Lake Sun
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The Lake Sun staff earned several awards from the recent Society of Professional Journalists Kansas City Press Club for items written in 2008.
Four staff members earned peer awards for print editions below 50,000 daily circulation as selected by media members for papers from western Missouri and eastern Kansas.
“The peer awards are a reflection of the type of work we strive to produce in every issue,” Lake Sun editor David Schiefelbein said.
Lake Media editorial director Joyce L. Miller led a team of reporters that won the first place gold award for general reporting for coverage of the Osage Beach Fire Protection District’s termination of Chief Jeff Dorhauer.
“Reporters should be commended for pushing past the official explanation and testing the explanations for the firing,” contest judges wrote of the work contributed by Miller, Charis Patires and Deanna Wheeler.
“The knowledge, effort and enthusiasm that the staff has is incredible,” Miller said. “It’s been a big year for us with print edition redesigns and just recently the regionalization and redesign of the web content. The awards just kind of topped it off and they were a really pleasant surprise.”
Miller earned a silver award for deadline reporting for her coverage of the tragic Memorial Day weekend helicopter crash. Judges wrote “Reporter brought together lots of information on deadline” for her story “One missing in helicopter crash.”
Editor’s note: Miller, Patires and members of Miller’s family had just been seated at an Osage Beach restaurant when news of the chopper crash broke. With Patires at the wheel, the reporting team beat many first responders to the scene. That exemplifies their dedication to their craft.
Patires took an award winning photo the next day and received a gold award for photojournalism breaking news.
“Good, clear photos of a breaking news event,” judges wrote about Patires’ photo that accompanied the story "Divers recover missing body."
Patires won a bronze award in the Profile category for her story “Osage Beach resident plans to swim 20 miles for Shriners.”
“In a few quick strokes, the writer captures the motivation of the subject and event details. Very nice phrasing,” judges wrote.
Patires also won a bronze award for public service for her story "Helping Hands Shelter needs a Hand."
“Good article on woman's initial misconceptions and her search for help,” the judges wrote.
Lake Sun part-time staffer Zach Wardenburg won a silver award for sports writing for "When the splatter matters," his coverage of a paintball tournament. “Good information presented while urging people to try their hands at the growing sport,” judges wrote.
Miller also won the gold award for her entertainment story “Lake’s ‘party anthem’ boys will open Shootout entertainment Thursday,” a story that previewed planned entertainment at the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout last August.
“Good article on upcoming performance and ties song to local origins. Liked the posting of info from the band's Web site,” judges wrote.
The Lake Sun received a gold award for the editorial “Quarry fight is lake area’s, Osage Beach should not have to venture into battle alone.” The editorial was about the city of Osage Beach’s vow to appeal a decision to approve a permit application to mine a site next door to the joint wastewater treatment plant.
“Effective in urging citizens to give their attention to a matter affecting them,” judges wrote.
Lake Sun editor David Schiefelbein earned a gold award for news column for the selection of three columns. “The Show-Me State falls farther behind” was about Missouri being the only state in the nation that does not have the capability to track cell phone calls. The column “Civic lesson” was written about taking a 4-year-old into the polling booth and “Primary colors” was a discussion about national newspaper coverage of 2008’s first presidential primary election night.
“Good reads on some interesting topics. Particularly liked the work on the “Falls Farther Behind” column,” judges wrote.
Schiefelbein also earned a gold award for non-news columns, including the pieces “I have a dream to use your tax money,” a tongue-in-cheek review of the former Camdenton mayor’s pro-development TIF policy, “More than just an old truck” written in remembrance of a 1995 Dodge Dakota pickup, and “08-08-08” a whimsical review of numerology and its potential impact on the end of the world last Aug. 8.
There were no judges comments for this category.
