West Hawaii Today won five awards at the Hawaii Publishers Association’s 30th annual Pa’i Awards held Friday on Oahu. ADVERTISING West Hawaii Today won five awards at the Hawaii Publishers Association’s 30th annual Pa’i Awards held Friday on Oahu. West
West Hawaii Today won five awards at the Hawaii Publishers Association’s 30th annual Pa’i Awards held Friday on Oahu.
West Hawaii Today Digital Content Editor Chelsea Jensen took first place in online reporting for breaking the story on westhawaiitoday.com just minutes after Martin Frank Booth was sentenced to life in prison for the 2013 murder of Kona musician Robert Keawe Lopaka Ryder, 37. The story was updated online throughout the day to provide additional details, including comment from the sentencing judge, as well as Ryder’s mother, and reversed published in the daily edition of West Hawaii Today.
“The reporter took the right approach by publishing preliminary info to the web. Rapid delivery of info is the starting point for what we do online,” the judges said.
West Hawaii Today Reporter Nancy Cook Lauer earned first place in the spot news reporting category for her April 16, 2014, article titled, “Homeless bill heads back to drawing board.” Cook Lauer chose an articulate homeless man to help convey the story of what otherwise could have been a dry, bureaucratic description of a bill being considered by the county council in this breaking news article.
“Great news writing — objective, balanced, etc. — and yet, also a profoundly human touch to frame the story. So well done,” the judges said about Cook Lauer’s article.
Cook Lauer also earned a second place award in the editorial enterprise reporting for an article that delved into the issue of Native Hawaiian sovereignty, which has long been a contentious topic in the Aloha State. Cook Lauer engaged residents of Native Hawaiian communities and encampments, interviewed local, state and federal officials and attended town hall meetings to help explain the many facets and factions surrounding indigenous rights and statehood.
West Hawaii Today, which invested in its digital efforts in early 2014 with a position dedicated to online news, also earned a second place award for general website excellence. In 2014, the newspaper took great strides to improve its reader experience online at westhawaiitoday.com by offering not only daily newspaper content, but also breaking news and online-only content featuring an array of photos, videos and ways to interact via the website and social media.
Judges commended the newspaper’s effort to “expose high-interest content.”
West Hawaii Today Sports Reporter JR De Groote took second place in the sports photography category for a photo captured during the July 4th Rodeo and Horse Races at the Parker Ranch Arena.
“Nice crop. The cropping makes the image. Nice facial expressions. Good color palette. This was an atypical sport to see coverage of,” the judges commented.
