2012 AltWeekly Awards Winners Are Announced
june 8, 2012 06:25 pm
DETROIT – In a reception with bourbon shots and vending machine-purchased undergarments, co-hosts
Enrique Limon,
Joe MacLeod, and
Dan Gibson announced the winners of the 2012 AltWeekly Awards.
ALTWEEKLY AWARDS RECEPTION PHOTO GALLERY
AAN received 1,108 entries from 90 of its member publications across the U.S. and Canada.
Each of the winners below will receive certificates, and the winners of select categories will appear in an e-book scheduled to be released in September.
Details, questions, etc. contact jason[at]aan[dot]org.
Writing Categories
Online Categories
Design Categories
Outside-the-Box
WRITING CATEGORIES
ARTS CRITICISM circulation 50,000 and over
1st Place: That 70s Movie; Daydream Believers; and Baseball's Bargain Basement by J.R. Jones, Chicago Reader
2nd Place: No Russian Accent -- but Plenty of Ennui; The Arena Rocker Who Fiddled; and Torture for Dummies by Chris Klimek, Washington City Paper
3rd Place: Weird-Looking Churches; Leave It to the Kids; and Refugee Community Training Garden by Robrt L. Pela, Phoenix New Times
ARTS CRITICISM circulation under 50,000
1st Place:Young Adult; Melancholia; and Moneyball by Scott Wilson, The Pitch
2nd Place:To the end of the world; Somewhere strips the glamour; and A West African colonial nightmareby Nathan Gelgud, Independent Weekly (NC)
3rd Place: Unparalleled Parking;Pleasure Garden; andArrested Development by Edwin Slipek, Jr., Style Weekly
ARTS FEATURE circulation 50,000 and over
1st Place: Life in the Belle Jar by Wyatt Williams, Creative Loafing Atlanta
2nd Place: Made to Change by Tara Murtha, Philadelphia Weekly
3rd Place: The Art of the Steal by Joe Eskenazi, SF Weekly
ARTS FEATURE circulation under 50,000
1st Place: The House that Jack Built by Adam Gold, Nashville Scene
2nd Place: Raising Hell in the Land of Enchantment by Sam Adams,Weekly Alibi
3rd Place: Dark Days for the Black Arts by Anastasia Pantsios, Cleveland Scene
COLUMN circulation 50,000 and over
1st Place: Undercover Brothers; Mulenga's Tinfoil Hat; and Crisis on the Corner by Larry Gabriel, Metro Times
2nd Place: Bittersweet Lesson; Bank Statements; and False Choice by Chris Potter, Pittsburgh City Paper
3rd Place: Why I Hate Being Gay! 62 Reasons!; Help! Blandness Has Taken Over Our Culture!; and Fame Is Better Than Drugs And I Want To Mainline That Shitby Michael Musto, The Village Voice
COLUMN circulation under 50,000
1st Place: Kula Kid: Give A Buck; Love Is In The Fair; and Green Dumb by Anu Yagi, Maui Time
2nd Place:Wild Christmas; Kids These Days; and Mood Music by Nick Powell, San Luis Obispo New Times
3rd Place: Lone Star Green: Endangered Species Act; 'Clean' Coal; and Texas Cooks by Greg Harman, San Antonio Current
COLUMN (POLITICAL) circulation 50,000 and over
1st Place: Dems: Gutless Cowards; Granholm's World; and Aiming at John Conyers by Jack Lessenberry, Metro Times
2nd Place: Recalling Russell Pearce; His Own Worst Enemy; and Kissing His Political Career Goodbye by Stephen Lemons, Phoenix New Times
3rd Place: $4 Per Gallon: Beating The Oil Drum; The Dow Of Poo; and A Slippery Slope To Fascism by Jed Morey, Long Island Press
COLUMN (POLITICAL) circulation under 50,000
