Gambit Weekly of New Orleans and Cincinnati CityBeat each took two first-place awards in the eighth annual Alternative Newsweekly Awards contest, while LA Weekly and Chicago Reader led the field of large circulation papers with two firsts each. Among individual contestants, Heather Swaim of OC Weekly and Thomas Francis of Cleveland Scene were the only AAN members winning two Alternative Newsweekly Awards this year. Swaim took a first in Editorial Layout and a third in Cover Design, while Francis picked up a first place in News Story (under 1,500 words and up to three entries) and an honorable mention in media reporting. Tom Robbins (The Village Voice) won first place in Investigative Reporting (circulation more than 50,000) for "The Lush Life of a Rudy Appointee: Russell Harding." Robbins' piece has already been honored by the Investigative Reporters and Editors. In the 50,000 and under circulation division, Leslie Blade of Cincinnati CityBeat won first place for her story "Piling On," a gripping deconstruction of a police investigation. In News Feature, Metroland's Nancy Guerin (Albany, N.Y.) won first place (50,000 and under) for "Schenectady Calling," a feature on the mayor's attempts to lure Guyanese immigrants to the area. In the large-circulation division, Chicago Reader's Mike Sula took first place for his "Killer on the Loose," a medical mystery story about a flesh-eating bacteria outbreak at Evanston Hospital. Gambit Weekly's two firsts were won by Sara Roahen in Food Writing and Scott Jordan for music criticism. It's Jordan's third consecutive first-place award -- he won for Music Criticism in 2002 and Sports Writing in 2001. Roahen's food writing took an honorable mention in 2001 for Arts Criticism. These two firsts, plus a second place in Cover Design for Dora Sison, gives the New Orleans alt-weekly 23 total awards in the contest’s eight years. That puts Gambit and Durham, N.C.'s Independent Weekly in a tie for total number of awards among small circulation papers. Independent Weekly also went to 23 this year with a first-place in business writing for Barbara Solow's "Blue Notes." Cincinnati CityBeat's two firsts were for Illustration -- Ryan Greis & Sean Hughes for "Does Your Vote Count?" -- and Blade's Investigative Reporting award. Among large-circulation papers, LA Weekly's John Powers took first-place in Arts Criticism and Max S. Gerber won in Photography. Added to Bill Smith's honorable mention in Cover Design, LA Weekly now has a total of 29 Alternative Newsweekly Awards, the most of any AAN paper. Chicago Reader picked up firsts in Music Criticism (Monica Kendrick) and News Feature (Sula's "Killer on the Loose). Kendrick took a first-place award in music criticism in 2001 and placed second in the same category in 1998. In its first year as an AAN member, Greenville, S.C.'s MetroBEAT won a first place for James Shannon's political commentary. The first-place winners in this year's Wild-Card Category, Business Writing, were Solow for "Blue Notes" in small-circulation and Gayle Reaves of Fort Worth Weekly for "Accounting for Anguish" in large circulation. Gambit's Roahen and Dara Moskowitz of City Pages (Twin Cities) were the first-place winners in Food Writing, a new category this year. Walter Coker of Folio Weekly (Jacksonville, Fla.) took first place for photography, his fifth consecutive award. Here is a complete list of the winning entries in this year's contest: ARTS CRITICISM Circulation < 50,000
First Place: Margaret Regan, Tucson Weekly
Second Place: Rodney Welch, Columbia Free Times
Third Place: S. Michael Bowen, Pacific Northwest Inlander Circulation > 50,000
First Place: John Powers, LA Weekly
Second Place: Joy Press, The Village Voice
Third Place: Robert Lalasz, Washington City Paper
Honorable Mention: Glenn Dixon, Washington City Paper ARTS FEATURE Circulation < 50,000
No award Circulation > 50,000
First Place: "Plays Well with Others," Andy Newman, Pittsburgh City Paper
Tie/ Honorable Mention: "Temma Lowly and the Meaning of Life," Fred Camper, Chicago Reader
Tie/ Honorable Mention: "Dancing with the Butoh Masters," Bernice Yeung, SF Weekly BUSINESS REPORTING Circulation < 50,000
First Place: "Blue Notes," Barbara Solow, Independent Weekly Circulation > 50,000
First Place: "Accounting for Anguish," Gayle Reaves, Fort Worth Weekly
Honorable Mention: "Enough to Make You Sick," Thomas Korosec, Dallas Observer CARTOON 4 or fewer papers
First Place: Various Strips, Chris Ware
Second Place: "La Petite Camera," Garret Gaston
Third Place: "Slowpoke," Jen Sorenson
Honorable Mention: “Suspect Device," Greg Peters 5 or more papers
First Place: "Tom the Dancing Bug," Ruben Bolling (Ken Fisher)
Second Place: "The City," Derf (John Backderf) COLUMN Circulation < 50,000
No award Circulation > 50,000
First Place: Chuck Strouse, New Times Broward-Palm Beach COLUMN-POLITICAL COMMENTARY Circulation < 50,000
First Place: James Shannon, MetroBEAT
Second Place: Al Diamon, Portland Phoenix
Third Place: Nate Blakeslee, The Texas Observer Circulation > 50,000
First Place: Robert Nelson, Phoenix New Times
Second Place: Jim Schutze, Dallas Observer
Third Place: Chris Potter, Pittsburgh City Paper COVER DESIGN Circulation < 50,000
First Place: David Jayne, Andrea Diaz, David Robert & Ben Purvis, Reno News & Review
Second Place: Dora Sison, Gambit Weekly
Third Place: Don Eggert & Diane Sullivan, Seven Days
Tie/Honorable Mention: Amy Pastre, Charleston City Paper
Tie/Honorable Mention: Alex Abatie, Santa Barbara Independent Circulation > 50,000
First Place: Todd Bates, Weekly Planet (Tampa)
Second Place: Jay Vollmar, Westword
Third Place: Heather Swaim, OC Weekly
Tie/Honorable Mention: Bill Smith, LA Weekly
Tie/Honorable Mention: Brian Hogan, Philadelphia City Paper
Tie/Honorable Mention: Tricia Reinhold, Heather Mull & Brian Holderman, Pittsburgh City Paper EDITORIAL LAYOUT Circulation < 50,000
Honorable Mention: "Driving Green," Monterey County Coast Weekly Circulation > 50,000
First Place: "Bombshell," Heather Swaim, OC Weekly
Second Place: "Oh, My Goth," Doug Kubert & Jay Thornton, The Pitch
Third Place: "Hope in Hell," Frank Goodenough, Dallas Observer FEATURE STORY Circulation < 50,000
First Place: "Five Days in the Psych Ward," Adrienne Martini, Metro Pulse
Second Place: "Long Lost Friend," Tricia Booker, Folio Weekly
Third Place: "Jump Jim Crow," Ron Netsky, City Newspaper
Honorable Mention: "Justice Denied," Jill Kramer, Pacific Sun Circulation > 50,000
First Place: "The Others," Jason Cherkis, Washington City Paper
Second Place: "Little Big Shot," Annys Shin, Washington City Paper
Tie:/Honorable Mention: "Little Big Man," Brad Zellar, City Pages (Twin Cities)
Tie:/Honorable Mention: "Crazy White Mother," Glenna Whitley, Dallas Observer FOOD WRITING

