Jorge Rojas
APSE contest chair
The results are in (except photos) and the judges have spoken. Did they get it right? I’d venture to say in the great majority of cases they did. You typically don’t earn Top 10 recognition by accident.
Was the contest perfectly executed? No (it never is).
Here’s what was perfect about this year’s judging, though:
- The quality of the entries. Overall entries were up quite a bit this year. For those who were awarded Top 10s, take pride because the competition was pretty tough across the board.
- Editors mingling and catching up with each other at the reception next to the Lake Buena Vista Doubletree pool in perfect February Florida weather (it was actually a little chilly on opening night).
- The extra effort put forth by remote and onsite editors alike to make sure we “made deadline.” The remote editors who were assigned to judge Columns (in some cases more than 250 total), Beat Writing and Event Coverage didn’t have it easy, and neither did the onsite editors who got Projects, Long Features and Investigative. But everyone buckled down and worked together to get it done.
- Some grizzled veterans — names such as Barzilai, Manahan, Battaglia, Bednarowski, Deas and Adams — did yeoman work. The young lions — think Stephens, Patterson, Pelletier, Keys, Pignatiello and Barnett (is he young?) — handled heavy loads. And young guns such as Keith, Horos and Adams (Jake, not Todd) came through in the clutch. John Quinn, retired and a legend among sports editors, might have worked the hardest of all. And it was good to see Richard Bush teaming up with his old cronies, Glenn Schwarz (the dean of San Francisco sports) and James Walker (the pope of Oakland, Mich.) and riding again. Let’s just hope James wasn’t driving. AP editors Barry Bedlan and Oscar Dixon were strong as always. Those are just a few shoutouts. Everyone worked hard, and the majority of judges did so while also working their day jobs.
- Despite the workload, there was just enough time for Thai Night and possibly a dinner at Columbia. And though it was more sparsly attended than usual because of a lower-than-normal number of onsite judges, we had a good hospitatlity room setup (thanks, Chris Boan, Katie McInerney and to all who donated $$).
- Judges even found a go-to Irish pub!
What wasn’t perfect? Well, start with me.
Let’s see … there was a missing Sunday entry, two judging conflicts (despite our painstaking attempt to avoid them), two judges who “didn’t get the group chair memo” because of incorrect emails, and some instructions that could have been better and made things easier. Plus password/paywall issues were a constant challenge. Luckily, your trusty officers (and quality control ringer Lisa Wilson) were able to work through and resolve those momentary calamities.
Sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than good. Thanks to Justin Pelletier and Jim Pignatiello comparing their number of Daily and Sunday entries by the pool, we were able to identify the missing Sunday section, which ended up making Top 10. How’s that for luck? Whew!
Were the new Triple Crown, Grand Slam and Event Coverage criteria on target? Probably not. Event Coverage was popular but could use refining. Projects did not feel in the end like it was the correct category for clinching a Grand Slam. Have we figured out what to do with Special Sections? Probably not.
Really, my best defense is that the contest was more digitally focused, that it was fair for everyone, and that we made it a little tougher to achieve a Grand Slam and Triple Crown this time around. There were many publications foiled by one category — either Print, Digital, Long Features or Projects — but which still could celebrate “unofficial” Triples.
I have no doubt Naila-Jean Meyers will be able to clean up some of these imperfections next year.
One thing I am happy and satisfied with is that a lot of great sports journalism is being recognized. Congrats to the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, IndyStar and Raleigh News & Observer for making it through the obstacle course and winning Grand Slams, and to the Montgomery Advertiser for winning the Triple Crown. I’d go into the many unofficial Triples and multiple writing award-winners, but there are too many to name without overlooking someone.
We’ll be coming out with the official AP-style contest story soon. We might need to go without the photo results for a couple more days, as there has been a snag with our entry format for the judges at AP.
Like always, some editors are surely wondering what happened with their great entry that somehow was passed over by the judges.
Here is the answer: There was a flaw. It was either with the entry … or with the judges!! But it doesn’t make it any less great.
However, in the interest of transparency, here are the group pairings for this year’s judges, whose immense contributions I appreciate even more now that judging is over. Thank you for your time and effort.
