Detroit Press Club Foundation
2008 Michigan Excellence in Journalism Competition Award Winners
Professional and Student Categories
Presented June 26, 2008
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Professional Radio News Program/Documentary
1. Michigan Radio, WUOM/WFUM-FM/WVGR, “Ashes to Hope:
Overcoming the Detroit Riots.”
Judge’s comments: This is a complex yet compelling 54 ½ minutes of radio
that includes first-hand accounts of those who were there, as rioters, as police
officers, as public officials. It is about what caused the riots and the struggles
Detroit still faces 40 years later. It is excellent radio.
2. Dick Haefner, WJR-AM, “Honor Flight: A Final Mission”
3. Dick Haefner, WJR-AM, “A Way Forward”
Professional Newspaper Editorial/Commentary
1. Marney Rich Keenan, The Detroit News, “Waiting for the state’s other
shoe to drop is painful”
Judge’s comments: A telling and sobering column about what is happening in
the author’s own neighborhood as a microcosm of a state in trouble: Every fifth
house has a for-sale sign on it. Friends are moving away, splitting up.
Businesses are closing. “This,” she says, “is what happens to a state when
declining tax revenue (from business to income to sales) coincides with growing
welfare, Medicaid and prison populations. This is what happens when an
economy, historically dependent upon the auto industry, failed to diversify.
This is what happens when that automotive industry never saw the future
coming. And this is what a neighborhood looks like in a state that is
hemorrhaging jobs…”
2. Neal Rubin, The Detroit News, “City has its own rules for Tiger Stadium”
Professional Newspaper Editorial/Commentary Series
1. Detroit Free Press Editorial Page, “State Budget Crisis’
Judge’s comments: The Free Press editorial board not only chastised state
leaders for their political showdown over budget issues, it proposed solutions
that seem sensible and sound – solutions of the sort that politicians seldom
have the courage to take. When in the end the pols in Lansing compromised,
the Free Press didn’t hesitate to tell them what it thought of the compromise.
This is the kind of no-nonsense, no-pussyfooting journalism we need more of.
Professional Television News Program/Documentary
1. Richard Bak and Gary Glaser, WGVU, “Stranded at the Corner”
Judge’s comments: I must say the idea of watching a 93-minute documentary
about Tiger Stadium didn’t seem like the way I wanted to spend a Saturday
afternoon (I had another Tiger in mind for my TV), but this one was worth every
minute. This was an engaging, entertaining, evocative and altogether
excellent examination of not just a stadium, not just a corner lot, but of just how
life itself had evolved in Detroit from the beginning of the 20th century to the
very end of it. It is the story of baseball, yes, but also of prizefights, concerts,
religious ceremonies, political rallies and of people black and white, rich and
poor. The archive footage, the natural sound, the production values all are
excellent.
2. Brian Kaufman, Detroit Free Press, “Tarryl Hill Funeral”
3. Mandi Wright, Diane Weiss, Kathy Kieliszewski, Shawn Windsor, Brian
Kaufman and Brian Todd, Detroit Free Press, “Fast Friends”
Professional Magazine Reporting
1. Andrew Dietderich, Sherri Begin and Bill Shea, Crain’s Detroit Business,
“Pfizer: Crisis or Opportunity?”
Judge’s comments: A solid, well-written, multi-layered look at the impact of
Pfizer’s decision to close down its campus at Ann Arbor. Rather than a lot of
hand-wringing, this report also showed the potential for a silver lining in the
cloud over Ann Arbor.
2. Brent Snavely, Sherri Begin, Bill Shea, Amy Lane and Chad Halcom,
Crain’s Detroit Business, “Toyota in Motown”
3. Tom Henderson, Bill Shea and Bob Ankeny, Crain’s Detroit Business,
“Comerica gone; what’s next?”
Professional Magazine Editorial/Commentary
1. Paula Gardner, Ann Arbor Business Review, “GM strike exposes Michigan’
s weakness”
Judge’s comments: The author juxtaposes what would have been the folly of
the legislature allowing the state government to be shutdown with the union
going on strike at an already-crippled General Motors. “As GM goes, so goes
the state,” she reminded her readers. It’s a thought-provoking piece.
Professional Newspaper Feature Writing – Series
1. Ron French and Mike Wilkinson, The Detroit News, “Union Divide”
Judge’s comments: A thoroughly reported revelation that these may be tough
times for the rank-and-file workers of Michigan, but they’re certainly not for the
union bosses. There were tens of thousands of layoffs among union workers,
but none among union leaders, and the pay gap between workers and union
leaders had in five years grown by $18,000; the top 50 union officials in
Michigan were 2006 were earning an average of $186,000 and more than
1,000 union officers were paid more than $100,000. This is the kind of eye-
opening data that good reporting discovers. Good writing plus accessible
charts and graphs makes this a page-turner of a feature.
