CONTACT:
Holly Fisher, SPJ Region 3 Director, (843) 849-3125
Erin Hornsby, GES Contest Administrator, gesawards@spj.org
Sonny Albarado, SPJ Region 12 Director, (901) 529-2703

The Miami Herald took the two top honors in the 57th annual Green Eyeshade Awards contest when winners were announced at a banquet in Nashville, Tenn. Saturday, May 5.

“House of Lies,” a series about corruption in the Miami-Dade Housing Agency and the agency’s failure to provide safe housing to the poor, won “Best of Show” in both the print and electronic media categories.

Debbie Cenziper, author of the series, won in the print category while the Herald staff received the top honor in the electronic media category for its online audiovisual version of the project.

The online “House of Lies” project also won first place for online investigative reporting and Cenziper won first place for investigative reporting in the print division of the Green Eyeshade contest.

Judges chose the “Best of Show” winners from among all first place winners in the print and electronic media divisions.

The Green Eyeshade Awards recognize outstanding journalism in 11 southeastern states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia.

Started by the Atlanta Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, the contest has since been taken over by SPJ and is administered by regional directors for the Society. The Society of Professional Journalists works to improve and protect journalism. The organization is the nation’s most broad-based journalism organization, dedicated to encouraging the free practice of journalism and stimulating high standards of ethical behavior.

Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to a well-informed citizenry; works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists; and protects First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press.

The complete list of Green Eyeshade Award winners follows:

GREEN EYESHADE AWARDS 2006
WINNERS LIST

PRINT DIVISION

Deadline Reporting
1st: Lexington Herald Leader, “The Tragedy of Flight 5191,” Newsroom staff
2nd: The Courier Journal, “Comair Crash,” Courier-Journal news staff
3rd: The Commercial Appeal, “Downtown Inferno,” Tom Charlier, Dakarai Aarons, Michael Erskine

Non-Deadline News/Daily
1st: St. Petersburg Times, “Ninth or Never,” Ron Matus
2nd: Miami Daily Business Review, “Cross-Border Chase,” Julie Kay, Jessica M. Walker, Polyana da Costa

Non-Deadline News Weekly/Monthly
1st: New Times Broward-Palm Beach, “Daddy’s Girl,” Kelly Cramer
2nd: Miami New Times, “Jesus Redux,” Mariah Blake
3rd: Creative Loafing, “Tracy’s World: Inside the wicked web of a Charlotte pimp,” Tara Servatius

Features/Daily
1st: St. Petersburg Times, “Kennel Trash,” Kelley Benham
2nd: Charlotte Observer, “What will happen to Kayla,” Danica Coto and Peter St. Onge
3rd: The Palm Beach Post, “Christine Evans,” Christine Evans

Features, Weekly
1st: Miami New Times, “Band of Outsiders,” Emily Witt
2nd: Nashville Scene, “Righting History: A local attorney unearths the secrets of a bloody decade in El Salvador,” John Spragens
3rd: The Memphis Flyer, “Desolation Row” and “Coastal Towns,” Chris Davis

Features, Monthly
1st: Georgia Trend Magazine, “Energy in Georgia,” Jerry Grillo
2nd: Memphis Magazine, “The Poor Side of Town,” Marilyn Sader
3rd: Florida Trend Magazine, “Final Frontier,” Cynthia Barnett

Sports Reporting
1st: Orlando Sentinel, Series of Central Florida Sports, Josh Robbins
2nd: The Palm Beach Post, Stories by Carlos Frias, Carlos Frias
3rd: Press-Register, “The Grave,” Neal McCready

Sports Commentary
1st: The Commercial Appeal, Geoff Calkins columns, Geoff Calkins
2nd: Orlando Sentinel, Mike Bianchi columns, Mike Bianchi
3rd: St. Petersburg Times, Gary Shelton columns, Gary Shelton

Business Reporting, Daily
1st: The Palm Beach Post, “The Housing Squeeze: Florida feels the pinch,” Jeff Ostrowski, Eve Samples, Pat Beall, and Linda Rawls
2nd: The Miami Herald, “Deadly Express,” Ronnie Greene
3rd: The Miami Herald, “Daunting Data,” John Dorschner and Jacob Goldstein

