West Hawaii Today editorial staff received recognition from the Society of Professional Journalists Hawaii Chapter for its work entered in the 2011 Excellence in Journalism Awards competition.
West Hawaii Today editorial staff received recognition from the Society of Professional Journalists Hawaii Chapter for its work entered in the 2011 Excellence in Journalism Awards competition.
Reporter Nancy Cook Lauer won first place in the Feature Writing and Short Form category for a piece titled “Homeless in Hawaii.” The November 2011 story looked at the island’s homeless situation, what the state is doing and how people manage.
Reporter Chelsea Jensen won first place in the News Photography category for her image capturing the ocean draining from the bay surrounding Kailua Pier during the March 11, 2011, tsunami.
Jensen was also named a finalist in the Spot News Reporting category for her coverage of the tsunami and its impact on South Kona in a piece titled “Tsunami destroys homes along Kealakekua Bay.”
“Reporter Chelsea Jensen used several sources and her own observations to describe the devastating effects of the tsunami, and kept the story brief and informative,” the judges said.
Page designer Randy Wrighthouse won first place in the News Page Design category for his June 7, 2011, front-page layout related to the Saddle Road realignment project.
“Provides excellent visual understanding of how and where the route would be changed,” judges said. “Use of photos shows planning, forethought. Interesting teaser above the masthead.”
Wrighthouse was also named a finalist in the Feature Page Design category for his People and Places layout of an article and photos about a Scrabble group that meets weekly. He was also named a finalist in the News Page Design category for his front-page layout of West Hawaii Today’s March 11, 2011, tsunami coverage.
Page designer Brenda Jensen was named a finalist in the Feature Page Design category for her Home page layout of an article and photos about shaping bushes into art.
Editor Reed Flickinger was named a finalist in the Column Writing/News category for his piece titled “The mayoral race is on and we’ve already come out ahead.”
— WHT