Russell Carollo and Jeff Nesmith, Dayton Daily News, "Unnecessary Danger in Military Medicine"

An excellent series that focuses on a subject not explored nearly enough by the media. The Daily News has succeeded in casting a light through its series of investigative pieces on the double standards that exist in the military as compared with the civilian populace. The latest on medical doctors shows how there are two standards for physicians: those for civilian doctors and those in the military. Getting access to the work records of medical doctors is no mean feat; even when they work for a public body like the military.

The series showed the perseverance of its reporters in gathering hundreds of records and then tracking down how several of those physicians had failed entrance exams in states across the nation. Yet they somehow managed to get licenses to practice with the military. The series has attracted national attention and is likely to lead to changes in federal law. An excellent piece of work that showed how to effectively use the combination of sources, computers and good old fashioned research to get a story.

First Place: The Cincinnati Enquirer, Staff, "Flood Coverage"

The coverage was complete and gripping. I got both a sense of the scope of the flood and its impact on the community. The human aspects of the flooding were especially well told, from the volunteers to the victims who suffered "loss after loss," as one headline put it. I found the reporting solid and informative and in many ways useful. The how-to stories, from how to cope to how to survive, were excellent. I did find the writing to be a bit florid for my taste at times: "Churning brown waters swelled Monday -- sending a frightening message to the Tristate: Nature has you under siege." Generally, however, the reporting and writing was consistently good and consistently better than other papers covering the same event. Two other parts of the coverage I found effective: Photography was strong, providing those striking scenes that help to record the scope of the flooding in the mind's eye. The March 5 aerial looking down the river with the Riverfront Stadium nearly surrounded was quite striking; the other was graphics, particularly one chart of the Ohio River and how the flooding occurred along its length.

Second Place: The Cincinnati Post, Staff, "Comair Plane Crash"

The Post's coverage of the crash of a Comair commuter airplane was impressive for its sense of urgency and thoroughness. Covering air crashes often are complicated tasks, but the Post staff was able to respond to the tragedy with a very complete package of well-written stories. The staff not only profiled local victims, but it offered readers explanations on de-icing as well as a crash history of the Embraer 120. I found the reporting solid and informative. Excellent job on a tight deadline.

Third Place: The Cincinnati Post, Staff, "Police Shootings"

The Post's start-to-finish coverage of the shootings of two Cincinnati police officers was impressive, both for its sense of urgency, news developments and its storytelling. The paper was right to focus on the 911 delay and publish the transcripts while at the same time, covering the officers' stories, the city's reaction and the funerals. Smart choice to play the columnist on A-1.

First Place: John Bach And Theresa Herron, Community Press Clermont, "Lives Twisted, Not Broken"

The impressive package by Bach and Herron brought flesh and blood to the story of a tornado that tore through the county they cover. By focusing on the people who banded together and survived the disaster, the writers gave their readers the news in a way that informed but also touched the heart.

Second Place: Phyllis Singer, The American Israelite, "Jewish To Close Patient Services In Avondale"

Coverage of the closing of a Jewish hospital in Cincinnati was comprehensive and well written under tough deadline pressure.

First Place: Dwayne Bray and Laura Dempsey, The Dayton Daily News, "The Gift"

Bray describes a deeply personal experience with candor and sensitivity. Writing honestly about yourself is difficult enough, but when the story touches family, friends and coworkers it requires a much greater commitment to the integrity of events. Bray's direct style and spare prose succeed admirably. (Former editor Max Jennings also deserves mention for his suggestion to revive the serial form to publish the story.)

Second Place: Barry Horstman, The Cincinnati Post, "Gambling Fever"

Horstman does an excellent job of surveying the changes brought by legalized gambling to the Midwestern landscape. It would have been tempting to moralize in a story like this. Horstman's coverage is balanced, but the scenes he describes -- a pair of children abandoned by parents on the casino floor, a desperate slot player $1,000 in the hole at 3 a.m., the small towns where gambling has turned local economics and traditional values upside-down -- are a clear indictment of the gaming industry.

Third Place: Cameron McWhirter And Tim Bonfield, The Cincinnati Enquirer, "City Lead Cleanup Stalled"

Good, solid investigative reporting that got results.