1st Place: Reefer Madness; Shared Sins; and Shut 'Em Down by Mary Duan, Monterey County Weekly
2nd Place: Hazardous Civility; Immigrants vs. Profit; and And the Good News Is... by Tom Head, Jackson Free Press
3rd Place: Cops Charging Overtime to Clubs; Marcie Hodge Loses, Again; and The Absent Police Chief by Robert Gammon, East Bay Express
Honorable Mention: Tax the Rich; Greed; and Occupy and Economics by Renee Downing, Tucson Weekly
FEATURE STORY circulation 50,000 and over
1st Place: Lawrence Williams: No Romeo by Caleb Hannan, Seattle Weekly
2nd Place: The Price of Intolerance Part 1 and Part 2 by Steve Bogira, Chicago Reader
3rd Place: Guys Who Like Fat Chicks by Camille Dodero, The Village Voice
FEATURE STORY circulation under 50,000
1st Place: Undercover by Sharyn Jackson, Santa Fe Reporter
2nd Place: The Reckoning by Jamie Rogers, Missoula Independent
3rd Place: Injustice Served by David Rolland, San Diego CityBeat
FOOD WRITING circulation 50,000 and over
1st Place: Shark's Fin - Understanding the Political Soup; Tacko: The Nantucket Gringo Take on the Taco; and Leatherneck Steakhouse by Jonathan Kauffman, SF Weekly
2nd Place: Red Medicine; Noodle Boy; and Cochon 555's Traveling Pork and Wine Bacchanalia by Jonathan Gold, L.A. Weekly
3rd Place: Next Restaurant; The 23 Enigma; and No Jacket Required by Mike Sula, Chicago Reader
FOOD WRITING circulation under 50,000
1st Place: Mud Fish and Menudo; The Sorcerer's Apprentice; and Everything's Better with Butter by Mackensy Lunsford, Mountain Xpress
2nd Place: Suddenly Sushi; The Spirits That Move Them; and Resurrecting Hops by Corin Hirsch, Seven Days
3rd Place: The man who designed the Oreo cookie and A brief history of pimento cheese by Emily Wallace, Independent Weekly (NC)
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING circulation 50,000 and over
1st Place: McKay Scholarship Fraud: Scholarship Program Sparks a Cottage Industry of Fraud and Chaos; The Fraud Hall of Shame; Coach Bernard Wright's Talent Trap; Notorious Miami Football Recruiter Has New Diploma Mill; Diploma Mill Gets More Taxpayer Dollars; Head of Fraud-Plagued Scholarship Program Talks; and Expose Prompts Reform; by Gus Garcia-Roberts, Miami New Times
2nd Place: Reports on D.C. Child-Welfare System: Outsourcing Troubled Kids (with supporting documents); The One City Official Who Understood; Is CFSA Fudging Stats (Part 1) and (Part 2)?; D.C. Youth Has Arm Broken by Staff at Treatment Facility; Child Welfare Director Responds; Is D.C. Neglecting Neglect?; and Cover Story Subject Arrested by Jason Cherkis, Washington City Paper
3rd Place: The Grass Gap; What is Pot Prosecution Good For?; The $78 Million Bag; and The Politics of Pot by Ben Joravsky and Mick Dumke, Chicago Reader
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING circulation under 50,000
1st Place: Vulnerable: Part 1 and Part 2 by Carrie Peyton Dahlberg, North Coast Journal
2nd Place: What the Boy Saw by Kyle Swenson, Cleveland Scene
3rd Place: Lifestyles of the Corrupt and Elected by Dave Mann and Abby Rapoport, Texas Observer
MEDIA REPORTING / CRITICISM circulation 50,000 and over
1st Place: Jaime Bayly is Dying by Michael E. Miller, Miami New Times