Business Reporting, Weekly/Monthly
1st: Mother Jones magazine, “Lead Astray,” freelancers Sara Shipley Hiles and Marina Walker Guevara
2nd: New Times Broward-Palm Beach, “Buy My Rock,” Trevor Aaronson
3rd: Smart Business Atlanta, “Shipping Magnate,” Daniel G. Jacobs

Investigative
1st: The Miami Herald, “House of Lies,” Debbie Cenziper
2nd: The Birmingham News, “Corruption in Community Colleges,” Brett J. Blackledge
3rd: St. Petersburg Times, “When Dry is Wet,” Craig Pittman and Matthew Waite

Criticism
1st: South Florida Sun-Sentinel, “Broken Code,” Phoebe Flowers
2nd: Lexington Herald Leader, Criticism by Truman, Cheryl Truman
3rd: The Miami Herald, TV criticism, Glenn Garvin

Editorial
1st: Orlando Sentinel, “Florida’s Shame,” Jane Healy
2nd: St. Petersburg Times, Editorials, Tim Nickens
3rd: Sun Herald, “What If” and “Three Homicides,” Tony Biffle

Commentary
1st: The Palm Beach Post, Frank Cerabino columns, Frank Cerabino
2nd: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Column collection, Kane Webb
3rd: Orlando Sentinel, Mike Thomas columns, Mike Thomas

Photography
1st: The Palm Beach Post, “Train Jumping,” Gary Coronado
2nd: The Commercial Appeal, “Mystery Mississippi,” Alan Spearman
3rd: Associated Press-Florida, “Reunited,” Lynne Sladky

Sports Photography
1st: The Palm Beach Post, “Florida v South Carolina,” Erik Lunsford
2nd: The Commercial Appeal, “Roderick Smith,” Nikki Boertman
3rd: The Commercial Appeal, “AutoZone Liberty Bowl,” Nikki Boertman

Editorial Cartoon
1st: The State, Cartoons, Robert L. Ariail cartoons, Robert L. Ariail
2nd: The Commercial Appeal, “Murder in Memphis,” Bill Day
3rd: Orlando Sentinel, Dana Summers cartoons, Dana Summers

TELEVISION DIVISION

Spot News
1st: Bay News 9, “Deputy’s Death,” Bay News 9 News department
2nd: WBTV News 3, “Police chase and standoff,” WBTV News 3 team
3rd: Bay News 9, “Evicted,” Laurie Davison, Jonathan Haas

Continuing Coverage
1st: WTVF-TV, “Tennessee State Veterans Home,” Jennifer Kraus, Bryan Staples, Kevin Wisniewski
2nd: WFTS-TV, “Quest for Everest,” Linda Hurtado, Matt McGlsshen, Walt Maciborski, John Turner
3rd: WTVF-TV, “Bill Heard Chevrolet,” Jennifer Kraus, Bryan Staples, Kevin Wisniewski

Investigative Reporting
1st: WFOR-TV, “The Forgotten Floor,” Michele Gillen, Abel Castillo, Marcia Izaquirre, Giovani Benitez
2nd: WPTV-NBC 5, “Secret Sex Offenders,” Shannon Cake, Israel Perez, Jr., Jim Sitton, Katy Adams, Dave Peterson, Bonnie Billing
3rd: WTVJ-NBC 6, “Citizenship for Sale,” Jeff Burnside, Scott Zamost, Pedro Cancio, Ed Garcia

Feature Commentary
1st: WBTV-News 3, “Final Ride,” Kristen Hampton
2nd: WLTX-TV, “Speedy Wilson,” Will Frampton, Lewis Turner, Mac Frampton
3rd: WCBD-NBC 2, “Medical Documents,” Gray Hall, Sydney Bryant

Sports Reporting
1st: WTVQ-36, “Miracle League Baseball,” Melinda Roeder, Paul Mojonnier