Honorable Mention: Mary McCarty, The Dayton Daily News, "Fixing Welfare, Rural Ohio"

First Place: Skip Tate, Cincinnati Magazine, "Broadway Commons"

Tate does an excellent job of chronicling how one man's vision became a movement. The story skillfully weaves telling detail from the life of Jim Tarbell with a careful analysis of the unorthodox tactics that have taken him to the brink of success.

Second Place: Dan Monk, Cincinnati Business Courier, "Fractured Front"

Issues that span political boundaries are common to many cities, but Monk's use of in-depth research on the cost, duplication and mixed messages of Cincinnati's 26 promotional agencies gets the point across in convincing fashion.

First Place: Tim Bonfield, The Cincinnati Enquirer

These entries showed strong evidence of a reporter on top of his beat, developing major breaking stories and digging deeper on major projects. Mr. Bonfield's story on development of a new drug did an excellent job of explaining the importance of the compound in terms easily grasped by the layman. "Saving grace" was a tautly written, gripping account of a near-death experience. The initial installment of the cancer series was impressive in scope.

Second Place: Dan Horn, The Cincinnati Post

Clearly the courthouse beat is a terrific source for compelling stories about the human experience, but Mr. Horn's thorough reporting sets him apart from a highly competitive pack.

Third Place: Mark Skertic, The Cincinnati Enquirer

Mr. Skertic's thorough analysis of publicly available data results in impressive -- and obviously exclusive -- stories.

Honorable Mention: Michael Collins, The Kentucky Post

Honorable Mention: Paul Long, The Kentucky Post

First Place: Richard Curtis, Cincinnati Business Courier

These entries were the clear winner, reflecting a reporter on a non-daily managing to break news consistently. The writing was consistently strong, weaving in context and analysis, and the reporter's notebook was a good read.

Second Place: Dan Monk, Cincinnati Business Courier.

Good, solid investigative stories on a meaty beat.

First Place: Laurie Petrie, The Cincinnati Post,

"From Welfare To Work"

"From welfare to work" put a human face on the possibilities and problems of this major social issue, examining both the personal issues and the structural ones.

Second Place: Debra Jasper, The Dayton Daily News, "Personal Safety At Work"

Series on personal safety at work examined both the violence and the issues that arise when employers try to run background checks on their employees.

Third Place: Michael Collins, Bill Straub, Monica Dias, The Kentucky Post, "Old King Coal"

"Old king coal" was an informative look at the past and future of coal mining and its impact on the region.

Honorable Mention: Michael Clark, The Cincinnati Post, "Retracing the Underground Railroad"

Honorable Mention: James Cummings, The Dayton Daily News, "Paths to Freedom"

First Place: Nancy Firor, Cincinnati CityBeat, "Campaign Promises"

A detailed examination of how candidates' campaign promises fared once they were elected.

Second Place: Joan Porat, The American Israelite, "Messianic Judaism"

An interesting series that explains the religious underpinnings and implications of the "Messianic Judaism" espoused by city council member Phil Heimlich.

First Place: The Kentucky Post, Staff, "Flood Of '97"

This entry exemplified what continuing coverage is all about. For six days, the staff of this newspaper was all over this flood, telling the story in terms of real human costs. We saw the same bylines over and over throughout what must have been a hellish week. When did these reporters and photographers ever sleep? (OK, there were probably some hard-working editors, too, but their names don't show up in the paper). They delved into the possibility that at least some of the devastation in Falmouth could have been avoided, they even gathered comments from the gawkers. Then, they followed up later in the month with a detailed analysis of the Falmouth flooding. About the only angle missing was an interview with Noah himself. We would like to see the "one year later" coverage from this crew.

Second Place: Frank Main And Michael Collins, The Kentucky Post, "Death Watch On Death Row"

These stories told an important story with good writing, great details (we especially liked the part about the rosary) and compelling human stories. Two of our favorite characters in this tale are the prison chaplain whose own daughter was a murder victim, and the toe-crunching mama of the last man executed in Kentucky before McQueen.

Third Place: Lucy May And Geoff Hobson, The Cincinnati Enquirer, "Cincinnati Stadium Coverage"

From the first story announcing Paul Brown Stadium to the quandary over what to do about the Reds' playing space, to the political catfights between city and county officials, to the questions raised by the astronomical cost inflation of the football stadium, this tale got better as time went on and these two reporters stuck with it. Writing about the costs of major public projects is always difficult, and further complicated when pro sports are involved. These reporters made the tax and cost issues understandable.

