Comments: This package of stories is an exceptional example of investigative reporting. Dan Monk did a superb job of gathering the details about Cincinnati’s boards and making sense of what their make-up means to the companies themselves and to the community. With data and in-depth interviews, Monk paints a detailed picture of the hazards a company and its investors face when its board is stacked with family members, friends and business associates. This report is a loud wake-up call for the Cincinnati business community.

Deadline/Spot News Story (Daily)

First Place: Staff, Cincinnati Enquirer, for April tornado coverage.

Comments: This package of stories really shows how a team of reporters, designers and editors can pull together to give great coverage from all directions. The thorough effort not only gave the news but offered the community advice and instruction.

Second Place: Staff, Cincinnati Post, for Tornado Kills Four

Third Place: Staff, Kentucky Post, Paul Smith shooting

Deadline/Spot News Story (Non-Daily)

First Place: East staff, Community Press newspapers for Gone in an Instant

This package does a good job of catching a variety of the stories out there waiting to be written.

Second Place: Staff, Cincinnati Business Courier for Riverfront Plan

Third Place: staff, CityBeat for Election Night 1999

Enterprise/Database Reporting (Daily)

First Place: Janice Morse, Cincinnati Enquirer for Voluntary Donations Questioned.

Comments: An expert handling of critical facts used to to tell an age-old story of an official abusing power. Morse deftly explains a topic that could have been dry. She makes it as personal and familiar as an office gossip – except Morse’s story affects positive change.

Second Place: Michael Hawthorne, Cincinnati Enquirer, for Kids Show Early Political Interest

Third Place: Andrew Conte, Cincinnati Post, for the Mercy Trap

Honorable Mention: Tom O’Neill, Cincinnati Enquirer, for I-275 fatalities

Enterprise/Database Reporting (Non-Daily)

First Place: Dan Monk, Cincinnati Business Courier for Getting on Board

Comments: Anyone who reads this piece will own a greater understanding of how power works in Cincinnati.

Second Place: Linda Vaccariello, Cincinnati Magazine, for Buying Home

Third Place: Felix Winternitz, Cincinnati Business Courier, for Media and Advertising

Beat Reporting (Daily)

First Place: Tim Bonfield, Cincinnati Enquirer, for health care coverage.

Comments: The selected stories showed comprehensive beat coverage, strong reporting and well-planned organization.

Second Place: Dan Horn, Cincinnati Enquirer, for criminal justice coverage

Third Place: Paul Long, Kentucky Post, for courts coverage

Honorable Mention: John Eckberg, Cincinnati Enquirer, for entrepreneurs

Beat Reporting (Non-Daily)

First Place: Richard Curtis, Cincinnati Business Courier, for health care

Comments: Very approachable coverage of difficult health care issues. Keeping people in the foreground was the key.

Second Place: Geert De Lombaerde, Cincinnati Business Courier, financial services

Series (Daily)

First Place: Jim DeBrosse and David Gulliver, Dayton Daily News, for Elder Care

Comments: A superb, completely thorough and shocking account of Ohio’s Elder Care system. An excellent investigation that also provides solutions and alternatives to the system. Far and away the best entry of this category.

Second Place: John Erardi and John Byczkowski, Cincinnati Enquirer, Ballpark series

Third Place: Cindy Starr, Cincinnati Post, for Care Giver

Honorable Mention: staff, Kentucky Post, for Coal Town

Series (Non-Daily)

First Place: Dianne Fossitt, Community Recorder, for homelessness and education in Kentucky.

Comments: none

Second Place: Lauren Lawley Head, Cincinnati Business Courier, Making it Click

Continuing Coverage (Daily)

First Place: Randy Tucker, Cincinnati Enquirer, for coverage of Procter & Gamble restructuring.

Comments: none.

Second Place: Scott Elliott, Steve Bennish, Tom Beyerlein and Jim Bebbington, Dayton Daily News, for Four Killed.

Third Place: Paul Long,Kentucky Post, for Baby Justin

Honorable Mention: Anne Michaud and Tim Bonfield, Cincinnati Enquirer, for Psychosis Studies

Continuing Coverage (Non-Daily)

First Place: Lauren Lawley Head, Cincinnati Business Courier, for Cincinnati Bell coverage.

