Mary Bellamy

The Alaska Press Club awards are out (well, most of them anyway), and naturally I scrolled down the list to see who won what. Those of you otuside Alaska or who don't care about journalism may feel free to stop reading at any time.

Best use of a story and photo by a journalist:
First place: R.A. Dillon, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
Second place: Margaret Friedenauer, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (Margaret, a former roommate, wrote a series of stories from Iraq. The paper didn't offer to send her, she offered to go, and spent several weeks reporting on local troops.)

Best long feature:
First place: Lynne Snifka, Anchorage Press

Best business reporting:
Third place: Diana Campbell, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Best education reporting:
Second place: Kyle Hopkins, Anchorage Daily News (Kyle is a former editor and writer for the News-Miner. He left for the Anchorage Press, then made the jump to the big leagues over at the ADN. OK, he started out in the Mat-Su beat, but he got out of there fast!)

Best crime or courts reporting:
First place: Kyle Hopkins, Anchorage Press

Best health or science reporting:
First place: Lynne Snifka, Anchorage Press (Lynne won this for a great piece about emergency contraception. I may not need the stuff, but it was really well written.)

Best editorial cartoon:
Third place: Jamie Smith, The Ester Republic

Best page layout and design:
Third place: Jill Homer, The Homer Tribune (Not bad for someone who moved here recently. Plus, she's kind of crazy. No, really. Check out her blog. She does insane things like bike 24 hours straight.)

Best photography:
Many categories, but Sam Harrel of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner had another excellent showing, including Best News Photo (first and third place) and Best Scenic Photo (first place). Eric Engman and John Hagen of the News-Miner also won awards for Best Portrait (first and second, respectively)

Clearly, I care most about newspapers, particularly newspapers that I write for (The Ester Republic, Anchorage Press) or used to work for. However, on the televisin side of things, Rebecca Palsha, Kyle's lovely wife, also brought home some awards, netting a second place in Best TV-Crime of Courts and Best TV Business.