Honorable Mention: The Kentucky Post, Staff, "Comair Crash"

Honorable Mention: Deborah Ann Vance, The Kentucky Post, "NKU Football"

First Place: Nancy Firor And Rodger Pille, Cincinnati CityBeat, "Zoo Review"

Overall, we liked this publication's sassy in-your-face writing style (time for the zoo to "get off its sacred-cow pedestal and answer some questions") and its persistence in pursuing the important questions of financial accountability. We wished, however, that the publication had spent a tad less ink tooting its own horn (a few too many "CityBeat reported" lines) and had done a little more translating from the auditor-ese. (e.g. the 37-word definition of a "reportable condition.")

Second Place: Jennie Key, The Community Press, "Trustees Defend Retreat Expense"

This entry started strong, letting township trustees know that not everyone thought their retreat was such a hot idea. We liked the chart showing what $5,000 could buy for the township, besides three days at a state park for city employees and elected officials. But after the first day, the reporter seemed to leave the critics behind and we would have liked her to stay with that theme a bit more.

Third Place: Community Press East, "River Towns Inundated By Flood Water," Marc Emral, Melanie Laughman, John Bach, Julie Kemble Borths, Kevin Bundy, Theresa L. Herron, Sharon Brumagem, Debbie O'Neil and Jo Kemp

Breaking news is always difficult to cover for a non-daily, but this series of stories did a serviceable job focusing on local impacts and local volunteer efforts that were probably largely ignored by the dailies and TV.

First Place: John Erardi, The Cincinnati Enquirer

John succeeds magnificently in placing his readers in the stories he writes. Particularly noteworthy was his thorough research and vivid description of Crosley Field the weekend that Jackie Robinson came to town for the first time in a Dodger uniform.

Second Place: Tom Archdeacon, The Dayton Daily News

His storytelling techniques and on-the-scene narration stamp his writing as outstanding.

Third Place: Paul Daugherty, The Cincinnati Enquirer

He is very effective at depicting the dialogue of those he interviews and at weaving those conversations into articles you want to read from start to finish.

Honorable Mention: Neil Schmidt, The Cincinnati Enquirer

Honorable Mention: Tom Groeschen, The Cincinnati Enquirer

First Place: Bill Peterson, Cincinnati CityBeat

His writing reflects a keen knowledge of sports and the ability to transfer this "savvy" to his readers.

Second Place: Mark Motz, Community Press

This story of tragedy seems almost as real when recounted today as it was 10 years ago.

Third Place: Skip Tate, Cincinnati Magazine

Draws effective word pictures -- over-the-hill ballplayers who "want another place besides a bar to strike out" and who run around the diamonds "like Little Leaguers."

First Place: Mark Neikirk, The Kentucky Post

The lyric and conversational writing is the first thing a reader notices about Neikirk's editorials. (It is hard NOT to read these sentences; Neikirk is having a coversation with you.) And then said reader discovers that woven into these word pictures are clear, direct comments on the issues. After a delicious tour of Rock Creek, comes: "What Rock Creek represents is hope. Hope that at some point Kentucky will come to value its waterways for more than their ability to carry away industrial wastes, household trash and topsoil." His objection to public decisions being worked out by the governor behind closed doors, included this: "Some very smart and capable legislators, along with their insight and questions, are left with a choice, not a say. They can vote yes or no." Over a long-standing, unpleasant community fight, Neikirk comes to the end: "We don't know what will happen tonight. But we know what we hope happens. What's needed is for everyone to take a deep breath, then try again with these thoughts in mind:..."

Second Place: Linda Cagnetti, The Cincinnati Enquirer

We should all salute the public service provided by the Cincinnati Enquirer's regular report cards on the area's schools. There's thorough reporting here, and the editorial board recommendations make clear the criteria being applied. It is a great way to hold the districts accountable, and to give the levy endorsements the authority they deserve. Linda Cagnetti's editorial on the superintendent's C- performance was thorough and clearly, directly stated. Holding public officials accountable is God's work. The commentary on education reform appeared as a Cagnetti, and though it was direct and pointed, it really qualified as a column, not an editorial.