Let the debates begin …
Note: A second set of three judges individually ranked the initial groups’ Top 10 in the writing categories, and the six scores were tabulated to determine the category winner, which will be announced in April.
INVESTIGATIVE
Chair: Bill Eichenberger, Las Vegas Review-Journal
Maria McIlwain, Houston Chronicle
George Diaz, Orlando-based columnist/author
CATEGORY A
Breaking News
Chair: A. Sherrod Blakely, Bulletin.com
Jenni Carlson, The Oklahoman
Brent Briggeman, The Gazette
Beat Writing
Chair: Josh Barnett, The Buffalo News
Bill Bootz, The Villages Daily Sun
Jon Gerardi, Williamsport Sun-Gazette
Explanatory
Chair: Thomas Scott, Beaumont Enterprise
Nick Feely, The Villages Daily Sun
Monica Holland, Fayetteville Observer
Long Feature
Chair: Todd Adams, USA Today Network Ventures
Barry Bedlan, Associated Press
Mike Szvetitz, FrontPageBets
Short Feature
Chair: Nick Talbot, San Antonio Express-News,
Brian White, Columbus Dispatch
Paul Vigna, PennLive
Columns
Chair: Matt Stephens, Charlotte Observer
Jeff Patterson, The Oklahoman
Ethan Joyce, Winston-Salem Journal
Projects
Chair: Michael Phillps, Richmond Times-Dispatch
Nick Pugliese, Palm Beach Post
Christopher Boan, Gambling.com
Event Coverage
Chair: Dan Spears, Wilmington StarNews
Chris Imperiale, Scranton Times-Tribune
Steve Hemphill, USA Today Network Ventures
Digital
Chair: Matt Wiley, The Gazette
Jake Adams, Lee Sports Wisconsin
Matt Daniels, Champaign News-Gazette
Daily Sections
Chair: JT Keith, Life N Sports
Tommy Deas, USA Today Network
Justin Pelletier, McClatchy
Sunday Sections
Chair: Glen Crevier, APSE conference coordinator
Jim Pignatiello, The Republican / MassLive
Em Poertner, USA Today Network
CATEGORY B
Breaking News
Chair: Traci Johnson, Tampa Bay Times
Chris Fickett, Kansas City Star
Greg Auman. The Athletic
Beat Writing
Chair: Ryan Hunt, Sports Illustrated
John Roberts, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Donn Walden, Lewiston Tribune
Explanatory
Chair: Jenny Dial Creech, The Athletic
Scott Monserud, Denver Post
Reid Laymance, Houston Chronicle
Long Feature
Chair: Iliana Limon Romero, Los Angeles Times
Scott Thurston, The Boston Globe
Sarah Kelly, Sports Illustrated
Short Feature
Chair: Richard Bush, Sports Business Journal
Glenn Schwarz, retired ASPE sports editor
James Walker, retired APSE sports editor
Columns
Chair: Marcus Vanderberg, ESPN.com
Joe Tone, The Washington Post
Michael Rose, Newsday
Projects
Chair: Shemar Woods, Sports Illustrated
Paul Barrett, The Seattle Times
Dani Medina, iHeartRadio
Event Coverage
Chair: Hank Winnicki, Newsday
Ben Brigandi, USA Today Network Ventures
Jim Seimas, Santa Cruz Sentinel
Digital
Chair: Oskar Garcia, The New York Times
Vritti Goel, ESPN.com
Bryce Houston, USA Today Network
Daily Sections
Chair: Katie McInerney, The Boston Globe
John Bednarowski, Marietta Daily Journal
Jeffrey Perkins, Patch.com
Sunday Sections
Chair: Jason Murray, The Washington Post
Chris Stone, Los Angeles Times
Shelly Darby, Gainesville Sun
CATEGORY C
Breaking News (Divisions C and D)
Chair: Tony Maluso, Baltimore Sun
George Richards, FloridaHockeyNow.com
Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald
Beat Writing
Chair: David Rivera, The Record
Aaron Ferguson, the Times of Northwest Indiana
Scott Chancey, Florence Morning News
Explanatory
Chair: Creig Ewing, former sports editor
Chris Hays, Orlando Sentinel
Joe Gisondi, Eastern Illinois University