Comments: Timely, if episodic, coverage of the transformation of a long-time Cincinnati business institution. Kept pace with remarkable charges over a short period of time.

Second Place: Joe Christofeld, Marc Emral, Nancy Daly and Gary Presley, Community Press Newspapers, for Regional Report

Sports Coverage (Daily)

First Place: John Erardi, Cincinnati Enquirer, collection of work.

Comments: These were the most ambitious and thought-provoking of the category

Second Place: Bill Koch, Cincinnati Post, collection of work

Sports Coverage (Non-Daily)

First Place: Melanie Laughman and Kelli Milligan, Community Press Newspapers, for All in the Reds Family.

Comments: Fantastic work that shows the heart and soul of players many consider snobby. Incredible imagery. Solid all the way through.

Second place: Skip Tate, Cincinnati Magazine, For Love of the Game

Opinion Writing (Daily)

First Place: Robert White, Cincinnati Post, for collection of editorials

Comments: Thoughtfully and clearly presented, delivering forceful conclusions that ride on reason, not decibel levels

Second Place: Laura Pulfer, Cincinnati Enquirer for Collection of Columns

Third Place: Michele Day, Cincinnati Post, Collection of work

Opinion Writing (Non-Daily)

First Place: Lonnie Wheeler, Cincinnati Magazine, for The Last of a Dying Breed.

Comments: If you thought you knew something about Marge Schott and her antics, now you can see her in the context of baseball, the business and the new directions it’s headed. A first-rate piece.

Second Place: Dick Maloney, Community Press Newspapers, for personal columns

Third place: Steve Ramos, CityBeat, for Arts Beat

Short Story

First Place: Linda Vaccariello, Cincinnati Magazine, for Duckworth article.

Comments; An exceptional portrait of an eccentric man and his tiny church. Vaccariello’s description put the reader right inside the service.

Second Place: Peggy Kreimer, Kentucky Post

Third Place: Skip Tate, Cincinnati Magazine

Personality Profile

First Place: Kitty Morgan, Cincinnati Magazine, for Schott in the Afternoon.

Comments: A great example of show-don’t-tell writing.

Second Place: Mark Schmetzer, Community Press Newspapers, for Don’t Call Me Mrs. Rose

Third Place: John Erardi, Cincinnati Enquirer, for Fan of the Century

Honorable Mention: Camilla Warrick, Cincinnati Magazine, for Lynn Stern

Long News Feature

First Place: Doug Trapp, CityBeat, for The Banks.

Comment: Very thorough analysis of a major waterfront development that put the project in historical and political perspective.

Second Place: Mark Curnutte, Cincinnati Enquirer, for Tough Medicine.

Third Place: Kevin Merida, Cincinnati Magazine, for Campaign Commander

Honorable Mention: Lonnie Wheeler, Cincinnati Post, for Sandlot Baseball

Short News Feature

First Place: Peggy Kreimer, Kentucky Post for Group Home Space Scarce.

Comments: A brave subject matter. The story moved with fluidity given its size. Good use of a single family as a vehicle for how the shortage affected people.

Second Place: Peggy Kreimer, Kentucky Post, for New Heart Gives Tot Second Chance

Third Place: Lauren Lawley Head, Cincinnati Business Courier, for Kids Takeover at Company’s newest unit

Honorable Mention: Steven Huba, Cincinnati Post, for Underground Railroad of the Holocaust

Lifestyle Feature

First Place: Kathy Wilson, CityBeat, for The Blacker the Berry

Comments: Fascinating first and third-person accounts from black women suffering from manic-depressive disorder. Author and subjects laid bare their demons.

Second Place: Mara Lee, Dayton Daily News, for Journey into Parenthood.

Third Place: Felix Winternitz, CityBeat, for Ham and Rye, Stat

Honorable Mention: Jennie Key, Community Press Newspapers, Art a Tool.

Arts/Entertainment Feature

First Place: Steve Ramos, CityBeat, for Radio Head

Second Place: Linda Vaccariello, Cincinnati Magazine, for Some Kind of Wonderful

Third Place: Janelle Gelfand, Cincinnati Enquirer, for At Century’s End, Modern Music Comes Into Play

Honorable Mention: Steve Ramos, CityBeat, for Birth of a Controversy

Arts/Entertainment Criticism

First Place:Steve Ramos, CityBeat, for collection of work

Second Place: Owen Findsen, Cincinnati Enquirer

Business Coverage

First Place: staff, Cincinnati Enquirer, for collection of work

Comments:Unlike some daily newspapers with substantial resources, the Enquirer demonstrates here that it knows how to marshal those resources to the benefit of its readers. Its winning entry reveals impressively coordinated team coverage, comprehensive reporting, and a concerted effort to make business news appealing to the most casual reader.