Professional Newspaper Reporting – Series
1. Ron French and Mike Wilkinson, The Detroit news, “The Foreclosure
Factory”
Judge’s comments: Solid, sobering reporting about the mortgage crisis driven
by easy money and its impact on Detroit and its suburbs. More than 70,000
homes in Metro Detroit had entered some stage of foreclosure in the two years
before this 2007 series was reported and published. And that, in turn, affected
everyone else by driving down the value of all homes. We can only imagine the
numbers today. This is a national story, of course, but telling it through the
stories of Detroit makes it come alive – especially when the series included a
revealing entry about the scam artists who contributed to this national crisis,
people like Danny Stokes “who used to sell drugs, before he discovered it was
safer and more lucrative to sell mortgages.” Great public service journalism
here.
2. Jack Kresnak, Detroit Free Press, “Could you have saved Ricky?”
3. Jim Schaefer and Joe Swickard, Detroit Free Press, “Fatal Euphoria”
Professional Newspaper Feature Writing
1. Jeff Seidel, Detroit Free Press, “Vanished”
Judge’s comments: This entry is distinguished by its storytelling, by the suspense
the author was able to maintain (mercifully, we note, the headline writers didn’t
give anything away, as some often do to a good writer’s yarn), and by the writing
itself. It was a compelling read.
2. Jim Schaefer, Detroit Free Press, “Death’s Beautician”
3. Erin Chan Ding, Detroit Free Press, “Remembering Holly”
Professional Newspaper Reporting
1. Detroit Free Press, “A New U.S. Auto Industry”
Judge’s comments: A big (8 page special section) enterprising look at the labor
agreement that General Motors and the UAW signed the day before. It looks at
all the angles and participants in the historic compromise. Solid, complete
reporting and analysis.
Professional Magazine Feature Writing
1. Richard Bak, Hour Detroit, “The Lone Rangers Rides Again”
Judge’s comments: The author returns us to those thrilling days of yesteryear
when the Lone Ranger rode into our homes through radio waves that originated
at WXYZ in Detroit. In a well-written and –documented piece, we discover the
origins and cultural impact that The Lone Ranger (and, indeed, radio itself)
had on America during the show’s 21-year Detroit run. Hi-Yo Silver!
2. Daniel Duggan, Crain’s Detroit Business, “CEO? Whatever”
3. Bill Shea, Crain’s Detroit Business, “Vindication at Valassis?”
Professional Web Site Reporting
1. Brian E. Todd, Kelley L. Carter, Kathy Kieliszewski, Mandi Wright and
Brian Kaufman, Detroit Free Press, “Forty Years of Respect”
Judge’s comments: This presentation includes a written story, videos, a photo
gallery, a quiz, an interactive opportunity for the audience to phone in their
versions of that great song written by Otis Redding and made famous by Aretha
Franklin. But it’s not just a Web site about a song, it’s about the importance of
that song on the civil rights movement and the women’s movement; some
described the song as the anthem of those two important movements. If you
haven’t experienced the site, go to it now at www.freep.com/respect.
Professional Radio Reporting
1. Dustin Dwyer and Steve Carmody, WUOM/WFUM/WVGR, “GM Strike”
Judge’s comments: Solid radio reporting that includes voices from both sides
of a strike most seemingly thought to be unlikely. Listeners got a sense of the
scene through the voices and natural sounds of the picket line.
Professional Television Videography
1. Brian Kaufman, Detroit Free Press, “Driving Detroit”
Judge’s comments: This is the companion piece to an ambitious, sometimes
quirky and always well-done newspaper story in which a reporter (Bill McGraw)
drove every street in Detroit, not for the sake of driving and not to cover news;
he went to dis-cover news, dis-cover neighborhoods, dis-cover the city usually
seen only from the perspective of City Hall or police headquarters. Kaufman
was the videographer whose work enhanced this story a great deal.
Student Newspaper Reporting
1. Brian Beaupied and Kyle Meinke, Grand Valley Lanthorn, “Locked
out, but who holds the key?”
Judge’s comments: Following up on a tip received in an anonymous letter,
these two reporters went from dorm to dorm and discovered that without
showing any identification they were able to get keys to individual rooms. All
they had to do was say they misplaced theirs. The parents of the girls in 207
surely liked reading this story!
2. Andy Kroll, The Michigan Daily, “Litter, legal ambiguity and your First
Amendment rights”
3. Andy Kroll, The Michigan Daily, “The University’s love of China”
Student Newspaper Editorial/Commentary
1. Jillian Melchior, The Collegian (Hillsdale College), “Hunting for a
clear weapons policy”
Judge’s comments: Following a student’s expulsion because he was
discovered to have a gun in his dorm room (he said he brought it inside
because he feared it rusting in the trunk of his car, where he was otherwise
allowed by the school to keep it), this carefully reasoned editorial calls for “a
secure campus that isn’t a police state.” The author examines the need for
safety, particularly in the wake of school shootings elsewhere, and privacy in
their own rooms. Professional-level work.