Long Feature
Chair: Lydia Craver, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Jim Jenks, Perfect Game USA
Mike Huguenin, On3.com
Short Feature
Chair: Elaine Sung, The Daily Memphian
Gidal Kaiser, Oelwein Daily Register
Andy Kent, Andy Kent. LLC
Columns (Divisions C and D)
Chair: John Quinn, retired sports editor
Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune
Joe Rexrode, The Athletic
Projects (Divisions C/D)
Chair: Peter Barzilai, USA Today Sports
Kevin Manahan, NJ Advance Media
Joe Battaglia, FloSports
Event Coverage (Divisions C and D)
Chair: Jeff Rosen, Kansas City Star
Kirkland Crawford, Detroit Free Press
Nick Dettmann, Dettmann Media
Game Story
Chair: Gabriel Stovall, Augusta Chronicle
Matt Schuckman, Muddy River Sports
Ryan Black, Lansing State Journal
Digital (Divisions C and D)
Chair: Emily Horos, Arizona Republic
Larry Graham, Diversity Pledge Institute
Zach Ewing, The Advocate/New Orleans Times-Picayune
Daily Sections (Divisions C and D)
Chair: Erik Hall, USA Today Network
Mauro Diaz, ESPN.com
Mark Cooper, The Athletic
Sunday Sections (Divisions C/D combined)
Chair: Perryn Keys, The Advocate/New Orleans Times-Picayune
J Michael, Orlando Sentinel
Andre Fernandez, Miami Herald
Special Sections (Divisions C/D combined)
Chair: Jon Styf, The Central Square
Dennis Rudner, San Antonio Express-News
Cassie Armstrong, Orlando Sentinel
CATEGORY D
Breaking News (Divisions C and D)
Chair: Tony Maluso, Baltimore Sun
George Richards, FloridaHockeyNow.com
Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald
Beat Writing
Chair: Andrew John, The Desert Sun
Tim Walters, USA Today Network
Christopher Walsh, Bama Central
Explanatory
Chair: Michael Kates, Gambling.com
Jay Lee, Houston Chronicle
Christian Eby, The Sentinel
Long Feature
Chair: Kelley Evans, The Undefeated
Oscar Dixon, The Associated Press
Mike Huguenin, On.3.com
Short Feature
Chair: Brad Schlossman, Grand Forks Herald
Joey LoMonaco, The Free Lance-Star
Jim Henry, Tallahassee Democrat
Columns (Divisions C and D)
Chair: John Quinn, retired sports editor
Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune
Joe Rexrode, The Athletic
Projects (Divisions C/D combined)
Chair: Peter Barzilai, USA Today Sports
Kevin Manahan, NJ Advance Media
Joe Battaglia, FloSports
Event Coverage (Divisions C and D)
Chair: Jeff Rosen, Kansas City Star
Kirkland Crawford, Detroit Free Press
Nick Dettmann, Dettmann Media
Game Story
Chair: Adam Coleman, The Athletic
Michael Niziolek, Roanoke Times
Seth Stringer, USA Today Network
Digital (Divisions C and D)
Chair: Emily Horos, Arizona Republic
Larry Graham, Diversity Pledge Institute
Zach Ewing, The Advocate/New Orleans Times-Picayune
Daily Sections (Categories C and D)
Chair: Erik Hall, USA Today Network
Mauro Diaz, ESPN.com
Mark Cooper, The Athletic
Sunday Sections (Divisions C/D combined)
Chair: Perryn Keys, The Advocate/New Orleans Times-Picayune
J Michael, Orlando Sentinel
Andre Fernandez, Miami Herald
Special Sections (Divisions C/D combined)
Chair: Jon Styf, The Central Square
Dennis Rudner, San Antonio Express-News
Cassie Armstrong, Orlando Sentinel
(Top photo/Naila-Jean Meyers: From left, the self-proclaimed dream team of Mike Szvetitz, Barry Bedlan and Todd Adams won two pitchers of beer in “music bingo” at the Irish pub. But they also handled Long Features and the Top 10 re-rank of Investigative, so they earned their suds.)
