By Tim Stephens
APSE 1st Vice President
Deputy Managing Editor, CBSSports.com
Year Four of the Associated Press Sports Editors Web contest saw five newspapers maintain top-10 streaks in the largest classification: New York Daily News, New York Times, The Oklahoman, USA Today and the Washington Post.
Among smaller newspapers, the Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News and the Daily Chronicle of Dekalb, Ill., captured top-10 honors for the fourth consecutive year.
Those streaks began with the inaugural contest in 2009, when there were divisions for over 1 million unique visitors per month and under 1 million visitors. In 2010, the contest split into 3 categories: over 2 million average monthly unique visitors, 500,000-1.9 million uniques and under 500,000 uniques.
The sites were judged over two dates, randomly selected by the contest chair. Judges selected a top 10 in each category as well as honorable mentions.
Special thanks to category chairs Paul Kasko of The Sporting News (over 2 million), Mike Sherman of The Oklahoman (500,000 to 1.9 million) and Todd M. Adams of UT San Diego (under 500,000).
Also considerable appreciation goes to the judges:
— Randy Brickley of CBSSports.com, Adena Andrews of CBSSports.com, Izzy Gould of Alabama Media Group, Lauren Gustus of the Reno Gazette, Andi Petrini of Newport News Daily Press, Courtney Linehan of the Times of Northwest Indiana, Deborah Barrington of USA Today and Monica Holland of the Fayetteville Observer in the over 2 million group.
— Matt Pepin of Boston.com, Nicole Poell of the Kansas City Star, Roger Simmons of the Orlando Sentinel, Houston Mitchell of the Los Angeles Times, Ed Guzman of the Washington Post, Mike Svetitz of the Opelika-Auburn News, Brian Reynolds of the Tuscaloosa News, Tony Adame of the Wichita Eagle and Michael Wallace of ESPN.com.
— Gene Warnick of the Los Angeles Daily News, Paul Skrbina of the Chicago Tribune, Donna Eyring of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Don Shelton of the Seattle Times, Al Toby of Yahoo.com, Howard Sinker of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Ryan Sharp of The Oklahoman and Peter Fuertes of Los Angeles News Group.
Winners in the 2012 APSE Web contest are:
OVER 2 MILLION MONTHLY — USERS
TOP 10
Chicago Tribune
Denver Post
Kansas City Star
Los Angeles Times
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
New York Daily News
New York Times
The Oklahoman
USA Today
Washington Post
HONORABLE MENTION
Baltimore Sun
Boston Globe
Chicago Sun-Times
Dallas Morning News
Indianapolis Star
Houston Chronicle
Orlando Sentinel
Newsday
Palm Beach Post
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
500,000-1.9 MILLION MONTHLY — USERS
TOP 10
Buffalo News
Charlotte Observer
Des Moines Register
The Daily Herald, Arlington Hts, Ill.
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Green Bay (Wis.) Press-Gazette
Lincoln Journal Star, Lincoln, Neb.
Omaha (Neb.) World Herald
Spartanburg (S.C.) Herald-Journal
Wisconsin State Journal
HONORABLE MENTION
Columbus Dispatch
Eugene (Ore.) Register Guard
Florida Times-Union
Fort Myers News-Press
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Daily Press (Newport News, Va.) Raleigh News & Observer
The Tacoma News Tribune
Tennessean
Tulsa World
UNDER 500,000 MONTHLY — USERS
TOP 10
DeKalb Daily (Ill.) Chronicle
Gainesville (Fla.) Sun
Glens Falls (N.Y.) Post Star
Lawrence (Kan.) Journal World
Marin (Calif.) Independent Journal
Medford (Ore.) Mail Tribune
Northwest Herald, Crystal Lake, Ill.
Opelika-Auburn (Ala.) News
Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News
Yakima (Wash.) Herald-Republic
HONORABLE MENTION
Bloomington (Ind) Herald-Times
Daytona Beach (Fla.) News-Journal
Florida Today, Melbourne, Fla.
The Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale, Ill.
Wyoming Tribune Eagle, Cheyenne, Wyo.