Third Place: Michele Day, The Cincinnati Post

Michele Day's editorials eschew the stuffy language and equivocation that have too often graced our pages. These pieces -- about farmland preservation, and "covenant marriage" and a little favoritism at the police department -- are clean, inviting and informative. The quarterback mystery is a good example of using humor to good effect. Nobody would avoid reading this rendition; and nobody could miss the point.

First Place: David Wecker, The Cincinnati Post

Three touching, thoughtful pieces of work. Wecker stands almost alone among Cincinnati-area columnists in making you glad you took the time to read his work.

Second Place: Laura Pulfer, The Cincinnati Enquirer

Pulfer has a voice and an opinion and puts both to excellent use, without preaching or posturing. A good, solid read.

Third Place: Peter Bronson, The Cincinnati Enquirer

Bronson displays an easy, graceful writing style with strong descriptive skills. A pleasure to read.

First Place: Rob Daumeyer, Cincinnati Business Courier

First Place: John Erardi, The Cincinnati Enquirer, "Pokey Reese"

An absolutely beautiful lead that sets the tone all to the end of the story. A great storytelling tone, especially when you describe Pokey's childhood experience with Muh's flour -- that anecdote alone tells of Reese's dedication to the sport. Fun and easy to read. I feel like I got the "inside scoop."

Second Place: Tom Archdeacon, The Dayton Daily News, "Roger Brown's Battle With Cancer"

An intriguing lead that's followed up nicely -- ties in wonderfully with your conclusion. Lots of sources used -- obviously spent a lot of time on the story. A real tribute to Mr. Brown.

Third Place: Geoff Hobson, The Cincinnati Enquirer, "Runner Sheila Schroder"

Used many sources and spent a lot of time on story. You got to know your subject well and were able to show the reader how selfless Ms. Schroeder is -- and we knew she wasn't putting on an act for a reporter.

Honorable Mention: Tanya Bricking, The Cincinnati Enquirer, "Police Recruit Dionne Winfrey"

Honorable Mention: Dan Horn, The Cincinnati Post, "Donald Harvey"

First Place: Dana DiFilippo, The Cincinnati Enquirer, "Records Show Wrong Man May Be On Death Row"

A steady, dispassionate presentation of information pulls a reader through a 15-year-old quandary. Readers must confront evidence that is tangible and circumstantial and draw their own conclusions. The writer manages to convey implications of each possible decision available to a reader, adding tension to the reader's mission. This is an exceptionally well-organized and cleanly written article.

Second Place: B.G. Gregg, The Kentucky Enquirer, "Search For A Safe Place"

This report does more than tackle one of the more nagging dilemmas of our society. It also conveys the feelings and emotions of a young mother, her compelling love for her children and the dilemma of her urgent struggle to succeed materially. The writer captures her emotions and conveys the story with revealing quotes and a candid honesty in language of the people.

Third Place: Dan Horn, The Cincinnati Post, "A River Of Tears"

The writer brings readers along as he reconstructs the agony and horror of a devastating flood. The writer makes excellent choices in the structure of the article, bringing comprehensive factual information high enough to answer questions without disrupting the unveiling of stunning moments in human drama. Vivid word pictures recreate scenes and they, too, are blended into the texture of the report. The fine organization of the report makes it work for readers.

Honorable Mention: Dana DiFilippo, The Kentucky Enquirer, "A Crash, A Cry, A Hero"

Honorable Mention: Tanya Bricking, The Cincinnati Enquirer, "Militants Pound Local Pulpit"

First Place: Cindy Kranz, The Cincinnati Enquirer, "Evander And Carolyn Cherry Raising 6-Year-Old Granddaughter"

Such detail woven in subtly and beautifully throughout the story. A grabbing and descriptive lead. Everyone knows what cereal poured too fast sounds like -- and that it means trouble! Paralleled Evander and Ryan's ages well, especially when telling the story of the two singing in the car and "old folks' words."

Second Place: Mark Curnutte, The Cincinnati Enquirer, "Woman Who Dealt With Her Brother's Alcoholism And Eventual Death"

Nice -- you put Carolyn and Mack's faces to the disease rather than just rattle off perfunctory statistics. You subtly show the bond between the siblings, especially when describing that it was Carolyn to whom Mack came when he was awarded his high school diploma.

