Steve Hanlon, The Times, “His story”
Non-daily publication, circulation more than 20,000
Bryan Smith, Elizabeth Fenner, Chicago Magazine, “You Gotta Be Bleepin’ Me!”
Non-daily publication, circulation less than 20,000
Ross Forman, Windy City Times, “EseraTuaolo: Coming back from darkness”
SPORTS COMMENTARY
Daily newspaper, circulation more than 250,000
Rick Telander, Chicago Sun-Times “A selection of 3 sports columns by Rick Telander”
Daily newspaper, circulation less than 250,000
Pat Disabato, SouthtownStar, “One drink can impair your judgment”
SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY
Daily newspaper, circulation more than 250,000
Charles Rex Arbogast, Associated Press, “Parker’s Promise”
Daily newspaper, circulation less than 250,000
Brett Roseman, Chicago Sun-Times, “State Champions”
BUSINESS REPORTING
Daily newspaper, circulation more than 250,000
Sharon Cohen, Associated Press, “It’s the Economy – a 12-part series on the economy in the election year”
Daily newspaper, circulation less than 250,000
Keith Benman, The Times, “Hitting the roof”
Non-daily publication, circulation above 20,000
Crain’s Chicago Business Staff, Crain’s Chicago Business, “State of Small Business: Masters of Customer Service”
Non-daily publication, circulation less than 20,000
Lu Ann Franklin, The Times, “Putting their chips on the table”
Specialty/Trade
Jeff Wilson, Leslie Patton, Tony Dreibus, Elizabeth Campbell, Whitney McFerron, Bloomberg, “Drought”
Radio
Chip Mitchell and Shawn Allee, WBEZ, “Wage theft rampant in Chicago car washes”
Online
Andrew Schroedter, Patrick Rehkamp, Robert Reed, Barbara Rose, Brett Chase, Better Government.org, “Rescuing Illinois (series)”
ARTS REPORTING AND CRITICISM
Non-daily publication, circulation more than 20,000
Cassie Walker Burke, Emmet Sullivan, Elizabeth Fenner, Chicago Magazine, “Fall Culture Guide”
Non-daily publication, circulation less than 20,000
Gila Wertheimer, Chicago Jewish Star, “Holocaust stories, uncovered and re-told”
Daily newspaper, circulation more than 250,000
Dave Hoekstra, Chicago Sun-Times, “The last honky tonk”
Daily newspaper, circulation less than 250,000
DannGire, Daily Herald, “DannGire on Movies”
INESTIGATIVE REPORTING
Online
Staff, Chicago Tribune, “An empty-desk epidemic”
Daily newspaper, circulation more than 250,000
Patricia Callahan, Sam Roe, Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune, “Playing With Fire”
Daily newspaper, circulation less than 250,000
Marisa Kwiatkowski, The Times, “Children in peril”
Radio
WBEZ Staff and Center For Public Integrity Staff, WBEZ, “98 Minutes”
Television
Dane Placko, Robert Herguth News, “Maywood Confidential”
IN-DEPTH REPORTING, NON-DAILY PUBLICATION
General-interest publication, circulation more than 20,000
Bryan Smith, Elizabeth Fenner, Chicago Magazine, “The $53 Million Bamboozle”
General-interest publication, circulation less than 20,000
Angela Caputo, RuiKaneya, Jonathan Gibby, Safiya Merchant, The Chicago Reporter, “Minor misconduct”
Community newspaper, circulation above 20,000
Irv Leavitt, Pioneer Press, “Homeless housing”
Community newspaper, circulation less than 20,000
Todd Wessell, Tom Robb, The Journal-Topics, “Prisoner Beatings, Fraud, Discrimination, Infidelity Charges Grip Police Department “
Business magazine or newspaper, circulation more than 20,000
Brigid Sweeney, Crain’s Chicago Business, “Sears-Where America Shopped”
Magazine or magazine section, circulation more than 20,000
Steven Kotler, Playboy, “Superhuman”
Magazine or magazine section, circulation less than 20,000
Maria Ines Zamudio, RuiKaneya, Crystal Vance Guerra, Samuel Charles, The Chicago Reporter, “Waiting in Vain”