2nd Place: Dallas Morning News Tippy-Toes Away; How Not to Humiliate Yourself as a Journalist; and Picking Apart The Dallas Morning News' Smug Sense by Jim Schutze, Dallas Observer
3rd Place: WCCO Duck Dog Story; WCCO Airs Video of Woman's Suicide; and New York Times Quotes Anonymous City Pages Blog Commenter by Kevin Hoffman, City Pages (Twin Cities)
MEDIA REPORTING / CRITICISM circulation under 50,000
1st Place: Guided by Voices and Super Size News by Matt Pulle, Nashville Scene
2nd Place: Boxed In: Can Vermont Public Television Survive? by Megan James and Margot Harrison, Seven Days
3rd Place: The Incredible Shrinking Star-Telegram by Jeff Prince, Fort Worth Weekly
MUSIC REPORTING / CRITICISM circulation 50,000 and over
1st Place: Falling James' Gig of the Week: Buffalo Springfield at the Wiltern; The Go-Go's and Girl in a Coma; and Morrissey & Kristeen Young by James Moreland, L.A. Weekly
2nd Place: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Woman; Anna Waronker; and Reviews for the Easily Distracted by Brian Smith, Metro Times
3rd Place: Premier Queensryche Tribute Band Lived the Dream; Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, and The Walkmen; and Is Aaron Lewis the World's Most Obnoxious Country-Western Wanna-Be? by Jason Woodbury, Phoenix New Times
MUSIC REPORTING / CRITICISM circulation under 50,000
1st Place: Morning Glory; gOoD-bAiT; and Lapse of Reason by Gabe Meline, North Bay Bohemian
2nd Place: The Trend of Reissues;Why Indie Rock Continues to Ignore the Drive-By Truckers; andThe Triangle's Top 10 albums of 2011 by Grayson Currin, Independent Weekly (NC)
3rd Place: Dream Catcher; Becoming Metallica; and K. Clifton by Leah Sottile, Pacific Northwest Inlander
NEWS STORY (LONG FORM) circulation 50,000 and over
1st Place: Wheelchair Hell in Men's Central Jail andMen's County Jail Visitor Viciously Beaten by Chris Vogel, L.A. Weekly
2nd Place: Pressing Charges Against a TSA Officer Over a $450 Pen by Stefan Kamph, Miami New Times
3rd Place: Rick Perry's Manufactured Miracle by Jim Schutze, Dallas Observer
Honorable Mention: Why Isn't Reggie Allen Behind Bars? by Nicholas Phillips, Riverfront Times
NEWS STORY (LONG FORM) circulation under 50,000
1st Place: Intent to Harm by Saul Elbein, Texas Observer
2nd Place: The Power of Alienation by Jeff Prince, Fort Worth Weekly
3rd Place: Orient Express by Matthew Frank, Missoula Independent
Honorable Mention: Call it Even by Vince Grzegorek, Cleveland Scene
NEWS STORY (SHORT FORM) circulation 50,000 and over
1st Place: Santeria Stalker; Guns Online: No Permit Needed; The Fight to Bury Venezuelan President CAP in Miami by Tim Elfrink, Miami New Times
2nd Place: Life Under Occupation; Occupational Hazards; and To the Barricades, Variously by Rosie Gray, The Village Voice
3rd Place: Ackerman's Message Machine; Avoiding the Subject; and Big East by Daniel Denvir, Philadelphia City Paper
NEWS STORY (SHORT FORM) circulation under 50,000
1st Place: The Blair Park Project;Solar is Still Humming; and How Organic is Organic? by Nate Seltenrich, East Bay Express
2nd Place: Benefit of the Doubt; Shaking the Foundation at AFA; and Wedding Bell Blues by Pam Zubeck, Colorado Springs Independent
3rd Place: Poor Returns; Greenhouse Effect; and Tribe Attempts to Evict Private Military Contractor by Dave Maass, San Diego CityBeat