Third Place: Linda Vaccariello, Cincinnati Magazine, "Bipolar Disorder"

A grabbing lead. Lots of personal stories to keep the reader's interest and put a face on a difficult-to-understand disorder.

Honorable Mention: Tom Archdeacon, The Dayton Daily News, "Tiger Woods' Popularity"

Honorable Mention: Mary McCarty, The Dayton Daily News, "Rhonald Karns"

First Place: Linda Vaccariello, Cincinnati Magazine, "The Funny Days Of Michael Flannery: A Kid's Show Host Grows Up"

Well-written, funny story, engaging from beginning to end. An interesting narrative that pulls the reader into the life of a small-time comic made good.

Second Place: Michael Clark, The Cincinnati Post, "The Painful Past: Detroit's New African-American Museum Touches Heart"

As was pointed out by Lisa Warren, deputy metro editor of The Cincinnati Post, in a letter submitted with the piece, "Clarke's reporting...conveyed the strong humanity of the museum as experienced by visitors." The story took a complex subject, gave it focus and continuity, while also covering a range of aspects. It was a personal and emotion account of a significant issue.

Third Place: Mary Ellyn Hutton, The Cincinnati Post, "Remaking WGUC: Tough Boss Focuses Station On The Future"

Judges enjoyed a story that presented an intriguing question: Why are so many people angry at a public radio boss? The piece illustrated the capabilities and background of WGUC general manager Brenda Pennell in a way that made a reader care about her, her community and the station. The writer's distinct voice also made it stand out.

Honorable Mention: Cindy Starr, The Cincinnati Post, "Silencing The Pain: Making Music Has Its Hazards"

First Place: Mary Ellyn Hutton, The Cincinnati Post

Gives the reader a sense of being there, her choice of language aptly invoking the music she reviews.

Second Place: Rick Pender, Cincinnati CityBeat

Capable and engaging work on theater. Worth reading whether you want to see the show or not.

Third Place: Janelle Gelfand, The Cincinnati Enquirer

First Place: Guy Boulton, The Cincinnati Enquirer, "Employers Crying For 'Help Wanted'"

This story takes a comprehensive and thorough look at how full employment can actually cause problems for a region's economy, leading some companies to resort to gimmicks to lure prospective employees, and increasing employment costs at many businesses. The article was filled with very specific examples that made it interesting, such as wage rates and employment data for many different occupations in the greater Cincinnati area.

Second Place: Jeff Harrington And Guy Boulton, The Kentucky Enquirer, "Even P&G Rank-And-File Get Golden Handshakes"

This is a story the average working person can only shake his or her head at -- the tale of how many janitors, mechanics, and other blue-collar workers at Procter & Gamble were transformed into millionaires during the 1990s by the rising value of their employer's stock. For a business story, this topic has an obvious human-interest angle. The reporter works that angle well by telling the personal stories of individual P&G retirees who unexpectedly struck it rich in their retirement years.

Third Place: Steve Watkins, Cincinnati Business Courier, "Market Crash Of 1987 Changed History"

This article paints a compelling look back at the stock market crash of 1987, weaving in the recollections of individual brokers and traders from the greater Cincinnati area who witnessed the market plummeting to its biggest one-day drop ever. The article is a well-researched and authoritative examination of what went wrong, and a look at whether a similar crash is likely to happen again.

Honorable Mention: Guy Boulton, The Cincinnati Enquirer, "In Crisis, Comair Stayed On Course."

First Place: Jack Cannon, The Cincinnati Enquirer, "Doesn't Pay to be Goofy at Disney"

Clever headline right on target.

Second Place; Alan Vonderhaar, The Cincinnati Enquirer, "Mumps and Rubella Beware of This Fella."

When readers see this headline and notice the Dr. Seuss connection, they'll be drawn into the story.

Third Place: Phil Fisher, The Cincinnati Enquirer "P&G Floats an Ivory That Sinks."

Potentially lackluster business story is enhanced by this imaginative headline.

First Place; Rick Millians, The Kentucky Post

Clean and compelling design with strong headlines, attractive visual elements and adherence to modular layout.

Second Place: Staff, The Cincinnati Post

Pleasing balance between horizontal, vertical elements on one page; over-reliance on color graphics creates a "busy" page in other example.

Third Place: Kristin Davenport, Cincinnati Business Courier

Effective use of color. Left-hand column index is visually pleasing. Bottom-of-page index tends to be distracting.