Circulation < 50,000
First Place: Sara Roahen, Gambit Weekly
Second Place: Gary Laing & Sam Lange, The Local Planet Weekly

Circulation > 50,000
First Place: Dara Moskowitz, City Pages (Twin Cities)
Second Place: Paul Reidinger, San Francisco Bay Guardian
Third Place: Naomi Wise, San Diego Reader ILLUSTRATION

Circulation < 50,000
First Place: "Does Your Vote Count?" Ryan Greis & Sean Hughes, Cincinnati CityBeat
Second Place: "Overwhelmed," Gregory Dickens, MetroBEAT
Third Place: "Fat Chance," Harry Bliss, Seven Days

Circulation > 50,000
First Place: "Campbell's Cuts," Jeremy Bruneel, The Georgia Straight
Second Place: "To Dive For," David Terrill, The Pitch
Third Place: "Lien Times," Christiane Granert, Washington City Paper
Honorable Mention: "How to Succeed in Business," Josef Gast, Cleveland Scene

INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING

Circulation < 50,000
First Place: "Piling On," Leslie Blade, Cincinnati CityBeat

Circulation > 50,000
First Place: "The Lush Life of a Rudy Appointee: Russell Harding," Tom Robbins, The Village Voice
Second Place: "Mouth Wide Shut," Ron Russell, New Times Los Angeles
Third Place: "The Sinister Side of Yusuf Bey's Empire," Chris Thompson, East Bay Express

MEDIA REPORTING

Circulation < 50,000
First Place: "Copping Out," Maria Luisa Tucker, Santa Fe Reporter
Second Place: "The State of Radio," Jeremy Hadley, Tom Grant & Rob Wilkinson, The Local Planet Weekly

Circulation > 50,000
First Place: "Reality TV Bites," Jennifer Mathieu, Houston Press
Second Place: "Professor Soundbite," Amy Roe, Willamette Week
Tie/Honorable Mention: "Hip-Hopcrisy," Thomas Francis, Cleveland Scene
Tie/Honorable Mention: "Incessant Static," Kathy Glasgow, Miami New Times

