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Record-Journal takes home many SPJ awards. The Re ...

June 1, 2003

The Record-Journal also won 15 other awards in the competition: seven first-place awards, two second-place and five honorable mentions. It won more first-place awards than any other daily newspaper in the state with a circulation of 25,000 or more except for the Hartford Courant, which won 14.

"Record-Journal reporters exhibited substantial initiative in tracing the final months of Daniel Scruggs' short life. In great detail, the newspaper showed how Daniel became a target of bullies, how his absenteeism became a cry for help, and how all seemed to fail him as he fell through the cracks of the school and social welfare systems," the judges of the annual competition said.

"The series of stories, supported by editorials, led to concrete action. Parents of other bullied students spoke out and legislators enacted a law to track bullying in schools. The considerable legwork necessary to produce these stories is obvious," they wrote.

City Editor Eric Cotton accepted the award and praised the reporters involved: Evan Goodenow, Paul Hughes, Martin J. Waters and former R-J reporters Diahara Traore Diarra and Mark Peters. Editorial Page Editor Allan Church also was cited in the award.

The Driscoll award was chosen from among all the newspapers and broadcast stations in the state. The first- and second-place awards and honorable mentions were by circulation category of 25,000 to 50,000. First-place awards went to: � Senior Writer Jeffery Kurz for his feature story "Even with my illness, I can contribute," about Patty Katim, a dying woman. "This was so well done. Compelling, without being sappy or manipulative. So interesting, with lots of detail so you get to know the woman, and what living with a death sentence is like Evenhanded tone was maintained throughout," the judge wrote.

� Photographer Michelle McLoughlin for her photo layout of Katim. "McLoughlin made good use of details, clearly had good rapport with the subject and captured very personal moments," the judge wrote.

� Chief Photographer Chris French for his sports photo "Scoring Leap." "French captured a key (and rare) play at the plate. In that regard it was different from all other entries," the judge wrote.

� Reporter Rachel R. Makwana for the in-depth series "Hope Perry: the view from the wrong side of the tracks." This tied for first place with a story written by Katie Melone of The Day of New London. "Both were outstanding, compelling, and took much extra work and effort, and both latched onto a story and wouldn't let it go, following it to the end, and getting every angle. And both dealt with police departments that had put up brick walls as far as getting information. Both had to work to get the info and interviews, and that takes as much skill as writing sometimes. ... 'Hope Perry' was also great work, uncovering the truth, and the last story, interviewing the woman - wow! Riveting for the reader. Both stories went the extra mile and it paid off big time for the readers," the judges wrote.

� Assistant Sports Editor Bryant Carpenter for "A coaching crisis: Female mentors in short supply for girls sports" in the category of sports news. "This was a nice piece of enterprise reporting. The quotes made it an easy choice," the judges wrote.

� Carpenter in the sports feature category for "The Murillos: Like father, like son" two generations of high school championship wrestlers in Meriden. "This was a strong, well-organized piece that took the reader to the very end. Nice tempo throughout and good, solid reporting, talking to people beyond the story."

� Assistant Managing Editor Glenn Richter for his informational graphic called the "Battle of New Britain" that depicted the fight for territory by Congressional incumbents Nancy Johnson and James Maloney, whose districts merged. The judges provided no comments.

Second-place awards went to: � Reporter Hannah Glover for her business story "Making a confection connection" about the proliferation of Dunkin' Donuts in the Northeast.

� Waters, a general assignment reporter, in the category of general reporting for "Widows' pique," about the families of Pratt & Whitney workers who have died of brain tumors. Honorable mentions went to: � Goodenow, Kurz, Peters and freelance writer Alan Bisbort for "Coverage of the city fire chief's suicide and aftermath" about the death of Fire Chief William Dunn. The category was in-depth series.

� Columnist Kathy O'Connell for her opinion column called "Pushing out the poor doesn't make sense."

� Carpenter for his sports column titled "Unknown path lies before us" about former Cheshire High School cross-country runner Mark Jardim, who died in the World Trade Center collapse Sept. 11, 2001.

� French for his sports photo called "Yer out!"

� Former Record-Journal reporter Jeffrey B. Cohen for his arts and entertainment story "Omigod! Dream Street is, like, too dreamy for words" about a boy band appearing at the mall.

Besides the Driscoll award, two other major awards were given. The Hartford Courant's Northeast Magazine received the Stephen A. Collins Public Service Award for its story on how the state profited from slavery; and Frank Keegan, editor of the Connecticut Post, received the First Amendment Award for an article explaining to Russian visitors how a free press works.

The Town Times, a weekly Record-Journal-owned newspaper covering Durham, won a first-place award for an op-ed column by Sue VanDerzee, and an honorable mention for a general column by Carolyn Wallach.

The winners were chosen from more than 1,002 entries published or broadcast during 2002. Judges were from Arkansas, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

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