The Idaho Mountain Express earned top honors Saturday at the Idaho Press Club's annual awards banquet, taking first place in the two categories recognizing overall excellence among non-daily newspapers.
The club's president, Betsy Russell, named the Express as the winner of the General Excellence award—tied with the Boise Weekly—and the club's Pinnacle Award for non-dailies. Pinnacle Awards are given to three media outlets, the daily newspaper, non-daily newspaper and television station that win the most awards overall in their groups.
All told, Express staff accepted 41 awards for newspaper reporting, editing, photography and overall excellence at the event in downtown Boise. Sun Valley Guide magazine, published by the newspaper's parent company, Express Publishing, earned an additional nine awards in magazine competition, including first place in the General Excellence category.
The club's Best of 2010 awards recognized excellence in print, television, public relations and radio journalism done throughout the state in 2010. In the end, the Express claimed nearly half of the 98 awards presented to non-daily newspapers.
Express newspaper staff earned 13 first-place awards, including the Rookie of the Year category, won by first-year reporter Katherine Wutz. Former Express reporter Trevon Milliard won third in the Reporter of the Year category, which judged reporters from all print-news outlets in Idaho, regardless of size or publication schedule.
"We're honored," said Express Publisher Pam Morris. "It's always our goal to provide top-quality news coverage to the people of our region. We're glad the judges approve of our work."
Here is a complete list of awards won by the Express and other members of the print media in the Wood River Valley:
Pinnacle Award—Weekly
Idaho Mountain Express
General Excellence—Weekly Print
1st Tie
Boise Weekly
Idaho Mountain Express
Rookie of the Year—Weekly Print
1st Katherine Wutz—Idaho Mountain Express
Reporter of the Year—Print
3rd Trevon Milliard—Idaho Mountain Express
Special Section—Weekly Print
1st Gregory Foley & Staff—Idaho Mountain Express—"4th annual Snow edition"
2nd TIE
Jennifer Tuohy—Idaho Mountain Express—"Valley Woman"
Gregory Foley & Staff—Idaho Mountain Express—"Wagon Days 2010"
3rd Gregory Foley & Staff—Idaho Mountain Express—"Happy Holidays 2010"
Watchdog/Investigative Report—Weekly Print
3rd Trevon Milliard— Idaho Mountain Express—"Pain lingers in aftermath of First Bank closure"
Light Feature Report—Weekly Print
1st Trevon Milliard—Idaho Mountain Express—"Night crawlers"
2nd Jennifer Tuohy—Idaho Mountain Express—"'Whiskey Jacquelyn' Rises from the Ashes"
3rd Katherine Wutz—Idaho Mountain Express—"Cat makes incredible journey"
Outdoor Feature—Weekly Print
2nd Sabina Dana Plasse—Idaho Mountain Express—"Saddle up at the Idaho Bike Ranch"
3rd Sabina Dana Plasse—Idaho Mountain Express—"High in the Sky"
Sports News Coverage—Weekly Print
1st Jeff Cordes—Idaho Mountain Express—"Smarts, skills bring state tennis title back to WR"
2nd Jeff Cordes—Idaho Mountain Express—"Silver is still sweet for Panther boys at state"
3rd Jeff Cordes—Idaho Mountain Express—"Poised Panthers get one for the thumb 62-36"
Sports Feature Story—Weekly Print
2nd Trevon Milliard—Idaho Mountain Express—"Squealing through Sun Valley"
3rd Jeff Cordes—Idaho Mountain Express—"Nate Scales flies 148.5 miles for new Idaho mark"
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General Column—Weekly Print
2nd Pat Murphy—Idaho Mountain Express—"Other Views"
Specialty Column—Weekly Print
2nd Tony Evans—Idaho Mountain Express—"Valley People"
3rd Jima Rice—Theweeklypaper.com—"Business Bios"
Editorial—Weekly Print
1st Pam Morris—Idaho Mountain Express—"Learn to shoot; Food poisoning; Public's business"
2nd Pat Murphy—Idaho Mountain Express—"Chicken-hearted; plus 2 others"
Headlines—Weekly Print
1st Sabina Dana Plasse—Idaho Mountain Express—"Buzz kill; Orbit in Karl Denson's Tiny Universe; Take a joy ride; Who's to blame?; The last laugh is free; Give Shanny Cohen a lift"
Sports Photography—Weekly Print
1st Willy Cook— Idaho Mountain Express—"Ouch!"
