Published: January 26, 2009 08:42 am      

Commonwealth Journal wins nine KPA awards

Local News

Nearly every member of the Commonwealth Journal newsroom took home something from the 2008 Kentucky Press Association “Excellence in Kentucky Newspapers” contest, using a strong mix of stories, photos and page design to earn recognition from their industry peers.

News editor Jeff Neal, sports editor Steve Cornelius, and reporters Tricia Neal and Susan Wheeldon all placed in the top three in a number of the contest’s categories, while reporters Chris Harris and Heather Pyles and editor emeritus Bill Mardis earned “honorable mention” status for their outstanding submissions.

Cornelius achieved a first place standing in the “Best Sports Picture Essay” category for a series of photographs capturing Oak Hill student Jill Collier, a fifth-grade cross country runner, in motion. One singles her out, capturing her alone in stride looking like any other athlete; another shot showed her diminutive size in proportion to the older runners around her, and a third captured a whimsical side of this youth known as one of the state’s best harriers.

“Great composition,” read the comments by the judge who scored Cornelius’ work. “Very eye-catching.”

Cornelius also won third place for “Best Sports Story,” telling the tale of Pulaski County girls basketball coach Larry Hurt’s last game on the sideline in February. “A great story about a tough coach,” said Cornelius’ judge. “A great lead, gives the readers insight into the man’s passion, talent and impact he has had on so many young lives. Wonderful job!”

Cornelius wasn’t the only CJ staffer to do well in a sports category. Wheeldon, a photography ace, claimed third place in “Best Sports Picture” for her shot of local youth gymnast Katie Dalton doing a backflip in mid-air, resulting in the KPA judges’ praise: “Great composition, very nice image captured under difficult circumstances.”

Tricia Neal showed her stuff with three awards this year. Annually a contender in the “Best Column” category, Neal again picked up a third place ranking for opinion pieces on the local animal shelter controversy, the smoking ban debate, and why love songs today don’t match up to the radio hits of yesteryear. “‘Just an Old-Fashioned Love Song,’ I get that!” said the judge.

Neal also won second place in “Best On-Going/Extended Coverage Story” for her October, 2007 account of century-old bones discovered near Boat Dock Road — “I really liked this story,” said the judge. “The reporter thoroughly engaged me in this local mystery.” Neal received an Honorable Mention for her “Best General News Story” in October, 2007, detailing Somerset Mayor Eddie Girdler’s use of an SUV bought with gas department money. “Good public service story, draws a good idea to remind government officials whose money they are spending,” read the judges’ comments.

Mardis also did well in the “On-Going/Extended Coverage” selections, with an Honorable Mention for his coverage of the Wolf Creek Dam Crisis. “An important local story thoroughly covered,” said the judge.

Jeff Neal won second place for “Best Editorial Page,” for entries featuring opinions on the animal shelter, county road supervisor Steven Johnson, the Ferguson dissolution vote, Pulaski County’s history, and an example of local youth football scouting run amok (as compared to New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick).

“Denotes plenty of space to community comments and sticks mostly to local issues, with a nice, clean layout,” said the judge.

Harris and Pyles shared an Honorable Mention for “Best Spot News Story,” referring to news coverage of unplanned events. The March incident told in the story involved a local inmate who escaped his work detail with the help of his mother.

“Using details and quotes, the strong narrative provides a different glimpse into what could have been a straight news story,” said the judge. “The comments by police, the descriptives and photos bring this jail break gone awry to life.”

The contest considered entries from October of 2007 to September of 2008, and was judged by members of the press from out-of-state.