2014 AAN Awards Finalists Announced
june 18, 2014 03:15 pm
The finalists for the 2014 AAN Awards have been selected. The finalists below 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. A committee of faculty, alumni, and graduate students reviewed each entry and selected the final winners in each category.
"We were honored to be chosen as the judges for the 2014 alt-weekly awards, and we are proud to partner with AAN," said assistant dean Amy Kovac-Ashley. "All of us were impressed by the caliber of the entries, and we enjoyed seeing such amazing and important journalism from all over North America."
The winners will be announced during a
reception on July 12 at the AAN Convention in Nashville.
Finalists below are listed alphabetically by paper. Categories with four or more finalists indicate either a tie or an honorable mention. Categories with less than three finalists indicate that a 3rd, 2nd, or 1st place was not awarded.
Writing Categories
Online Categories
Design Categories
Outside-the-Box
WRITING CATEGORIES
ARTS CRITICISM circulation under 50,000
Nashville Scene: Invocation of My Salem, Sisters; Heaven Can Wait; and More Than Zero by Jason Shawhan
Orlando Weekly: Malick Sidibé; I Believe in You; and And Every Day Was Overcast by Jessica Bryce Young
ARTS CRITICISM circulation 50,000 and over
Chicago Reader: Second-Act Troubles; The Misanthrope; and The Jungle Book Wars by Tony Adler
Dallas Observer: Wunder-Block; He Comes in Color Everywhere; and Tiles by Jamie Laughlin
L.A. Weekly: Lovelace; Saving Mr. Banks; and Lone Survivor by Amy Nicholson
ARTS FEATURE circulation under 50,000
Cincinnati CityBeat: Legally Banned by Danny Cross
Colorado Springs Independent: Tower of Low Power by Bill Forman
East Bay Express: The Bacon-Wrapped Economy by Ellen Cushing
Orlando Weekly: Blackfish Gives SeaWorld a Black Eye (Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; and Part 4) by Erin Sullivan
ARTS FEATURE circulation 50,000 and over
City Pages (Twin Cities):The Nu Nudes by Olivia LaVecchia
Houston Press: Real Horror by Jef Rouner
Las Vegas Weekly: The Art of Handling Art by Kristen Peterson
Willamette Week: The Last of the Sad Bastards by Matthew Singer
BEAT REPORTING circulation under 50,000
Cincinnati CityBeat: Streetcar Coverage by German Lopez (Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5)
East Bay Express: Oakland Police Coverage (PDF) by Darwin BondGraham and Ali Winston
INDY Week: Criminal Justice Reporting by John H. Tucker (Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4)
INDY Week: Education Reporting by Will Huntsberry (Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5)
BEAT REPORTING circulation 50,000 and over
Miami New Times: Crime Reporting (Part 1; Part 2; Part 3) by Michael Miller
Salt Lake City Weekly: Homelessness Reporting (Part 1; Part 2; Part 3) by Eric Peterson
SF Weekly: Taxi and Rideshare Reporting by Rachel Swan (Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4)
COLUMN circulation under 50,000
Creative Loafing Tampa: "Dark & Sinful" (1; 2; 3) by Erica Dawson
Nashville Scene: "Vodka Yonic" (1; 2; 3) by Abby White, Ashley Spurgeon, and Kim Green
COLUMN circulation 50,000 and over
L.A. Weekly: "Candyland" (1; 2; 3) by Gendy Alimurung
Philadelphia Weekly: "The Uncomfortable Whole" (1; 2; 3) by Josh Kruger
Willamette Week: "Vanifest Destiny" (1; 2; 3) by Pete Cottell
POLITICAL COLUMN circulation under 50,000
Colorado Springs Independent: "City Sage" by John Hazlehurst
Nashville Scene: Columns by Jeff Woods
Seven Days: "Fair Game" by Paul Heintz
Tucson Weekly: "The Skinny" by Jim Nintzel
POLITICAL COLUMN circulation 50,000 and over
Chicago Reader: Columns by Ben Joravsky
Sacramento News & Review: "Bites" by Cosmo Garvin
SF Weekly: Columns by Joe Eskenazi