Specialty/Trade
Andrew Schroedter, Patrick Rehkamp, Robert Reed, Barbara Rose, Brett Chase, BetterGovernment.org, “Rescuing Illinois (series)”
POLITICAL AND GOVERNMENT REPORTING
Daily newspaper, circulation more than 250,000
David Kidwell, Bob Secter, Jeff Coen, Kristen Mack, Alex Bordens, Chicago Tribune, “Chicago traffic cameras”
Daily newspaper, circulation less than 250,000
Casey Toner, SouthtownStar, “Sex scandals in District 227”
Non-daily magazine or magazine section, circulation more than 20,000
David Bernstein, Noah Isackson, Elizabeth Fenner, Chicago Magazine, “Lawbreakers, Lawmakers”
Non-Daily magazine or magazine section, circulation less than 20,000
Douglas Wertheimer, Chicago Jewish Star, “Proven: Chicago’s #1 in Corruption”
IN-DEPTH NEWS STORY OR SERIES
Radio
Alex Keefe, Tony Arnold and Derek John, WBEZ, “The Ghosts of Illinois Pensions: Past and Future”
Television
Dane Placko and Robert Herguth, WLFD-TV, “Maywood Confidential”
PUBLIC AFFAIRS PROGRAMMING
Radio
Staff, WBEZ, “Race: Out Loud”
Television
Tasha Ransom, Kimbriell Kelly, Jay Sondheimer, Steve Long, Russ Sherman, Bill Barth, WPWR-TV, “Experts Talk About Sexual Assault and How to Defend Yourself”
BEST REPORTER, BROADCAST
Radio
Chip Mitchell, WBEZ, “Chip Mitchell”
Television
Paris Schutz, Chicago Tonight, “Black Bloc”
NEWS COLUMN OR COMMENTARY
Special/Trade
Lorraine Forte, Catalyst-Chicago, “Page 2 Editorials”
Non-daily publication, circulation more than 20,000
Irv Leavitt, Pioneer Press, “Columns by Irv Leavitt”
Non-daily publication, circulation less than 20,000
Bonnie McGrath, Chicago Journal, “Sorting out the new ward boundaries; City boos Walgreens’ booze; Take control of South Loop high schools”
Daily newspaper, circulation more than 250,000
Mary Schmich, Chicago Tribune, “Mary Schmich columns”
Daily newspaper, circulation less than 250,000
William T. McGrath, Daily Law Bulletin, “Gingrich faces eye of the copyright tiger”
EDITORIAL WRITING
Daily newspaper, circulation more than 250,000
Kate N. Grossman, Chicago Sun-Times, “Chicago teachers strike: a series of 3 editorials,’ Kate N. Grossman, Chicago Sun-Times”
Daily newspaper, circulation less than 250,000
Jim Slusher, John Lampinen, Colin O’Donnell, Colleen Thomas, Diane Dungey, Editorial Board, “Daily Herald, “Pensions: Time for Change”
Non-daily publication, circulation less than 20,000
Douglas Wertheimer, Chicago Jewish Star, “Not Enough; Gun Control; No More Endorsements”
Non-daily publication, circulation above 20,000
Ann Dwyer, Crain’s Chicago Business, “Chicago was sold a bill of NATO goods; City can’t abide blind faith in mayor’s trust; State fiddles while smart meters burn”
BLOG
Individual Blog Post, Independent
John Wasik, Forbes, “Newtown’s New Reality: Using Gun Liability Insurance to Reduce Gun Deaths”
Individual Blog Post, Affiliated
Mick Dumke, Chicago Reader, “Here comes another city privatization deal forged behind closed doors, G8 moving to Camp David = one less summit to protest, and UNO’s Juan Rangel does a damn good Chris Christie impression”
Continuing Blog, Independent
John W. Fountain III, Austin Talks, “Summer cycle of death continues; Not making a choice is still choosing; Wearing a hoodie has a different meaning and consequence”
Continuing Blog, Affiliated
David Protess, Huffington Post, “Wrongfully Imprisoned 29 Years, Stanley Wrice Wins Second Chance; Exonerated of Murder, Chicagoan’s First Vote for President; Stillwater House Holds Keys to Truth About Rape Conviction of Student-Athlete”
START-UP
Staff, “DNA Info Chicago”
NEWS WEBSITE
Staff, “Chicago Tribune.com”
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