First Place: "Covered Bridges," Key Metts, The Dayton Daily News

Crisp use of white space. Color coordination of photos, leaves, map and type shows attention to detail.

Second Place: "Michigan Dulls Cooper's Legend," Ron Huff, The Cincinnati Enquirer

Good integration of main photo, background photo and headline kicker.

Third Place: "Renaissance: Rebirth Of A Museum," M.B. Hopkins, The Dayton Daily News

Organizes a lot of items into a clean, informative package.

First Place: Randy Mazzola, The Cincinnati Enquirer, "Cancer-Gene Therapy"

Second Place: Michael Brugh, The Cincinnati Post, "Fire's Destructive Toll"

Third Place: Michael Brugh, The Cincinnati Post, "Tragedy Of The Titanic"

First Place: Randy Mazzola And Saed Hindash, The Cincinnati Enquirer, "Calming the Angry You"

Picked first solely because of its effectiveness and efficiency in communicating its idea visually. Having said that, the judges, all photojournalists, expressed various degrees of misgivings about sending the wrong signals with this selection of a winner so digitally manipulated that it no longer looks photographic, but like a painted illustration. Maybe that's a blessing. Nevertheless, with all prejudices aside, it works, with impact none of the other entries had.

Second Place: Kevin J. Miyazaki, The Cincinnati Enquirer, "House Warming"

The gelled lighting works in its favor, inviting you in from the cold. It might be over-propped. How many candles do you need, for Pete's sake? The dog was a nice touch, increasing the degree of difficulty and adding a welcome touch of life. Fewer, simpler props might have been better but we thought the photo still works better than No. 3.

Third Place: Saed Hindash, The Cincinnati Enquirer, "A Classic in Their Hands"

The photography is nice and clean, but repetitive. We all thought the idea and execution quickly became tiresome, which might be more of a layout and design problem than a photographic one. A good idea, driven into the ground. Editing and layout should have gone back to the drawing board.

First Place: Rob Schuster, The Cincinnati Enquirer, "Iceberg"

Second Place: M.B. Hopkins, The Dayton Daily News, "Who Makes The Rules?"

Third Place: Rob Schuster, The Cincinnati Enquirer, "Taking Fast Food For A Test Drive"

First Place: Jim Borgman, The Cincinnati Enquirer, "Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil"

This cartoon received first place because of its subtlety. By itself, the visual doesn't make a point. But the addition of the caption puts a scalpel in a surgeon's hand. The caption is a terrific play off of the popular book's title (and that of the critically panned movie.) This cartoon gets part of its charm for how powerfully those eight words provoke thought. It virtually begs readers to talk about it. The drawing is excellent, too. The liberal use of duo-shade (gray area) effectively frames the white screen, with its critical copy. Leaving the child and computer keyboard white ensures they're not lost in the shadow. And the placement of blacks are particularly excellent. The back of the kid's chair, his mousepad, the sky surrounding the moon, they all draw the eye exactly where it needs to go to put together the point.

Second Place: Jeff Stahler, The Cincinnati Post, "Your Mother And I Both Work"

A simple cartoon with a powerful point. In this case, the caption literally says it all. Like a lot of excellent cartoons, this one takes a comment that's commonly taken for granted and stands it on its head. It also makes a biting point that invites further discussion. The art, while simple, still demonstrates careful thought. The layout is excellent. Note particularly the placement of color. The reader's eye is first drawn to the mother's black blazer. The father's arm across her back leads the eye across, then it falls to his briefcase. Finally the child is placed out in the middle of the white space, and he's only colored with cross-hatching, guaranteeing that he's the last figure we look at.

Third Place: Jim Borgman, The Cincinnati Enquirer, "Hang Tough Ms. Reno"

A beautifully rendered cartoon. In this case, you can cover the caption and get the point. Some would say that's a weakness, and others that it's a strength. This time, it's a strength. Few artists have ever done a better job drawing a brick wall, pockmarked by cannon balls. It is, quite simply, brilliant artistry. And Reno's caricature appears so painfully dead-on that no label is required.

First Place: Glenn Hartong, The Cincinnati Enquirer, "A Moment for Mourning"

This poignant photograph, of two grieving policemen trying to comfort each other after another policeman's murder, kept getting our attention. Their body language, down to their shoes, cries out their anguish.

