Tucson Weekly: Lucky 13! (May 7

The Tucson Weekly Wins A Baker's Dozen In This Year's Arizona Press Club Competition.
By The Editors
SOME FOLKS GET into journalism to save the world; others sign up because they can't find a job in a real profession. But most of us here at the Tucson Weekly joined the fourth estate for a simpler reason: The unmatched glory of winning awards in the Arizona Press Club's annual statewide journalism contest.
And we're proud to say we did quite well this year, bringing home a record 13 awards, including four first-place trophies. We also swept two categories, including the medium-publications feature-writing competition, where we also picked up a couple of honorable mentions.
Art director Hector Acuña single-handedly swept the layout/design category for medium publications. He took first place for "Selling Air" (May 29, 1997), Emil Franzi's spin on local talk radio. Judge George Berke of the New Orleans Times-Picayune said Acuña's "choices of radio and typography and blending them together through design are very effective."
Currents Acuña's second-place honors were for "Under Siege" (September 11, 1997), columnist Kevin Franklin's look at proposed changes to southwestern Arizona's Cabeza Prieta Wilderness Area. The judge wrote that "lots of white space around duplicate landscape pictures heighten the pristine beauty of the refuge."
Third-place honors went to Acuña's design on "One Last Shot" (January 9, 1997), Piers Marchant's first-hand account of a basketball league.
Associate editor Mari Wadsworth took first-place honors in the medium publications feature-writing contest for "Home On The Range" (January 30, 1997), a profile of local loco Ed Keylocko. "Delicious writing that met all contest criteria: It was creative, had flair and was presented in a clear fashion," said Judge Janet Wilson of the Austin American Statesman. "Writing was clever and remained so throughout. It never fizzled. This was an ordinary story made extraordinary by the writing alone."
Wadsworth took third-place honors out of 42 entries statewide in the general criticism category for "Full Metal Straitjacket" (October 23, 1997), a review of Millenium Theater Company's production of Marat-Sade. Judge Dorothy Rabinowitz of The Wall Street Journal said it was "a lively review clear in outlook and informed in its history. Good read."
Senior Editor Jim Nintzel took first place in the medium pub's commentary/analysis category for "Look Who's Smiling Now" (May 1, 1997), which exposed the suspect credentials of the consultant who performed the safety survey that precipitated the closing of the Tucson Rod and Gun Club. "This column begins with a well-chosen, well-told anecdote that effectively begins the process of challenging its subject's credibility," wrote judge Susan Albright of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. "(Nintzel's) case is buttressed with reporting that undergirds the piece's main point: $25,000 was paid to an 'expert' whose credentials--not to mention his comment to an attorney--would make any fair-minded reader blush."
Nintzel took second-place honors for his reporting on the Amphitheater School District. Judge Tim Redmond of the San Francisco Bay Guardian said "Dirty Deeds" (December 11, 1997) was "powerful in-depth coverage of a political and financial scandal in the Amphitheater School District. Combines detailed investigative reporting and public-records research that show how the district paid far too much money for two parcels of land, with a profile of a school board member who is taking heat for trying to blow the whistle. Good writing, good story mix, great package."
For the second year in a row, columnist Tom Danehy won first-place honors for sports reporting among medium publications for "The No-Cliché Coach" (October 2, 1997), a profile of Amphi football coach Vern Freidli. Judge Steve Kelley of the Seattle Times said Danehy's work was "very organized. I got a good understanding of what makes Freidli tick. He seemed like a coach I would want my son to know. I like the way the writer explained Freidli's value system."
Danehy also took an honorable mention for "Success Stories" (July 10, 1997), which the judge credited with "a really nice lead and delightful descriptions."
Ace illustrator Joe Forkan took second-place honors for magazine covers statewide for his monstrous Best of Tucson cover (September 18, 1997), which judge Joel Cuyler of The New York Times Sunday Magazine described as a "strong graphic illustration. Image commands attention. Creative energy through action and color held to make the cover compelling and curious." Not to mention terrifying!
Another Forkan cover, "Smokey's Big Kill" (April 24) finished second in the statewide color-illustration competition. Judge Lance Lekander said the cover was "a dramatic illustration. I liked the foreshortening and the red target is a nice added element. I really liked the texture on this bear."
Frequent contributor Dave Devine won second place in the feature-writing category for "Motel Memories" (October 9, 1997), which looked back to the golden years of Tucson's lodging history. The judge said Devine "took an everyday topic and evoked beautiful visual images. (His) observation was good and he used a nice technique for keeping readers temporarily in suspense.
Arts editor Margaret Regan took third-place honors in the medium pub's commentary/analysis category for "An Extravagant Failure" (October 2, 1997), which took a hard look at Arizona International Campus. "This commentary, with its tone of restrained annoyance, makes a compelling case that a much-vaunted experiment at the University of Arizona was not only an extravagant failure, but an undertaking that strong leadership should have averted." It's the third year running that Regan's outstanding reporting on AIC has won recognition in the competition.
Regan also won an honorable mention in the feature-writing category for "Word Wrangler" (September 18, 1997), a profile of William Pitt Root, Tucson's first poet laureate. The judge found it an "interesting profile with a nice lead."
Leo W. Banks completed the sweep of the feature-writing category with "Paper Tigers" (July 31, 1997), a look an upstart newspaper in Tombstone which the judge found to be "good, solid reporting and organizational skills. This is one of those stories that was interesting on its own and was written so that it flowed smoothly and was easy to read."

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