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'Catholic Sun' garners 14 national press awards
Staff Reports
The Catholic Sun Newspaper tallied 14 national awards in the religious press over the last couple months.
The Sun received seven awards from the Associated Church Press April 22 in Dallas, including an “Award of Excellence” in the Best in Class: Regional Newspaper category.
“This is a class newspaper design: easy-to-read, clearly understood,” wrote Pamela Hill Nettleton, a professor at the University of Minnesota and former editor for Readers Digest and Pioneer Press, who judged the category.
Read the judges' comments
The publication also garnered an Award of Excellence in the “Photography with Article or Cutline” category for “Marchers Call for Reform” by J.D. Long-Garcia, managing editor, published May 17, 2007.
Staff writer Andrew Junker’s “Pope Liberalizes Latin Mass,” published July 19, 2007, won an Award of Merit, or second place.
“Excellent explanation of the 1962 Tridentine Mass and how it differs from the current Mass,” said Sammye Johnson, professor at Trinity University in San Antonio, who judged the category. “Through interviews with ordinary parishioners, bishops, diocese directors, and priests, readers learn how the inclusion of this ‘extraordinary form’ will affect parishes.”
The Sun also received “Honorable Mention,” or third place, for its media section, led by the writing of Junker and film reviewer Rebecca Bostic. The Web site also received Honorable Mention.
The newspaper took home honors for design — receiving an Award of Merit in the “Newspaper design, entire issue” category, and Honorable Mention in the front page and spread or story categories.
At the Catholic Press Convention in Toronto last month, The Catholic Sun received seven more awards.
The series on immigration reform, by Long-García, received first place honors in the “Best News Writing Local/Regional” category for newspapers with more than 40,000 in circulation.
“Theological and political philosophies are defined and challenged in an informative series or stories marked by their inclusiveness, their poignancy and their irony,” the judges wrote, noting stories on the Minutemen and on immigrants looking for higher-paying jobs.
Staff writer Ambria Hammel won second place in the Best Reporting on Children category for her reporting in the story “Restoring Order: Families, catechists adjust to new confirmation guidelines.”
“Hammel did a great job explaining the theology and bureaucracy behind a bishop’s request to switch the order in which children receive the sacraments of First Communion and confirmation,” the judges wrote. “She included a nice array of voices.”
The newspaper’s Web site, www.catholicsun.org, received an honorable mention in its category.
The paper also received a second place award for feature writing for “How do Minutemen figure into immigration debate?” and a third place award for investigative writing for “Desert deaths continue to rise,” by Long-García.
Long-García also received first place in the Individual Excellence: Writer/Editor category for reporting on immigration.
His “Desert deaths” story won an Egan Award for journalist excellence, awarded by Catholic Relief Services for reporting on humanitarian and social justice issues. He will join six other journalists on “all-expenses-paid trip to visit the Middle East to see Catholic Relief Services-supported programs that aid Iraqi refugees.”
“J.D. continues to excel in finding that spot where our Catholic faith intersects with hot-button issues,” said Robert DeFrancesco, editor of The Catholic Sun. “And it is through his unparalleled reporting that readers of The Catholic Sun continue to get to the story behind the story, and with it, hopefully a new understanding and appreciation for the lives and families impacted.”
The Sun garnered two awards from the Arizona Newspaper Association for its advertising.
On May 16, the Sun took second place for “Best Black and White Ad,” designed by Mick Welsh. Jennifer Ellis was the advertising representative. The Sun also took second place for “Best Classified Section,” designed by Julie O’Keefe. Alana Kearns was the advertising representative.
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