PUBLIC SERVICE circulation 50,000 and over
1st Place: The Rape Issue by Staff, Philadelphia Weekly
2nd Place: Ambassador Bridge Series: Taking a Toll; When Matty Wins, We All Lose; Lowering the Boom; Gateway: The Big Picture;A Statesman Emerges; Fenced Out; Delray Foray; Lies Before Your Eyes; Found in Contempt, Matty Strikes Back; and A Bogus Argument (Video) by Curt Guyette, Jack Lessenberry, and Jacob Hurwitz-Goodman, Metro Times
3rd Place: RNC Piggy Bank by Andy Mannix and Mike Mullen, City Pages (Twin Cities)
PUBLIC SERVICE circulation under 50,000
1st Place: Mississippi Defeats Personhood: Ready, Boots? Start Marching!; Danger Looming Large; Preparing for Battle; It's About Women's Rights; Where is the Line?; Personhood Supporters Shocked; A Pandora's Box; Grassroots Mamas Tell All; Inside Yes on 26; and What the Mamas Taught Us by Valerie Wells, Elizabeth Waibel, Lacey McLaughlin, Donna Ladd, Lori Garrott, Shannon Barbour, Stacey Spiehler, and Funmi Franklin, Jackson Free Press
2nd Place: Santa Fe Public Schools: A Teachable Moment; Left Behind; Add It Up; Bully Pulpit; Numbers Game; Specialized Ed; Zero Sum; Public Schools by the Numbers; School Board Violated Rights; and Baby on Board by Wren Abbott and Alexa Schirtzinger, Santa Fe Reporter
3rd Place: The Homeless Project by Ashley Schwellenbach, Colin Rigley, Nick Powell, Matt Fountain, Anna Weltner, Maeva Considine, Ryan Miller, Steve E. Miller, and Robert McDonald, San Luis Obispo New Times
SPECIAL TOPIC: ECONOMIC INEQUALITY circulation 50,000 and over
1st Place: Hardly Working by Edward Ericson Jr., Baltimore City Paper
2nd Place: Separation Anxiety by Daniel Denvir, Philadelphia Weekly
3rd Place: Ain't Too Proud to Beg by "Detroitblogger" John Carlisle, Metro Times
SPECIAL TOPIC: ECONOMIC INEQUALITY circulation under 50,000
1st Place: Hitting a Wall; Rise and Fall; and Hype or Hope? by Anne Marshall, LEO Weekly
2nd Place: Bare Minimum by Jeff Gore, Orlando Weekly
3rd Place: Future Unknown (PDF) by Daniel Walters, Pacific Northwest Inlander
ONLINE CATEGORIES
INDIVIDUAL BLOG All Publications
1st Place: Housing Complex: More Disneyfication Coming to Chinatown; Vince Gray Enthusiastically Endorses Trade Center He Heard About Last Night; Two More Walmarts in D.C.; Supermarkets Getting Really Sweet Deals; and Walmart's Alternative Reality by Lydia DePillis, Washington City Paper
2nd Place: Talking Politics: Horseshit in the Legislature; Romney's No-Lose Life; Linehan Whitening His District; Romney's Ad; and Casinos, Trans, and Whatnot by David S. Bernstein, Boston Phoenix
3rd Place: The Wicked Stage: Rock of Ages; NYC Theater Weekend; and Osage County in Austin by Thomas E. Jenkins, San Antonio Current
MULTIMEDIA All Publications
1st Place: Tunnelvision: Inside The East Side Access Project by Spencer Rumsey, Rashed Mian, and Jon Sasala, Long Island Press
2nd Place: Best of Toronto by Adam Foorde and Joshua Errett, NOW Magazine
3rd Place: Gulf Coast Sushi: The Fish That Got Away; The Art of Ike Jime; and The Roughest Catch Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 by Katharine Shilcutt, Houston Press
MUSIC BLOG All Publications