2. Imran Syed, The Michigan Daily, “Michigan’s trump card”
3. Imran Syed, The Michigan Daily, “A numbers game you can’t win”
Student Newspaper Feature Writing
1. Brandon Muri, The Collegian (Hillsdale College), “A moment of clarity”
Judge’s comments: An emotional story of two young women, seemingly
BFFs, who discover that they are connected by a brutal murder that
happened 20 years earlier – one’s father was stabbed 14 times by the other’s
uncle. A great story well told.
2. Colleen Maxwell, The State News, “A Safe Place”
3. Laura Misjak, The State News, “Still Missing’
Student Web Site Feature Writing
1. Nicole Roland, off-campus.com (Western Michigan University), “Youth
offenders influenced by family’s criminal past”
Judge’s comments: This family profile presents a microcosm of what the
cops call “criminal families,” families where neglectful, perhaps criminal,
parents beget kids who themselves grow up to be criminals. In 2001, the
story tells us, more than 40 percent of America’s 2 million prisoners had a
family member who also had been incarcerated. We see it and feel it in this
story of the Shaw family. Well researched and well written.
2. Sam Barbatano, off-campus.com, “Birdland jazz show DJ riffs on
collecting”
3. Allison Groce, off-campus.com, “A story of a local high school drop-
out”
Student Magazine Feature Writing
1. Marc Erbisch, EJ Magazine (Michigan State University), “The
Original American Marvel”
Judge’s comments: An examination of the National Park Service’s balancing
act of keeping the public parks public while protecting them for future
generations, this story focuses on Denali National Park in Alaska. Descriptive
writing and solid reporting make this one a winner.
2. James Crugnale, EJ Magazine, “Taking it to the Streets”
3. Molly Tranberg, EJ Magazine, “Mountaintop Lobotomy”
Student Magazine Reporting
1. Katie Coleman, EJ Magazine, “Armed Conflict”
Judge’s comments: There are 227 FUDS (Formerly Used Defense Sites) in
Michigan, and each one is a potential environmental hazard, because of
unexploded bombs, leaking underground tanks and other military leave-
behinds – and this story smartly examines the issue. Good, solid reporting –
this one could be a winner in the professional category.
2. Sarah Crespi, EJ Magazine, “Can local go the distance?”
3. Lissy Goralnik, EJ Magazine, “Bag-Free Nation”
Student Wire Service Reporting
1. Natasha Robinson, the Associate Press, “Senior citizens rescued”
Judge’s comments: This is a clear, concise breaking-news story about a fire
at a senior citizens apartment complex in West Bloomfield Township. The
story has both human touches drawn from going to the site and interviewing
victims and official sources about the likely cause of the fire. Well done.
Student Wire Service Feature Writing
1. Natasha Robinson, the Associated Press, “Richmond, Va., museums
offer dueling views of Civil War”
Judge’s comments: A solid, tight feature about two museums with very
different takes on the war between the states – Richmond’s 100-year-old
Museum of the Confederacy and the less-than-1-year-old American Civil War
Center.
Student Newspaper Reporting – Series
1. Andy Kroll, The Ann Arbor Crier, “What Google + Pfizer Mean(t) to
Ann Arbor”
Judge’s comments: Many wrote about Google moving one of its operations
into Ann Arbor and many wrote about Pfizer moving its operations out of Ann
Arbor, but this series puts both events into the same bucket to determine the
net effect of the comings and goings. A smart and very professional report.
Student Web site reporting
1. Andrew Balaskovitz, John Allison and Ian Walker, Great Lakes Wiki
(Michigan State University’s Knight Center for Environmental Journalism),
“Pine River Superfund Site”
Judge’s comments: The Great Lakes Wiki is an experimental citizen
journalism project and here we see the stories of the people of St. Louis,
Mich., who water and soil are polluted – in spite of a Superfund attention
decades ago. An interesting, futuristic approach to journalism that tells a
story that otherwise might have gone untold.
Student Magazine Editorial/Commentary
1. Jessica A. Knoblauch, EJ Magazine, “Climate change is big, little
steps help”
Judge’s comments: The media have been instrumental in spreading the
news about global warming and other environmental issues, but more
education is needed if the citizenry is to make sacrifices and embrace the
changes needed, and this column argues that persuasively.
Student Newspaper Photojournalism
1. Andrew Dodson, The Collegian (Hillsdale College), “Can Man”
Judge’s comments: A nicely framed, available light portrait that captures a
man many might otherwise look past.
2. Andrew Dodson, The Collegian (Hillsdale College), “Remembering
Sept. 11”
3. Myles Sandrian, The Collegian (Hillsdale College), “Zombie Prom”