By Mike Sherman, APSE First Vice President/Contest Chair
Tallahassee (Fla.) Democrat reporters Ira Schoffel and Doug Blackburn’s story on how the Atlantic Coast Conference persuaded Florida State to remain took first place in the Associated Press Sports Editors 2013 contest for Explanatory writing in the 30,001 to 75,000 circulation category.
Schoeffel and Blackburn will be presented a first-place plaque at the 2014 APSE Banquet June 28 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Va.
Emily LeCoz of The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss. took second place for her story on a former cyclist haunted by a doping scandal.
Isabelle Khurshudyan took third place for her story in The State in Columbia, S.C., on protecting young athletes from sudden cardiac arrest deaths.
The top 10 is listed below with links to each writers’ Twitter pages and entries.
Sports editors in 30,001 to 75,000 circulation category submitted 62 Explanatory entries. Contest catchers numbered each entry, assuring they had been stripped of headlines, graphics, bylines and any other element that would identify the writer or news organization.
In early March, preliminary judges at the APSE Winter Conference in Indianapolis selected a top 10, with each judge ranking the entries in order from 1 to 10 separately on a secret ballot. Entries were given 10 points for a first-place vote, nine points for second and so on down to 1 point for a 10th-place vote. The final 10 were given to a second judging group, which ranked the entries 1-10 in the same fashion. The winner and final rankings are determined by tallying the ballots.
For purposes of the APSE contest, explanatory stories include trends, issues and original ideas. They shed new light on issues and personalities in the news. They are more than the feature and less than the project entry. They go beyond the “yesterday” of the breaking news story.
The contest is open to APSE members. Go to this link to join.
2013 APSE Contest: Explanatory, 30,001 to 75,000 circulation
(First-place votes in parentheses)
1. Ira Schoffel and Doug Blackburn, Tallahassee (Fla.) Democrat, (1), 53 points
Swofford's Tallahassee trips helped sell FSU on ACC deal
2. Emily LeCoz, The Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, Miss.), (2), 45 points
Doping scandal haunts former cyclist Tammy Thomas
3. Isabelle Khurshudyan, The State (Columbia, S.C.), (1), 42 points
Heart of the matter: Keeping high school athletes healthy
4. Ken Willis and Lyda Longa, The News-Journal (Daytona Beach, Fla.), (2), 39 points
Rise and Fall: Jermaine Green's promising story goes horribly wrong
5. Dave Fairbank, Daily Press (Newport News, Va.), 35 points
HBCUs work to improve NCAA academic guideline scores
6. Todd Porter, The Repository (Canton, Ohio), 31 points
OHSAA looks to level the playing field
7. Duane Rankin, Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser, 28 points
NFL Draft: Montgomery's No. 1 pick Aundray Bruce reflects on his journey to the top
8. (tie) Andy Bitter, The (Va.) Roanoke Times, 22 points
One-day football camps have become a win-win deal
(tie) Taft Coghill Jr., The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg, Va.), 22 points
10. Mark Podolski, The News-Herald (Willoughby, Ohio), 13 points
Chief Wahoo caricature controversy still hot topic
(Mike Sherman, APSE first vice president and contest chair, is sports editor of The Oklahoman. Email him at msherman@opubco.com, follow him at @MikeSherman or call 405-475-3164.)