1st Place: All Shook Down: The Early Days of Metallica and the Bay Area Thrash Metal Scene; Metallica 30th Anniversary Party Continues; Five Resident DJs on Their Favorite New Tracks; 10 Most Opulent Parts of 'Watch the Throne' Show; and Second-by-Second Breakdown of the Worst Christmas Music Video Ever Made by Staff, SF Weekly
2nd Place: Gimme Noise: Why We Didn't Sign Foo Fighters Photo Waiver; fDeluxe's St. Paul Peterson Talks About the Minneapolis Sound; 10 Superfan Factoids About Dave Grohl; 'Rock for the Rules' Compilation; and Minnesota Twins Phase Out Local Music Programming by Andrea Swensson, City Pages (Twin Cities)
3rd Place: City Sound Inertia: Who the Hell Made Rebecca Black's 'Friday' Video? and 101.7 The Fox is Off the Air - What Happened? by Gabe Meline, North Bay Bohemian
STAFF BLOG All Publications
1st Place: Pith in the Wind: Legislators Claim 'Super Citizen' Status; Night Court Magistrate Throws the Book at Troopers Over Occupy Nashville Arrests; Scene Reporter Captures Own Arrest on Video; State Concedes Defeat For Now in Occupy Nashville Battle; and Document Dump Shows Christian Right Scripted Anti-Gay Law by Staff, Nashville Scene
2nd Place: Chow Bella: Tucson's Cafe 54 Serves the Mentally Ill;Horchata Bread Pudding; Kim Porter's Ham Taco Christmas; Five Tips for Making the Perfect Eggnog; and Where's the Last Great Restaurant You Dined? by Staff, Phoenix New Times
3rd Place: Blogtown: "Occupy! Multiply!"; WTF Happened Last Night?; Mercury Reporter Shoved Down by Cop; Police Break Out Pepper Spray; and Dance Party Occupies Bank of America Doorway by Sarah Mirk, Denis C. Theriault, Matt Bors, Georgia Perry, and Wm. Steven Humphrey, The Portland Mercury
DESIGN CATEGORIES
COVER DESIGN circulation 50,000 and over
1st Place: My Funny, Chewy Valentine; Your Rags to Their Riches; and Live & Let Kill by Andrew Nilsen, SF Weekly
2nd Place: The Facebook Cover; Missing: Ikea; and Driven to Cheat by Ryan Olbrysh, Las Vegas Weekly
3rd Place: Drawing a Line; Fiction & Poetry Contest Winners; and People Who Died by Joe MacLeod, Baltimore City Paper
Honorable Mention: 10 Worst Tenants; The Comics Issue; and The Suckadelic Era by John Dixon, The Village Voice
COVER DESIGN circulation under 50,000
1st Place: Cinefestival; Fall Survival Guide; and 25th Birthday Cake">Cinefestival; Fall Survival Guide; and 25th Birthday Cake by Chuck Kerr, San Antonio Current
2nd Place: The Greatest Show in Texas; Rick Perry's Army of God; Are the Pigs All Right? by Mario Zucca, EmDash, and Matt Wright-Steel, Texas Observer
3rd Place: Japanese Tsunami; Miyamoto's Diner; and The Tattoo by Justin "Scrappers" Morrison, Suji Allen, Bijijoo, and Liz Devine, The Portland Mercury
Honorable Mention: Taste of Maui; The 2011 Fashion Issue; and The Bar Guide by Justin "Scrappers" Morrison, Chris Skiles, and Sean Michael Hower, Maui Time
EDITORIAL LAYOUT circulation 50,000 and over
1st Place: There Goes the Neighborhood (PDF) by Darrick Rainey, L.A. Weekly
2nd Place: Enter: A Superhero (PDF) by Andrew Nilsen, SF Weekly
3rd Place: Free Based (PDF) by Andrew Nilsen, SF Weekly
EDITORIAL LAYOUT circulation under 50,000
1st Place: Welcome to Soundland (PDF) by Elizabeth Jones, Nashville Scene
2nd Place: A Monster of a Cookie (PDF) by J.P. Trostle and Jeremy M. Lange, Independent Weekly (NC)
