This is the 39th year for the ASNE Awards, among the most prestigious in journalism. Many of the categories are sponsored and come with $2,500 cash prizes, thanks to a group of editors from the former Knight Ridder Inc., The Dallas Morning News, Advance Publications Inc., the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Seattle Times, the Chicago Tribune, the O'Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism at Marquette University in Milwaukee and The New York Times.
Judging took place both online and on site at The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida. The finalists are as follows:
Batten Medal, honoring achievement in public service journalism
Burl Osborne Award for Editorial Leadership
Evan Mintz, Andrea White, Doug Miller and Joe Holley, Houston Chronicle - "
Flooding in Houston"
Deborah Howell Award for Writing Excellence
Dori J. Maynard Award for Justice in Journalism
Frank A. Blethen Award for Local Accountability Reporting
Shannon Mullen, Payton Guion and Paul D'Ambrosio, Asbury Park Press - "
Renter Hell"
Mike Royko Award for Commentary/Column Writing
O'Brien Fellowship Award for Impact in Public Service Journalism
Marisa Kwiatkowski, Mark Alesia and Tim Evans, The Indianapolis Star - "
Out of balance"
Punch Sulzberger Award for Online Storytelling
Clare Baldwin, Andrew R.C. Marshall, Manuel Mogato and more staff, Reuters - "
Duterte's War"
Staff, The Arizona Republic with the USA TODAY Network- "
The Wall"
Breaking News Writing Award
Photojournalism Award
Staff, San Francisco Chronicle - "The Wine Country Fires"
Judges
A group of news leaders and journalism professionals around the nation determined finalists and winners. In addition to the ASNE Awards Committee Co-Chairs Brian McGrory of The Boston Globe and George Stanley of Gannett and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, judges include:
Eddie Alvarez, Miami Herald
Nancy Ancrum, Miami Herald
Richard Aregood
Nancy Barnes, Houston Chronicle
Peter Bhatia, Detroit Free Press
Alfredo Carbajal, Al Día at The Dallas Morning News
Nicole Carroll, USA TODAY
Paul Cheung, NBC News
Rick Christie, The Palm Beach Post
Bill Church, GateHouse Media
Jim Collins, NBC News
Audrey Cooper, San Francisco Chronicle
Lucy Dalglish, University of Maryland
Manny Garcia, USA TODAY Network
Emilio Garcia-Ruiz, The Washington Post
Kyndell Harkness, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Jennifer Hemmingsen, The Compass in the Cayman Islands
Jean Hodges, GateHouse Media
Mark Horvit, University of Missouri, formerly with the Investigative Reporters and Editors
Dick Hughes, Willamette University in Oregon
Emily Le Coz, GateHouse Media
Karen Magnuson, Rochester (New York) Democrat & Chronicle
Colin McMahon, Chicago Tribune
Angie Muhs, The State Journal-Register in Springfield, Illinois
Ileana Oroza, formerly with the University of Miami
Paul Owens, Orlando Sentinel
Karen Peterson, Tampa Bay Times
David Plazas, The Tennessean
Mitch Pugh, The Post and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina
Amy Pyle, Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting
Mike Reilly, Omaha World-Herald
Liz Roldan, CBS4 Miami
Eve Samples, Treasure Coast Newspapers
Gissela SantaCruz, Austin-American Statesman
Ellen Stein, The Durango Herald
Mizell Stewart III, Gannett/USA TODAY Network
Joyce Terhaar, formerly with The Sacramento Bee
Lillian Thomas, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Hollis Towns, Asbury Park Press
Anne Vasquez, tronc, Inc.
John Voskuhl, Bloomberg News
Eric Wieffering, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Mike Wilson, The Dallas Morning News
Stan Wischnowski, Philadelphia Media Network