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BELLEVUE – — – A reporter, two PDN columnists and a staff photographer won awards Saturday in competition among Pacific Northwest newspapers.
Staff writer Austin Ramzy and Commentary page columnist Paul Gottlieb won first place awards in spot news and criminal-justice reporting categories, respectively.
Photographer Keith Thorpe and “On the Waterfront”‘ columnist Dan Hart received second place awards respectively for pictorial photography and business column writing.
Gottlieb also received an honorable mention award.
They and scores of other newspaper, television, radio and scholastic journalists were honored at the 2001 regional awards of the Society of Professional Journalists presented in Bellevue on Saturday night.
Competitors from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska entered the contest.
The PDN winners:
* Ramzy was lead staff writer for coverage in August 2000 of “Deadly Collision” in which a Port Angeles-based pleasure craft collided with a British Columbia superferry off Sidney. His articles, written under deadline conditions, won first place in the Spot News category among daily newspapers having circulations of less than 25,000.
* Gottlieb, Commentary editor, received first place in the Criminal Justice writing category, also among newspapers of less than 25,000 circulation, for a column titled, “Suspect’s Concealed Gun Permit.” It discussed the legality and irony of the weapon permit held by the man suspected of killing Clallam County Sheriff’s Deputy Wally Davis last August.
Gottlieb received an honorable mention award in Environmental Reporting among newspapers of less than 25,000 circulation for a front-page article on the “Rayonier Site Cleanup.” The article was written in spring 2000, when he was a reporter who regularly covered the issues dealing with cleanup of the pulp mill site in Port Angeles. Gottlieb was appointed Commentary page editor in July.
* Thorpe received a second-place award in the Pictorial Photography category for newspapers having less than 25,000 circulation for a time-exposure photo titled “Daishowa America Paper Mill.” The photo shows the Port Angeles mill on a chilly autumn night, illuminated only by its yellowish exterior lights and their glow off the steam billowing over the mill.
* Hart received second place in Business Columns among all newspapers regardless of circulation for a collection of his “On the Waterfront” columns published last fall. His column anchors the PDN’s Sunday Business sections.
Ramzy, Gottlieb, Thorpe and Hart attended Saturday night’s awards banquet at the DoubleTree Inn in Bellevue to receive their awards.
In addition to the PDN, another North Olympic Peninsula newspaper was honored by the Society of Professional Journalists on Saturday night.
Sequim High School’s The Growl received honorable mention in the General Excellence category in the competition for Western Washington high schools with enrollments between 500 and 1,000.