Westword: Columns by Patricia Calhoun
DIVERSITY REPORTING circulation under 50,000
Folio Weekly: The General, in Black and White by Susan Cooper Eastman
INDY Week: Immigration Coverage (Part 1; Part 2; Part 3) by Billy Ball
The Memphis Flyer: Nice Day for a Gay Wedding by Bianca Phillips
DIVERSITY REPORTING circulation 50,000 and over
City Pages (Twin Cities): Split the Baby by Olivia LaVecchia
Miami New Times: Bloody Tide by Michael Miller
Salt Lake City Weekly: Homeland Insecurity by Stephen Dark
ECONOMIC INEQUALITY REPORTING circulation under 50,000
East Bay Express: Debtor's Purgatory by Rachel Swan
Fort Worth Weekly: No Place to Grow Up by Edward Brown
The Inlander: Down to the Dollar; Waiting; and Where Are All the Children? by Deanna Pan
Missoula Independent: Beckoning the Bakken by Matthew Frank
ECONOMIC INEQUALITY REPORTING circulation 50,000 and over
City Pages (Twin Cities): The Perfect Victim by Olivia LaVecchia
Creative Loafing Atlanta: Harm's Way by Rodney Carmichael
Miami New Times: Dead in the Water by Michael Miller
Salt Lake City Weekly: Who Deserves Health Care? by Stephen Dark
FEATURE STORY circulation under 50,000
Fort Worth Weekly: From the Land of the Lost by Sarah Angle
Jackson Free Press: Killing Quardious Thomas by R.L. Nave
San Antonio Current: Portrait of a Shattered Family by Michael Barajas
Style Weekly: The Village Son by Tina Griego
FEATURE STORY circulation 50,000 and over
Dallas Observer: The Last Ride of Legendary Storm Chaser Tim Samaras by Brantley Hargrove
SF Weekly: Public Influence: The Immortalization of an Anonymous Death by Albert Samaha
Westword: Sticks and Stones by Melanie Asmar
FOOD WRITING circulation under 50,000
San Antonio Current: On the Line: Finding Female Chefs in San Antonio by Jessica Elizarraras
FOOD WRITING circulation 50,000 and over
Chicago Reader: Bean Pie, My Brother?; The Great Tamale Migration; and Albany Park’s Hidden Refugee Farm by Mike Sula
Miami New Times: How He Rolls by Emily Codik
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING circulation under 50,000
Cleveland Scene: Turmoil at the Museum by Sam Allard, Doug Brown, and Vince Grzegorek
San Diego CityBeat: 60 Dead Inmates (Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8) by Kelly Davis and Dave Maass
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING circulation 50,000 and over
Miami New Times: Biogenesis: The MLB Steroid Scandal by Tim Elfrink
Phoenix New Times: Injustice for All (Part 1; Part 2; Part 3) by Monica Alonzo and Stephen Lemons
Westword: The Meaning of Life by Melanie Asmar
LONG-FORM NEWS STORY circulation under 50,000
East Bay Express: Warning: Quake in 60 Seconds by Azeen Ghorayshi
East Bay Express: Waste: The Dark Side of the New Coffee Craze by Vanessa Rancaño
Folio Weekly: Stadium Statistics by Ron Word
The Inlander: It Gets Worse by Daniel Walters
LONG-FORM NEWS STORY circulation 50,000 and over
Chicago Reader: Anatomy of a Heroin Ring and Heroin, LLC by Mick Dumke
City Pages (Twin Cities): Here Comes a Regular by Andy Mannix and Olivia LaVecchia
Willamette Week: No Good Deed by Nigel Jaquiss
Willamette Week: The Woman Behind the Bridge by Andrea Damewood
MUSIC CRITICISM circulation under 50,000
East Bay Express: A Man Without a Country; The Two Sides of Tony Molina; and Ava Mendoza's Natural Way (PDF) by Sam Lefebvre
INDY Week: Justin Timberlake Is Very Popular; The Revamped Image and Resuscitated Brand of Trent Reznor; and MGMT by Jeff Klingman
Orlando Weekly: 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
Seven Days: Vultures of Cult; Humpasaur Jones; and Nuda Veritas by Dan Bolles
Worcester Magazine: Death Metal Takes the Stage; Down 'The Middle' of a Country Road; and GWAR Returns by Cade Overton
MUSIC CRITICISM circulation 50,000 and over
No award.