MUSIC CRITICISM

Circulation < 50,000
First Place: Scott Jordan, Gambit Weekly

Circulation > 50,000
First Place: Monica Kendrick, Chicago Reader

NEWS FEATURE

Circulation < 50,000
First Place: "Schenectady Calling," Nancy Guerin, Metroland
Second Place: "A Trial in Tulia," Liliana Ibara, The Texas Observer

Circulation > 50,000
First Place: "Killer on the Loose," Mike Sula, Chicago Reader
Second Place: "Dirty or Duped?" Mark Donald, Dallas Observer
Third Place: "Drugstore Cowboys," Justin Berton, East Bay Express
Honorable Mention: "The Bishops Set Me Up!" Jason Cherkis, Joe Dempsey, Sarah Godfrey, David Morton, Annys Shin, Chris Shott, Elissa Silverman and Erik Wemple, Washington City Paper

NEWS STORY

Circulation < 50,000
First Place: Tim McGivern, Weekly Alibi
Second Place: Terje Langeland, Colorado Spring Independent
Third Place: Traci Moyer, Illinois Times
Circulation > 50, 000
First Place: Thomas Francis, Cleveland Scene
Second Place: Joe Miller, The Pitch
Third Place: Amy Silverman, Phoenix New Times

PHOTOGRAPHY

Circulation < 50,000
First Place: "Through the Lens," Walter Coker, Folio Weekly
Second Place: "Brotherhood of the Neighborhood," Bill Kennedy, The Texas Observer
Third Place: "Women Through the Lens: Portraits and Profiles," Nancy Santos, Charleston City Paper

Circulation > 50,000
First Place: "Microbats, Broken Skulls, Rocket Girls & Prehistoric Beach Bears," Max S. Gerber, LA Weekly
Second Place: "We're #1," Steve Satterwhite, Miami New Times
Third Place: "Local Discovery Awards," Saul Bromberg & Sandra Hoover, San Francisco Bay Guardian The following individuals were the final-round judges in editorial categories: Arts Criticism: David B. Edelstein; Christopher Knight; D.K. Row Arts Feature: Katha Pollitt; Sarah Vowell; Lawrence Weschler Business: Myron Kandel; Rex Seline; Eben Shapiro Column: Karen Heller; Adam Hochschild; Laurie Roberts Column/Political Commentary: Joe Conason; Dale Mcfeatters; Geneva Overholser Feature Story: Ellen Barry; Madeleine Blais; Tom Hallman, Jr. Food Writing: Anthony Dias Blue; Linda Giuca; Phyllis Richman Investigative: Kim Christensen; Dianna Hunt; Phil WilliamsMedia Reporting: David Carr; David Folkenflik; Michael WolffMusic Criticism: Dee Dee Bridgewater; Chet Flippo; Tom Piazza News Feature: Alex Kotlowitz; David Plotz; Susan Tifft News Story: Michael Grunwald; Steve Mills; Jason Riley The following individuals were the first-round judges in editorial categories: Craig Aaron (News Feature); Brett Anderson (Column); Joel Bleifuss (Feature); Gene Bourg (Food Criticism); Jay Davis (Feature); Jane G. Dubose (Business); Mark Fitzgerald (Media Reporting); Cynthia Franklin (Business); Glenn Harper (Arts Feature); Will Hermes (Music Criticism); John Kessler (Food Criticism); Andrew Leonard (Business); Eric Lorberer (Arts Criticism); Kay Mallett (Arts Criticism); Kate Marsh (Arts Criticism); Brad McKee (Feature); Sia Michel (Music Criticism); Jim Naureckas (Media Reporting); Mark Naymik (Column/Political Commentary); Rick Nelson (Column); James Norton (Arts Criticism); Linda Perlstein (Feature); Thane Peterson (Arts Feature); Mary Beth Pfeiffer (News Story); Bruce Rodgers (News Feature); Michael Schaffer (News Feature); Andrea Simakis (News Feature); Chris Smith (Investigative); Joe Strupp (News Feature); Chris Suellentrop (Column/Political Commentary); Jon Tevlin (Investigative); Nicholas Thompson (Investigative); Emily White (Feature); Josh (News Story); Craig Winneker (News Feature); Bill Wyman (Feature). And finally, graphic entries were judged in one round by the following artists: Jessica Abel (Cartoon); Greg Bennett (Cartoon); Jonathan Berlin (Illustration); Celeste Bernard (Editorial Layout); Nanette Bisher (Cover Design); Steve Dorsey (Cover Design); Thomas E. Franklin (Photography); Bill Gaspard (Editorial Layout); Jennifer Gilman (Editorial Layout); Gayle Grin (Illustration); Christine Mcneal (Photography); Rhonda Prast (Illustration); Richard Thompson (Cartoon); Kathleen Vincent (Cover).