2014 AAN Awards Winners Announced
july 12, 2014 05:00 pm
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