2014 AAN Awards Winners Announced

july 12, 2014  05:00 pm
2014 AAN Awards Winners Announced
The winners of the 2014 AAN Awards were announced in Nashville today during the association's 37th annual convention. The winners were chosen as the most outstanding from a field of over 900 entries submitted by 77 alternative publications across the U.S. and Canada.

Held every year since 1996, the AAN Awards recognize the best in alternative journalism and are a unique chance for alt-weeklies to compete directly against the work of their peers in cities across the continent. This year the judging was conducted by the Georgetown University Master's in Professional Studies Program in Journalism.



  • Writing Categories

  • Online Categories

  • Design Categories

  • Outside-the-Box

  • WRITING CATEGORIES

    ARTS CRITICISM circulation under 50,000

    1st Place: Malick Sidibé; I Believe in You; and And Every Day Was Overcast by Jessica Bryce Young, Orlando Weekly

    2nd Place: Invocation of My Salem, Sisters; Heaven Can Wait; and More Than Zero by Jason Shawhan, Nashville Scene


    ARTS CRITICISM circulation 50,000 and over

    1st Place: Lovelace; Saving Mr. Banks; and Lone Survivor by Amy Nicholson, L.A. Weekly

    2nd Place: Second-Act Troubles; The Misanthrope; and The Jungle Book Wars by Tony Adler, Chicago Reader

    3rd Place: Wunder-Block; He Comes in Color Everywhere; and Tiles by Jamie Laughlin, Dallas Observer


    ARTS FEATURE circulation under 50,000

    1st Place: Legally Banned by Danny Cross, Cincinnati CityBeat

    2nd Place: Tower of Low Power by Bill Forman, Colorado Springs Independent

    3rd Place: The Bacon-Wrapped Economy by Ellen Cushing, East Bay Express

    Honorable Mention: Blackfish Gives SeaWorld a Black Eye (Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; and Part 4) by Erin Sullivan, Orlando Weekly


    ARTS FEATURE circulation 50,000 and over

    1st Place: The Nu Nudes by Olivia LaVecchia, City Pages (Twin Cities)

    2nd Place: The Last of the Sad Bastards by Matthew Singer, Willamette Week

    3rd Place: The Art of Handling Art by Kristen Peterson, Las Vegas Weekly

    Honorable Mention: Real Horror by Jef Rouner, Houston Press


    BEAT REPORTING circulation under 50,000

    1st Place: Criminal Justice Reporting by John H. Tucker, INDY Week (Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4)

    2nd Place: Education Reporting by Will Huntsberry, INDY Week (Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5)

    3rd Place: Oakland Police Coverage (PDF) by Darwin BondGraham and Ali Winston, East Bay Express

    Honorable Mention: Streetcar Coverage by German Lopez, Cincinnati CityBeat (Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5)


    BEAT REPORTING circulation 50,000 and over

    1st Place: Taxi and Rideshare Reporting by Rachel Swan, SF Weekly (Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4)

    2nd Place: Crime Reporting by Michael Miller, Miami New Times (Part 1; Part 2; Part 3)

    3rd Place: Homelessness Reporting by Eric Peterson, Salt Lake City Weekly (Part 1; Part 2; Part 3)


    COLUMN circulation under 50,000

    1st Place: "Vodka Yonic" by Abby White, Ashley Spurgeon, and Kim Green, Nashville Scene (1; 2; 3)

    2nd Place: "Dark & Sinful" by Erica Dawson, Creative Loafing Tampa (1; 2; 3)


    COLUMN circulation 50,000 and over

    1st Place: "Vanifest Destiny" by Pete Cottell, Willamette Week (1; 2; 3)

    2nd Place: "The Uncomfortable Whole" by Josh Kruger, Philadelphia Weekly (1; 2; 3)

    3rd Place: "Candyland" by Gendy Alimurung, L.A. Weekly (1; 2; 3)