3rd Place: Barcade Games (PDF) by Scott Murry, Boston's Weekly Dig
ILLUSTRATION circulation 50,000 and over
1st Place: Explosive Issue by Edel Rodriguez, SF Weekly
2nd Place: Live and Let Kill by Dale Stephanos, SF Weekly
3rd Place: No Award
Honorable Mention: Night of the Living Newt by Steve Weigl, Boston Phoenix
Honorable Mention: Hindsight by Kyle T. Webster, Phoenix New Times
Honorable Mention: The Comics Issue by Ward Sutton, The Village Voice
ILLUSTRATION circulation under 50,000
1st Place: Enemy Exposed by Nathan Golub, Independent Weekly (NC)
2nd Place: No Award
3rd Place: Who Are They Now? by Adam Rosenlund, Boise Weekly
Honorable Mention:55 Fiction by Neal Breton, San Luis Obispo New Times
Honorable Mention: The Real Estate Issue by Jeff Drew, Seven Days
PHOTOGRAPHY circulation 50,000 and over
1st Place: Photography by Joeff Davis, Dustin Chambers, James Camp, and Evey Wilson, Creative Loafing (Atlanta)
2nd Place: Best. Summer. Ever. by Mike Pecci, Boston Phoenix
3rd Place: Taco Suave by Danny Fulgencio, Dallas Observer
PHOTOGRAPHY circulation under 50,000
1st Place: Jail Yoga by Scott Elmquist, Style Weekly
2nd Place: Photography by Matthew Thorsen and Jeb Wallace-Brodeur, Seven Days
3rd Place: Photography by Grant McKenzie, Nicky Nadeau, K.J. Dakin, Travis Bower, Derek Ford, Danielle Pope, and Shelley Lipke, Monday Magazine
OUTSIDE-THE-BOX
CARTOON All Publications
1st Place: Slowpoke by Jen Sorensen
2nd Place: The HR Department by Ed Harrington (Style Weekly)
3rd Place: Failure by Karl Stevens (Boston Phoenix)
INNOVATION / FORMAT BUSTER circulation 50,000 and over
1st Place: Michele Bachmann Quote Generator by Hart van Denburg and Nick Pinto, City Pages (Twin Cities)
2nd Place: 2011 Restaurant Guide (PDF) and Video: Inside the Kitchen of WW's Restaurant of the Year and Video: Inside the Runner-Up Kitchen by Ben Waterhouse, Emilee Booher, Jess Sword, Ruth Brown, Carolyn Richardson, Willamette Week
3rd Place: Best of Phoenix Map by Staff, Phoenix New Times
Honorable Mention: Annotated Guide to 2011 by Staff, Washington City Paper
INNOVATION / FORMAT BUSTER circulation under 50,000
1st Place: Red Potatoes by Rachael Daigle, Deanna Darr, and Adam Rosenlund,Boise Weekly
2nd Place: GOOD Ideas Issue (PDF) by Staff, Jackson Free Press
3rd Place: WeBrand Colorado Springs: Community Contest; City Brand: Is That All?; Our Branding Escapade; Branding the Springs, Take 2; Slogans Wanted, Too; Logo and Behold; and Live Adventure by Staff, Colorado Springs Independent
Honorable Mention: Choose Your Own Adventure: The Lonely Road (PDF) by Pete Nguyen, Eden Munro, Bryan Birtles, and Mike Siek, VUE Weekly
SPECIAL SECTION circulation 50,000 and over
1st Place: The Reader's 40th Anniversary Issue by Staff, Chicago Reader
2nd Place: Finder 2011 - 2012 by Staff, Willamette Week
3rd Place: Beer Guide by Troy Beyer, Susan G. Cole, Graham Duncan, and Andrew Sardone, NOW Magazine
SPECIAL SECTION circulation under 50,000
1st Place: Best of Nashville by Staff, Nashville Scene
2nd Place: Golden Fork Awards by Eden Munro, Bryan Birtles, and Pete Nguyen, VUE Weekly
3rd Place: The Fake Issue by Sarah Kelley, Sara Havens, Phillip M. Bailey, Jonathan Meador, Mat Herron, Britany Baker, Buddy Schneider, Ron Jasin, Jim Welp, and Kevin Gibson, LEO Weekly