Second Place: Michael E. Keating, The Cincinnati Enquirer, "Fall Leads to Death for Horse"

Four photos of a horse breaking down in the homestretch of a race, injuring the jockey and itself, show us almost more than we want to see about the event. But not quite. It's a concise little news picture story, pretty well done.

Third Place: Patrick Reddy, The Cincinnati Enquirer, "Tragic Fall"

This is an unusual picture of an unusual event, a combination of reactions as a baseball fan chasing a home run falls from the outfield stands. We can speculate that, with a little more size and clarity of the expressions in the fans' faces, this might have been a real knock-your-socks-off photo. Or maybe not. At any rate, this entry feels appropriate for third place.

Honorable Mention: Steve Herppich, The Cincinnati Enquirer, "Pickens, Then Grinnin'"

Honorable Mention: Michael E. Keating, The Cincinnati Enquirer, "Flooded Homes"

Honorable Mention: Saed Hindash, The Cincinnati Enquirer, "Second Hero Laid to Rest"

First Place: Yoni Pozner, The Cincinnati Enquirer

We picked this because it is an ambitious story, not an easy one, and it has some very good moments in it. The two D1 photos are a very nice pair. The best ones inside are the swearing-in photo, which should have been made more dominant in the layout, and the pouting picture on the next page. There are a couple other photos which could have been eliminated, but overall we thought this entry had the most substance, with some special, real-life photos.

Second Place: Yoni Pozner, The Cincinnati Enquirer

Really nice job of portraying the woman needing tooth repair. There was some thought to awarding it first place because of its simplicity and impact, but we opted instead for the other for its greater degree of difficulty and breadth of subject.

Third Place: Glenn Hartong, The Cincinnati Enquirer

We appreciated the subtle but significant human connection captured in this image of the look exchanged between the fireman hero and the little girl he helped rescue.

Honorable Mention: Michael E. Keating, The Cincinnati Enquirer

First Place: Hagit Limor, WCPO, "McQueen Execution"

Good, solid reporting. Continuous coverage yet always enough background. Clear for "new viewers."

Second Place: WNKU, "Flooding"

Comprehensive, human, professional. Very nice work. Good idea to go back months later. The gunk on rings and necklaces, wow! Very nice to hear from the folks.

First Place: Ann Hartmann, WNKU, "Campaign Money"

Great idea. Good bites. Moves along well. Natural sound? Campaign stump? Where is it? But good people, interviews.

Honorable Mention: WNKU, "Aging"

Great subject, great community service, but could have had so much more impact. I would have preferred hearing from more boomers and their parents, less from "professionals." Solid but uninspiring. Lack of meaningful natural sound really hurts.

First Place: Jay Hanselman, WNKU, "Various"

Good subjects for the most part. Good sound and interviews in "Underground Railroad," interesting subject in "Flying Hospital." Meanwhile, "Recycling" had too many boring bites, and needed some natural sounds.

First Place: The Cincinnati Enquirer

The Enquirer's site is -- in a word -- awesome. This judge paid hell downloading some pages, but the wait was worth it. Your online director is taking full advantage of the web's innate capabilities. Learn about cartoonist Borgman, easily find other cartoons he's created, and then create your own Borgman with step-by-step directions. You gotta love that action!

And then everything listed in GoCincinnati.Com, with its Mapfinder, Climate Guide, This Week's Postcard. Get out! I'm moving to Cincinnati just so I can use the site. Not to mention the links to national AP stories and attractive infographics. If all publications could go online like this, there would be no panel discussions on "The Internet: Does it jeopardize my paper and why won't it just go away?"

Honorable Mention: Cincinnati CityBeat

CityBeat.com is fresh, simple, easy to navigate and an overall pleasant experience. The editors have successfully taken their weekly online. But we were giddy to see them take advantage of the medium a little more. In the movie section, for instance, why not link to past reviews? At the end of this week's restaurant review, why not link to a full list of recently reviewed restaurants? And why not link to that Dining Guide you put out twice yearly? In the Best of Cincinnati section, why not create an ongoing online poll asking readers what they like? And for letters to the editor, instead of just posting the print letters, how about a bulletin board that posts your online readers' comments? CityBeat.com is a great start. Now, we challenge you to run with the techno-geeks and make your web site as fun as the words it contains!