    POLITICAL COLUMN circulation under 50,000

    1st Place: "The Skinny" by Jim Nintzel, Tucson Weekly

    2nd Place: "City Sage" by John Hazlehurst, Colorado Springs Independent

    3rd Place: Columns by Jeff Woods, Nashville Scene

    Honorable Mention: "Fair Game" by Paul Heintz, Seven Days


    POLITICAL COLUMN circulation 50,000 and over

    1st Place: Columns by Joe Eskenazi, SF Weekly

    2nd Place: "Bites" by Cosmo Garvin, Sacramento News & Review

    3rd Place: Columns by Ben Joravsky, Chicago Reader

    Honorable Mention: Columns by Patricia Calhoun, Westword


    DIVERSITY REPORTING circulation under 50,000

    1st Place: Nice Day for a Gay Wedding by Bianca Phillips, The Memphis Flyer

    2nd Place: The General, in Black and White by Susan Cooper Eastman, Folio Weekly

    3rd Place: Immigration Coverage by Billy Ball, INDY Week (Part 1; Part 2; Part 3)


    DIVERSITY REPORTING circulation 50,000 and over

    1st Place: Bloody Tide by Michael Miller, Miami New Times

    2nd Place: Homeland Insecurity by Stephen Dark, Salt Lake City Weekly

    3rd Place: Split the Baby by Olivia LaVecchia, City Pages (Twin Cities)


    ECONOMIC INEQUALITY REPORTING circulation under 50,000

    1st Place: Down to the Dollar; Waiting; and Where Are All the Children? by Deanna Pan, The Inlander

    2nd Place: Debtor's Purgatory by Rachel Swan, East Bay Express

    3rd Place: No Place to Grow Up by Edward Brown, Fort Worth Weekly

    Honorable Mention: Beckoning the Bakken by Matthew Frank, Missoula Independent


    ECONOMIC INEQUALITY REPORTING circulation 50,000 and over

    1st Place: Dead in the Water by Michael Miller, Miami New Times

    2nd Place: Who Deserves Health Care? by Stephen Dark, Salt Lake City Weekly

    3rd Place: The Perfect Victim by Olivia LaVecchia, City Pages (Twin Cities)

    Honorable Mention: Harm's Way by Rodney Carmichael, Creative Loafing Atlanta


    FEATURE STORY circulation under 50,000

    1st Place: Portrait of a Shattered Family by Michael Barajas, San Antonio Current

    2nd Place: From the Land of the Lost by Sarah Angle, Fort Worth Weekly

    3rd Place: Killing Quardious Thomas by R.L. Nave, Jackson Free Press

    Honorable Mention: The Village Son by Tina Griego, Style Weekly


    FEATURE STORY circulation 50,000 and over

    1st Place: Sticks and Stones by Melanie Asmar, Westword

    2nd Place: Public Influence: The Immortalization of an Anonymous Death by Albert Samaha, SF Weekly

    3rd Place: The Last Ride of Legendary Storm Chaser Tim Samaras by Brantley Hargrove, Dallas Observer


    FOOD WRITING circulation under 50,000

    1st Place: On the Line: Finding Female Chefs in San Antonio by Jessica Elizarraras, San Antonio Current


    FOOD WRITING circulation 50,000 and over

    1st Place: How He Rolls by Emily Codik, Miami New Times

    2nd Place: Bean Pie, My Brother?; The Great Tamale Migration; and Albany Park’s Hidden Refugee Farm by Mike Sula, Chicago Reader:


    INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING circulation under 50,000

    1st Place: 60 Dead Inmates by Kelly Davis and Dave Maass, San Diego CityBeat (Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8)

    2nd Place: Turmoil at the Museum by Sam Allard, Doug Brown, and Vince Grzegorek, Cleveland Scene


    INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING circulation 50,000 and over

    1st Place: Biogenesis: The MLB Steroid Scandal by Tim Elfrink, Miami New Times

    2nd Place: Injustice for All (Part 1; Part 2; Part 3) by Monica Alonzo and Stephen Lemons, Phoenix New Times

    3rd Place: The Meaning of Life by Melanie Asmar, Westword


    LONG-FORM NEWS STORY circulation under 50,000

    1st Place: Warning: Quake in 60 Seconds by Azeen Ghorayshi, East Bay Express

    2nd Place: Waste: The Dark Side of the New Coffee Craze by Vanessa Rancaño, East Bay Express