PUBLIC SERVICE circulation under 50,000
Arkansas Times: Mayflower Oil Spill Coverage (Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8; Part 9) by Sam Eifling, Elizabeth McGowan, Lindsey Millar, Susan White, Elizabeth Douglass, David Koon, and Benjamin Hardy
Boise Weekly: Away with the Whey by Carissa Wolf
Charleston City Paper: South Carolina School Deregulation (Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5) by Paul Bowers
Nashville Scene: The Amp (Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8; Part 9; Part 10) by Steven Hale
PUBLIC SERVICE circulation 50,000 and over
Austin Chronicle: The War on Reproductive Rights by Jordan Smith, Kimberley Jones, Michael King, Amy Smith, and Jason Stout
New Times Broward-Palm Beach: Queen of Scams by Kyle Swenson
Philadelphia City Paper: Two Lifers Battle the Code of the Street by Daniel Denvir
Phoenix New Times: Yarnell Hill Fire by John Dougherty
ONLINE CATEGORIES
INDIVIDUAL BLOG All Publications
INDY Week: Editor's Blog by Lisa Sorg
Washington City Paper: Housing Complex by Aaron Wiener
MULTIMEDIA All Publications
Chicago Reader: People Issue 2013 by Staff
C-Ville Weekly: The Road by Giles Morris, Graelyn Brashear, and Max March
L.A. Weekly: Mumblegore by Darrick Rainey, Amy Nicholson, Kyle Munk, and Rashmi Kumar
MUSIC BLOG All Publications
No award.
STAFF BLOG All Publications
City Pages (Twin Cities): The Blotter
Creative Loafing Atlanta: Fresh Loaf
Nashville Scene: Pith in the Wind
DESIGN CATEGORIES
Links to the winning cover design, illustration, and photography work will be added soon.
COVER DESIGN circulation under 50,000
INDY Week: Covers by D.L. Anderson, Jeremy M. Lange, Maxine Mills, and J.P. Trostle
The Inlander: Covers by Chris Bovey
YES! Weekly: Covers by Alex Eldridge and Mallory Southern
COVER DESIGN circulation 50,000 and over
Chicago Reader: Covers by Paul John Higgins and Mike McQuade
Philadelphia Weekly: Covers by Stephen H. Segal
Sacramento News & Review: Covers by Hayley Doshay and Brian Breneman
San Francisco Bay Guardian: Covers by Brooke Ginnard
EDITORIAL LAYOUT circulation under 50,000
Dig Boston: Terror: Then and Now (PDF) by Chris Faraone, Derek Kouyoumjian, and Gustav Hoiland
The Inlander: Music Festival (PDF) by Chris Bovey
Worcester Magazine: Whiskered Wonderland (PDF) by Kim Vasseur
EDITORIAL LAYOUT circulation 50,000 and over
City Pages (Twin Cities): Picked to Click (PDF) by Emily Utne
Creative Loafing Atlanta: The Atlanta Craft Beer Crawl (PDF) by Wes Duvall and Laura Zerlin
Las Vegas Weekly: The 20 Most Important Restaurants in Las Vegas (PDF) by Wesley Gatbonton, Elizabeth Brown, and Corlene Byrd
ILLUSTRATION circulation under 50,000
Dig Boston: Wheels for All Wills by Chris O'Neill and Scott Murry
INDY Week: The Sweltering Farmer's Almanac by J.P. Trostle
Seven Days: Comedy by Kym Balthazar
ILLUSTRATION circulation 50,000 and over
City Pages (Twin Cities): Twin Cities People You've Probably Dated by Ken Avidor
Chicago Reader: Pitchfork Music Festival by Jason Wyatt Frederick
Phoenix New Times: Patriot Games by Peter Storch and Brian Stauffer
PHOTOGRAPHY circulation under 50,000
Cincinnati CityBeat: Photos by Jesse Fox
Santa Barbara Independent: Photos by Paul Wellman
Style Weekly: Photos by Scott Elmquist
PHOTOGRAPHY circulation 50,000 and over
Creative Loafing Atlanta: Photos by Joeff Davis
OC Weekly: Photos by Riley Kern and Dustin Ames
Washington City Paper: Photos by Darrow Montgomery
OUTSIDE-THE-BOX CATEGORIES
CARTOON (listed alphabetically by last name)
Cullum Rogers, INDY Week
Jen Sorensen, Slowpoke Comics
Tom Tomorrow, This Modern World
INNOVATION / FORMAT BUSTER
Chicago Reader: How to Survive a Shooting by Darryl Holliday and E.N. Rodriguez
Seven Days: Bina the Robot by Don Eggert, Eva Sollberger, Megan James, and Aaron Shrewsbur
Willamette Week: 24-Hour Arty People by Rebecca Jacobson
SPECIAL SECTION circulation under 50,000
Cleveland Scene: The Cleveland Comedy Issue by Staff
Nashville Scene: Best of Nashville by Staff
Santa Barbara Independent: Best of Santa Barbara in 3D by Staff
SPECIAL SECTION circulation 50,000 and over
Creative Loafing Atlanta: 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
Washington City Paper: 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
We're working to add links for all the finalists as quickly as possible. Questions can be directed to jason[at]aan.org