Second Place: Dan Monk, Cincinnati Business Courier, for collection of work

Third Place: Lynn Hulsey, Dayton Daily News, for collection of work

Honorable Mention: Skip Tate, Cincinnati Magazine, for Long’s Shot

News or Feature Headline

First Place: Linda Vaccariello, Cincinnati Magazine, for The Silence of the Hams: a Visit to Vent Haven the Ventriloquist Museum.

Comments: This headline has a subtle humorous play on words that invites its readers to move into the story. Its very catchy as well as being accurate.

Second Place: Felix Winternitz, CityBeat, A Ham and Rye Stat!

Third Place: Jack Cannon, Cincinnati Enquirer, Don’t Like Exercise? No Sweat. Everyday activity just as good

Honorable Mention: Jack Cannon, Cincinnati Enquirer, Waynesville welcomes back Dickens, Writer slammed town, great expectorations

Page One Layout

First Place: Kristin Davenport, Cincinnati Business Courier, for P&G pays premium for Iams.

Comments: Pages demonstrate ability to present theme cover or several stories on a tabloid cover and do it in a way that is inviting to the reader. The teasers at the bottom of the page are informative and attractive without stealing from the impact of the rest of the page.

Second Place: Cincinnati Post, for Tornado Kills Four

Page Design

First Place: Ron Huff and Randy Mazzola, Cincinnati Enquirer, for Oceanic Adventures.

Comments: Great use of elegant art and informational graphics to pull reader into and across the page. Design is clear and uncluttered despite the variety of information it contains.

Second Place: M.B. Hopkins, Dayton Daily News, for Time Pieces

Third Place: Ron Huff and Randy Mazzola, Cincinnati Enquirer, for College Football ‘99

Informational Graphic

First Place: Randy Mazzola, Cincinnati Enquirer, for Oceanic Adventures.

Comments: This thing has everything but the water!

Second Place: Randy Mazzola, Cincinnati Enquirer, for Yellow Giants on the Riverfront

Photo Illustration

First Place: Saed Hindash, Cincinnati Enquirer, for Classic Flyer.

Comments: Out of four entries, only one stood out. The photo of a classic Greek discus/frisbee tosser was a good concept that was well-lighted and brought the idea across clearly.

Art Illustration

First Place: Randy Mazzola, Cincinnati Enquirer, for Shop Til You Drop.

Comments: none

Second Place: M.B. Hopkins, Dayton Daily News, for Hanging Out at Lilith Fair 1999

Third Place: Randy Mazzola, Cincinnati Enquirer, for Meet the Stars of Manatee Springs.

Honorable Mention: M.B. Hopkins, Dayton Daily News, for Souffle

Editorial Cartoon

First Place: Jeff Stahler, Cincinnati Post.

Comments: Well-drawn, easy to grasp.

Second Place: Joe Hoffecker, Cincinnati Business Courier

News Photography

First Place: Jim Osborn, Cincinnati Post, for Reality Sets In

Comments: This sad photo of a boy at his father’s funeral showed good photography and composition. The photographer got the shot by hanging around for a quiet moment after the funeral.

Second Place: Dale Dunaway, Cincinnati Post, for Fire Grief

Third Place: Glenn Hartong, Cincinnati Enquirer, for Group Hug

Feature Photography

First Place: Steven Herppich, Cincinnati Enquirer, for First Communion.

Comments: The lead picture of this package on first communion especially captured the essence of anticipating a very sacred event.

Second Place: Craig Ruttle, Cincinnati Enquirer, for Prince delights in dance.

Third Place: Brad Smith, Cincinnati Magazine, for The Lord Speaks

Honorable Mention: Mark and Kathy Lyons, Cincinnati Magazine, for Gift of Sight

Web Site

First place: Cincinnati Enquirer

Second place: CityBeat

Third Place: Community Press Newspapers