Documentary
1st: WDRB-Fox 41, “Heaven 2 Hell: A Journey of Grace,” Barry Bernson, Kenny Bradley, Jennifer Keeney
2nd: Georgia Public Broadcasting, “The Georgia Meth Invasion,” David Zelski, Pamela Roberts
3rd: WUFT-TV, “Heritage or Hate?”, G. Stuart Smith, Dennis Gaston

Videography
1st: WCBD, NBC 2, Compilation, Gino Canello
2nd: The Miami Herald, “On the Margins,” Chuck Fadely
3rd: WCBD, NBC 2, Compilation, Sydney Bryant

RADIO DIVISION

Spot News
1st: WCHS Metro News, “The Sago Mine Disaster,” Chris Lawrence, Shauna Johnson, Jennifer Smith, Jeff Jenkins
2nd: WNOX-FM, “Lawmen Ambushed in East Tenn.,” WNOX News team
3rd: North Carolina Public Radio, WUNC, “Apex Chemical Fire,” Lorne Matalon, Jessica Jones, Connie Walker, Catherine Bond

Continuing Coverage
1st: North Carolina Public Radio – WUNC, “Duke Lacrosse,” Rusty Jacobs, Leoneda Inge, Jessica Jones
2nd: WCHS Metro News, “The Sago Mine Disaster,” Chris Lawrence, Shawna Johnson, Jennifer Smith, Jeff Jenkins
3rd: Georgia Public Broadcasting, “Immigration,” Susanna Capelouto, Rickey Bevington, Emily Kopp

Investigative Reporting
1st: Ga. Public Broadcasting, “Amy Yates and Juvenile Interrogation,” Susanna Capelouto

Feature Reporting
1st: 88.5, WFDD, “Beep Ball,” Kathryn Mobley
2nd: N.C. Public Radio, WUNC, “Grief Counseling,” Rose Hoban
3rd: N.C. Public Radio, WUNC, “9/11 Remembrance,” Laurie Leslie

Sports Reporting
1st: N.C. Carolina News Network, “ Racing to the Future,” Clayton Henkel, Bruce Ferrell, David Horn, Matt Willoughby
2nd: WCHS Metro News, “The Jarrod Stouffer Tribute,” Chris Lawrence
3rd: N.C. Public Radio, WUNC, “Disabled Surfers,” Rose Hoban

Documentary
1st: N.C. Public Radio, WUNC, “Daily Lessons,” Emily Hanford, Deborah George, Alison Jones, Benjamin Shapiro
2nd: WFPL Radio, “Hands of Hope from Louisville,” Susan Sweeney Crum, Julie Goodwin
3rd: WUFT-FM, “The Long Road,” Claudia Hickey, Bill Beckett, Donna Green-Townsend

ONLINE DIVISION

Breaking News
1st: TBO.com, “Polk County Deputy Slain,” Billy Townsend, TBO.com staff

Best Use of Multimedia
1st: The Miami Herald, “Carnival Center,” Herald Staff
2nd: TBO.com, “A Killer’s Grip,” Clarisa Gerlach, Tim Price, Tampa Tribune staff, WFLA staff
3rd: Knoxville News Sentinel, “Sweet 15,” Jigsha Desai, Lauren Suhles, Kevin Cowan, Joe Howell

Niche Journalism
1st: Knoxville News Sentinel, “GoVolsXtra,” Online and Sports departments
2nd: TBO.com, “Tampa’s Local Music Scene,” Ryan Bauer, Tim Price
3rd: Pace Communications, “Epic,” Randy Johnson, Mark Caskie

Commentary/Blogs
1st: St. Petersburg Times, “Video Games as Art,” Josh Korr
2nd: TBO.com, “Suitcase Stories,” Chris Chmura
3rd: The Charlotte Observer, “New Around Town,” Leigh Dyer

Investigative
1st: The Miami Herald, “House of Lies,” Herald Staff
2nd: TBO.com, “Following the Coldest Trail,” Mike Wells, Tim Price, Vidisha Priyanka