Herald staffers win regional awards

SEATTLE – The Herald won five first-place trophies and took home several other awards in a regional journalism association’s annual competition.

Reporters, columnists, photographers and others with The Herald were honored Saturday in the Pacific Northwest chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists’ annual contest.

The competition included entries from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Alaska.

The Herald competed against newspapers with circulations between 25,001 and 65,000.

The awards were presented at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue.

First-place awards were earned for The Herald by:

Debra Smith, for health reporting for “Always on alert”;

Michelle Dunlop, for business reporting for “Boeing’s 40 years in Everett”;

Bryan Corliss, for business column;

The Herald staff, for spot news reporting for “Floods block Highway 9”; and

The Herald staff, for comprehensive coverage for “Election day/Record floods.”

Second-place awards were earned for The Herald by:

Jeff Switzer and Lukas Velush, for government reporting for “I-933”; and

John Sleeper and Scott North, for sports news for “Everett Hawks fumble finances.”

Third-place awards were earned for The Herald by:

Melissa Slager, science and technology reporting for “Starlight? Too bright”;

Steve Tytler, business column;

Krista Kapralos and Eric Stevick, for minorities reporting for “Tribes push treaty rights”;

Debra Smith, for lifestyles reporting for “Feed me: Tantalizing plants”;

Yoshiaki Nohara, for short feature reporting for “A place for lovers”;

Mike Cane, for sports news reporting for “A new dream”;

Doug Parry, for feature page design;

Aaron Swaney, for headlines;

Dan Bates, for feature photography for “Groundfrog Day”;

Elizabeth Armstrong, for sports photography for “50 swimmers”;

Eric Fetters, for best Web log for “Biotech blog”; and

The Herald staff, for comprehensive coverage for “Super Bowl coverage.”

Honorable mentions were earned for The Herald by:

Diana Hefley and Scott North, for watchdog reporting for “New law to fight meth”;

Melissa Santos, for consumer reporting for “Who’s saving on gas?”;

Mike Benbow, for business column and for personalities reporting for “Renaissance man”; and

Kevin Nortz, for photography portfolio.