    3rd Place: It Gets Worse by Daniel Walters, The Inlander

    Honorable Mention: Stadium Statistics by Ron Word, Folio Weekly


    LONG-FORM NEWS STORY circulation 50,000 and over

    1st Place: Anatomy of a Heroin Ring and Heroin, LLC by Mick Dumke, Chicago Reader

    2nd Place: No Good Deed by Nigel Jaquiss, Willamette Week

    3rd Place: The Woman Behind the Bridge by Andrea Damewood, Willamette Week

    Honorable Mention: Here Comes a Regular by Andy Mannix and Olivia LaVecchia, City Pages (Twin Cities)


    MUSIC CRITICISM circulation under 50,000

    1st Place: Justin Timberlake Is Very Popular; The Revamped Image and Resuscitated Brand of Trent Reznor; and MGMT by Jeff Klingman, INDY Week.

    2nd Place: Vultures of Cult; Humpasaur Jones; and Nuda Veritas by Dan Bolles, Seven Days

    3rd Place (TIE): A Man Without a Country; The Two Sides of Tony Molina; and Ava Mendoza's Natural Way (PDF) by Sam Lefebvre, East Bay Express

    3rd Place (TIE): Death Metal Takes the Stage; Down 'The Middle' of a Country Road; and GWAR Returns by Cade Overton, Worcester Magazine

    Honorable Mention: Beautifully Weird New Video from Hundred Waters; Discarding the notion of traditional influences in music; and John Vanderslice connects with his Florida roots by Ashley Belanger, Orlando Weekly


    MUSIC CRITICISM circulation 50,000 and over

    No award.


    PUBLIC SERVICE circulation under 50,000

    1st Place: The Amp by Steven Hale, Nashville Scene (Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8; Part 9; Part 10)

    2nd Place: Mayflower Oil Spill Coverage by Sam Eifling, Elizabeth McGowan, Lindsey Millar, Susan White, Elizabeth Douglass, David Koon, and Benjamin Hardy, Arkansas Times (Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8; Part 9)

    3rd Place: Away with the Whey by Carissa Wolf, Boise Weekly

    Honorable Mention: South Carolina School Deregulation by Paul Bowers Charleston City Paper (Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5)


    PUBLIC SERVICE circulation 50,000 and over

    1st Place: Two Lifers Battle the Code of the Street by Daniel Denvir, Philadelphia City Paper

    2nd Place: Yarnell Hill Fire by John Dougherty, Phoenix New Times

    3rd Place: The War on Reproductive Rights by Jordan Smith, Kimberley Jones, Michael King, Amy Smith, and Jason Stout, Austin Chronicle

    Honorable Mention: Queen of Scams by Kyle Swenson, New Times Broward-Palm Beach


    ONLINE CATEGORIES


    INDIVIDUAL BLOG All Publications

    1st Place: Housing Complex by Aaron Wiener, Washington City Paper

    2nd Place: Editor's Blog by Lisa Sorg, INDY Week


    MULTIMEDIA All Publications

    1st Place: Mumblegore by Darrick Rainey, Amy Nicholson, Kyle Munk, and Rashmi Kumar, L.A. Weekly

    2nd Place: People Issue 2013 by Staff, Chicago Reader

    3rd Place: The Road by Giles Morris, Graelyn Brashear, and Max March, C-Ville Weekly


    MUSIC BLOG All Publications

    No award.


    STAFF BLOG All Publications

    1st Place: Fresh Loaf, Creative Loafing Atlanta

    2nd Place: The Blotter, City Pages (Twin Cities)

    3rd Place: Pith in the Wind, Nashville Scene


    DESIGN CATEGORIES



    COVER DESIGN circulation under 50,000

    1st Place: Covers by Alex Eldridge and Mallory Southern, YES! Weekly

    2nd Place: Covers by D.L. Anderson, Jeremy M. Lange, Maxine Mills, and J.P. Trostle, INDY Week

