Below you will find a listing of awards presented to me and the newspapers I have worked for. As an editor, there are few opportunities to earn individual journalism awards, but I have included listings of general awards earned by my newspapers and staff where appropriate. Individually earned awards are marked with an asterisk (*) in the interest of clarity.
2018
Tennessee Press Association Journalism Awards
- General Excellence Award – awarded to the newspaper exhibiting the highest overall quality in the state of Tennessee. The Times Free Press won it for the fifth time in six years.
- 11 first-place awards in categories including headline writing, local features, best website, best graphics/illustrations, best business coverage, best news photograph, best sports photograph and more.
- Nine second-place awards
- Seven third-place awards
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Society of Professional Journalists Green Eyeshade Awards
- Three first-place awards in categories including editorial cartoons, serious commentary and best magazine cover.
- A second-place award for magazine graphics works.
- A third-place award for investigative reporting.
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2017
Tennessee Press Association Journalism Awards
- Six first-place awards – including best Sunday editions, best personal humor column, best personal column, headline writing, best single editorial and best breaking news coverage.
- Eight second-place awards – for best sports coverage, best special issue or section, community lifestyles, best single feature, best personal column, editorials, public service and best graphics or illustrations.
- Seven third-place awards – for best education reporting, business coverage, sports writing, make-up and appearance, website, local features and feature photo.
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Society of Professional Journalists Green Eyeshade Awards
- Two first-place awards for editorial cartoons and magazine illustrations.
- Three second-place awards for sports commentary, magazine feature writing and magazine graphics
- Five third-place awards for magazine feature writing, investigative reporting, feature photography, sports photography and online deadline reporting.
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2016
Tennessee Press Association Journalism Awards
- General Excellence Award – awarded to the newspaper exhibiting the highest overall quality in the state of Tennessee. The Times Free Press won it for the fourth time in a row.
- 10 first-place awards for best news photograph, education coverage, sports coverage, single feature, breaking news coverage, personal humor column, investigative reporting, graphics and illustrations, single editorial and Sunday editions.
- 10 second-place awards for business coverage, personal column, make-up and appearance, community lifestyles, headline writing, sports writing, feature photograph, public service, personal humor column and news reporting.
- Three third-place awards for local features, editorials and best news reporting.
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Society of Professional Journalists Green Eyeshade Awards
- Green Eyeshade Award – the top award in journalism contest among newspaper and media organizations in 11 Southeastern states.
- Nine first-place awards, the most of any competing newspaper.
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Society of Professional Journalists Awards – Hawaii Chapter
- Finalist, public service reporting* – for a series of articles covering the response and impacts of a dengue fever outbreak on Hawaii Island. Public service reporting is considered the top category in the SPJ contest. Judges called it “good, ongoing coverage of a public health issue.”
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2014
Society of Professional Journalists Awards – Hawaii Chapter
- Five finalist awards in categories including:
- General News/Enterprise Reporting* for “Albizia trees: enemy No. 1?”, an article that took an in-depth look at the damage wrought by an invasive species that is running wild on Hawaii Island.
- Health Reporting* for “Feeling the pain: prescription drug addiction,” an article that explored the growing problem of prescription and opioid drug abuse.
- Public Service Reporting for “Tropical Storm Iselle pummels Puna,” a series of articles regarding the far-reaching impacts of a storm that tore through the Puna region of the Big Island, felling thousands of trees, damaging and destroying homes, and forever changing the landscape of the area.
- Public Service Reporting for “Lava flow threatens Pahoa,” a series of articles on the slow-moving lava flow that made a beeline for one of the more populated areas of the Puna region of Hawaii Island.
- Spot News Reporting* for “First home falls to lava flow”, covering the day when a home on the side of Mauna Loa burned to the ground as lava began to encroach upon inhabited areas of Puna.
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Hawaii Publishers Association Pa‘i Awards
- First place, Editorial series for “Tropical Storm Iselle pummels Puna,” a series of articles regarding the far-reaching impacts of a storm that tore through the Puna region of the Big Island, felling thousands of trees, damaging and destroying homes, and forever changing the landscape of the area.
- Second Place, Editorial series for “Lava flow threatens Pahoa,” a series of articles on the slow-moving lava flow that made a beeline for one of the more populated areas of the Puna region of Hawaii Island.
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2013
Society of Professional Journalists Awards – Hawaii Chapter
- First Place, Feature Writing/Short Form* for “Making it official,” a story about the first gay couple to be legally married in Hilo.
- Finalist, Business Reporting* for “Out of its shell,” a report on the burgeoning industry raising oysters on the Big Island.
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Hawaii Publishers Association Pa‘i Awards
- First Place, Investigative Reporting* for “School discipline” – a deep dive into discipline records of Big Island schools.
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2012
Society of Professional Journalists Awards – Hawaii Chapter
- Finalist, Feature Writing, Short Form* for “Pu‘u O‘o Eruption” – A look at the history and science behind the then-30-year-long eruption on the Big Island.
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Hawaii Publishers Association Pa‘i Awards
- Finalist, Editorial Series* for “Zip Line Tower Failed Inspection,” a report that found that a popular zip line on the east side of Hawaii Island had failed a safety inspection before its collapse that killed one worker and seriously injured another.
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2011
Hawaii Publishers Association Pa‘i Awards
- Second Place, Spot News Reporting* for “Zip Line Fatality,” a report on the collapse of a zip line tower that killed one worker and severely injured another. “It begins as a story of an accident, well-chronicled,” the judges said. “But the sourcing that follows in the second half of the story is impressive indeed.”
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2010
Hawaii Publishers Association Pa‘i Awards
- First Place, Editorial Series* for “The Violence Around Us,” a series that took a look at the increase in domestic violence cases on Hawaii Island.
Society of Professional Journalists Awards – Hawaii Chapter
- Finalist, Spot News Reporting* for “Hilo Tsunami” about a destructive tsunami that struck the Big Island following a large earthquake in Japan.
- Finalist, Feature Writing* for “From Paris, with Love,” a story about a young man who spent months building a replica of the Eiffel Tower to propose to his girlfriend who could not afford to travel to Paris.
2004
Georgia Associated Press Association
- First Place, Deadline Reporting for “Chemical Fire,” the Rockdale/Newton Citizen’s comprehensive coverage of a massive industrial chemical fire that shut down Interstate 20 east of Atlanta for hours as firefighters and first responders wrestled with the impacts of the chlorine gas fire.
1998
Atlanta Magazine – Best of Atlanta Awards
Best News Gathering in the Face of Nature’s Worst for “Dunwoody Tornado,” the Dunwoody Crier’s comprehensive coverage of a series of tornadoes that touched down throughout the Dunwoody area, leaving massive destruction in their wake.
Colin M Stewart 