Arts/Entertainment Reporting—Weekly Print
2nd Tony Evans—Idaho Mountain Express—"A walk in the spiritual bazaar"
3rd Sabina Dana Plasse—Idaho Mountain Express—"'My Name is Rachel Corrie' addresses human rights"
Political Reporting—Weekly Print
2nd Katherine Wutz—Idaho Mountain Express—"GOP candidate asks competitor to drop out"
3rd Katherine Wutz—Idaho Mountain Express—"Stennett holds edge in campaign funding"
Education Reporting—Weekly Print
1st Terry Smith—Idaho Mountain Express—"Did school board hold 'secret' meetings?"
3rd Sabina Dana Plasse—Idaho Mountain Express—"CSI celebrates 25 years in Blaine"
Business Reporting—Weekly Print
1st Tie
Trevon Milliard—Idaho Mountain Express—"Construction starts dip sharply"
Honorable Mention:
Trevon Milliard—Idaho Mountain Express—"Valley says 'cheers' a little less"
Agriculture Reporting—Weekly Print
Honorable Mention:
Katherine Wutz—Idaho Mountain Express—"Sheep ranching holding its own"
Crime/Courts Reporting—Weekly Print
2nd Terry Smith—Idaho Mountain Express—"Attorney specializes in capital cases"
Religion Reporting—Weekly Print
1st Tony Evans—Idaho Mountain Express—"Middle East conflict surfaces in valley"
Environment Reporting—Weekly Print
2nd Trevon Milliard—Idaho Mountain Express—"To feed or not to feed?"
3rd Katherine Wutz—Idaho Mountain Express—"Wolf opponents broaden tactics"
Health/Medical Reporting—Weekly Print
1st Trevon Milliard—Idaho Mountain Express—"Seeking a 'reel' recovery"
2nd Terry Smith—Idaho Mountain Express—"Suicide on the rise in Blaine County"
3rd Trevon Milliard—Idaho Mountain Express—"Fewer businesses offering health insurance"
General Excellence—Magazine
1st Jennifer Tuohy & Tony Barriatua—Sun Valley Guide—Winter 2010/2011
Magazine Writing—Serious Feature
1st Tie
Patti Murphy—Sun Valley Magazine—"Idaho Basque Tables"
Jason D. B. Kauffman—Sun Valley Guide—"Born at the Headwaters"
3rd
Jason D. B. Kauffman—Sun Valley Guide—"Hunting: Carving a Path in the New West"
Magazine Writing—Light Feature
1st Tie
Jennifer Tuohy—Sun Valley Guide—"A Barn Reborn"
Van Gordon Sauter and Jennifer Tuohy—Sun Valley Guide— "It Happened To Sun Valley"
Trevon Milliard—Sun Valley Guide—"7 Days to Sustainable Sustenance"
Magazine Column
1st Van Gordon Sauter—Sun Valley Guide—"The Idaho Bookshelf"
Magazine Cover
1st Tony Barriatua—Sun Valley Guide—"Winter 2010/2011"
Website—General Excellence—Magazine
1st Tie
Coly McCauley—Sun Valley Guide— www.sunvalleyguide.com
Best Blog
1st Tie
Mike McKenna—Sun Valley Magazine—"Gone Fishing"
Editorial Writing—PR
1st Jim Banholzer (freelancer ) Selection of three.
Express reporter Katherine Wutz holds a “Rookie of the Year” award she received from the Idaho Press Club Saturday in Boise. Photo by Tony Evans