    3rd Place: Covers by Chris Bovey, The Inlander


    COVER DESIGN circulation 50,000 and over

    1st Place: Covers by Brooke Ginnard, San Francisco Bay Guardian

    2nd Place: Covers by Hayley Doshay and Brian Breneman, Sacramento News & Review

    3rd Place: Covers by Paul John Higgins and Mike McQuade, Chicago Reader

    Honorable Mention: Covers by Stephen H. Segal, Philadelphia Weekly


    EDITORIAL LAYOUT circulation under 50,000

    1st Place: Whiskered Wonderland (PDF) by Kim Vasseur, Worcester Magazine

    2nd Place: Terror: Then and Now (PDF) by Chris Faraone, Derek Kouyoumjian, and Gustav Hoiland, Dig Boston

    3rd Place: Music Festival (PDF) by Chris Bovey, The Inlander


    EDITORIAL LAYOUT circulation 50,000 and over

    1st Place: The Atlanta Craft Beer Crawl (PDF) by Wes Duvall and Laura Zerlin, Creative Loafing Atlanta

    2nd Place: The 20 Most Important Restaurants in Las Vegas (PDF) by Wesley Gatbonton, Elizabeth Brown, and Corlene Byrd, Las Vegas Weekly

    3rd Place: Picked to Click (PDF) by Emily Utne, City Pages (Twin Cities)


    ILLUSTRATION circulation under 50,000

    1st Place: The Sweltering Farmer's Almanac by J.P. Trostle, INDY Week

    2nd Place: Wheels for All Wills by Chris O'Neill and Scott Murry, Dig Boston

    3rd Place: Comedy by Kym Balthazar, Seven Days


    ILLUSTRATION circulation 50,000 and over

    1st Place: Pitchfork Music Festival by Jason Wyatt Frederick, Chicago Reader

    2nd Place: Twin Cities People You've Probably Dated by Ken Avidor, City Pages (Twin Cities)

    3rd Place: Patriot Games by Peter Storch and Brian Stauffer, Phoenix New Times


    PHOTOGRAPHY circulation under 50,000

    1st Place: Paul Wellman, Santa Barbara Independent

    2nd Place: Scott Elmquist, Style Weekly

    3rd Place: Jesse Fox, Cincinnati CityBeat


    PHOTOGRAPHY circulation 50,000 and over

    1st Place: Darrow Montgomery, Washington City Paper

    2nd Place: Joeff Davis, Creative Loafing Atlanta

    3rd Place: Riley Kern and Dustin Ames, OC Weekly


    OUTSIDE-THE-BOX CATEGORIES


    CARTOON

    1st Place: Jen Sorensen, Slowpoke Comics

    2nd Place: Tom Tomorrow, This Modern World

    3rd Place: Cullum Rogers, INDY Week


    INNOVATION / FORMAT BUSTER

    1st Place: How to Survive a Shooting by Darryl Holliday and E.N. Rodriguez, Chicago Reader

    2nd Place: Bina the Robot by Don Eggert, Eva Sollberger, Megan James, and Aaron Shrewsbury, Seven Days

    3rd Place: 24-Hour Arty People by Rebecca Jacobson, Willamette Week


    SPECIAL SECTION circulation under 50,000

    1st Place: Best of Nashville, Nashville Scene

    2nd Place: The Cleveland Comedy Issue, Cleveland Scene

    3rd Place: Best of Santa Barbara in 3D, Santa Barbara Independent


    SPECIAL SECTION circulation 50,000 and over

    1st Place: John Lewis Issue (PDF) by Andrew Aydin, William J. Barber II, Shabnam Bashiri, Dustin Chambers, Joeff Davis, Wes Duvall, Amy Goodman, Alice Johnson, John Lewis, Debbie Michaud, Denis Moynihan, Nan Orrock, Alyssa Pointer, Nate Powell, Thomas Wheatley, Wyatt Williams, and Rolando Zenteno, Creative Loafing Atlanta

    2nd Place: The Pot Issue (PDF) by Martin Austermuhle, Dean Essner, Jonathan L. Fischer, Dominic Holden, Carey Jordan, Mike Madden, Darrow Montgomery, Jenny Rogers, Michael Roberts, Jandos Rothstein, Jessica Sidman, Will Sommer, and Perry Stein, Washington City Paper