Post and Courier staff wins 82 awards

FOLLY BEACH -- The staff of The Post and Courier won 82 journalism awards at the S.C. Press Association banquet Saturday night, finishing first among the state's largest newspapers.

Post and Courier reporter Renee Dudley also was honored as Journalist of the Year for her coverage of the governor's office and health care.

The newspaper staff won the Montgomery Freedom of Information Award for the third consecutive year, in large part for the efforts of reporter Diane Knich in forcing public records out of S.C. State University to show how the school spent $50 million in state and federal grants for a transportation center that was never built.

In addition, the staff won the President's Award for Excellence, which was given in recognition of its award numbers and overall achievement. It marks the sixth time in seven years The Post and Courier has won the prize as the state's most honored newspaper.

"This is a wonderful tribute to South Carolina's most outstanding journalists," said Bill Hawkins, editor and publisher of The Post and Courier and this year's president of the S.C. Press Association.

"Their work reflects our public service mission to our community," Hawkins said. "I am proud to see them earn this recognition from their peers."

Dudley's reporting on Gov. Nikki Haley's European economic development trip in the summer of 2011 pointed out that Haley and a 26-member entourage spent more than $158,000 in state money to stay in five-star hotels, dine at the Ritz in Paris and throw a $25,000 cocktail party. The trip did not yield much for the state.

Dudley's report gained national attention after Haley called her "that little girl" in a nationally broadcast interview.

That story also won Dudley first-place honors in Enterprise Reporting, and her story of gross misspending of federal funds at a North Charleston homeless shelter for veterans took first place for Reporting-In-Depth. The Post and Courier swept that category. Dudley also placed first in Health Reporting.

The Post and Courier took honors in news, features, sports, page design, photography and copy editing. In addition, the entire staff won a first-place award for the My Charleston magazine in the Lifestyle/Feature Special Edition or Section category.

Graphic artist Gill Guerry won top honors for Online News Project for his map of the downtown Charleston arson sites, along with a staff first place for the paper's Civil War 150 interactive Webpage. That site featured a map of Confederate Charleston and included reader-submitted stories about ancestors living in the state during the war. Guerry put the site together with Alan Seim and Brian Hicks.

Designer Fred Smith won first place for Feature Page Design and designer Chad Dunbar took first for Informational Graphics Portfolio.

Photographer Wade Spees took home two first-place awards, one for Photo Illustration and another for Photo Series for his pictures of America Street. Photographer Grace Beahm won first in Spot News Photo and for Photo Gallery on a Newspaper Website for her coverage of the Scottish Games and Highland Gathering. Videographer Chris Hanclosky won Online Spot News Video for chronicling Charleston's reenactment of the first shot of the Civil War.

Copy Desk Chief Tony Brown won a first place award for News Headline Writing and copy editor Bob Kinney took top honors in Feature Headline Writing.

Post and Courier reporters and columnists dominated several categories. Reporter Bo Petersen won two firsts, for Short Story and Critical Writing, and second for Reporting-In-Depth. Reporter Adam Parker won first in News Feature Writing and former Statehouse reporter Yvonne Wenger won first in Profile Feature Writing for her look back at Gov. Mark Sanford's tenure.

Sports columnist Gene Sapakoff won first place for Sports Column Writing.

In addition to 22 first-place awards, The Post and Courier won 26 second-place awards, 25 third-place awards and seven honorable mentions.

Other winners were:

--The Post and Courier staff took second place in Innovative Concept, Affiliated or Niche Website (for Charleston Scene) and Integration of Print and Web coverage (for the Cooper River Bridge Run coverage). The staff took third-place awards for Daily Newspaper website, Facebook Page, News Special Edition or Section, as well as Public Service and Integration of Print and Web Coverage for "Tracking an Arsonist."

--Grace Beahm won second-place awards for Pictorial, Feature Photo and Personality Photograph or Portrait, as well as third place for Single Online Photo and Photo Series or Story. She also received honorable mention for Feature Photo and Sports Action Photo.

--Sports reporter Philip M. Bowman won second place for Sports Beat Reporting.

--Sports reporter Tommy Braswell won third place for Spot Sports Story.

--Tony Brown won second place in Feature Headline Writing.

--Reporter Edward Fennell won third place for Reporting-In-Depth for his work on the Skip ReVille story, along with sports columnist Gene Sapakoff and reporter Glenn Smith.

--Designer Almar Flotildes won second place for Feature Page Design Portfolio.

--Graphic artist Gill Guerry received honorable mention for Online News Project.

--Features Editor Laura Joyce Gough won third place for Feature Page Design Portfolio.

--Chris Hanclosky won third place for Online Spot News Video.

--Sports reporter Travis Haney won second place for Sports Feature Story.

--Copy editor Beth Harrison won third place for News Headline Writing.

--Sports reporter Jeff Hartsell won second place for Spot Sports Story and third place for Sports Enterprise Reporting.

--Photographer Alan Hawes received honorable mention for Sports Feature Photo.

--Columnist Brian Hicks took second-place awards in column writing, News Feature Writing and Series of Articles for his 20-part serial on Charleston during the Civil War.

--Sports reporter Andrew Miller won third place for Online Sports Video.

--Photographer Brad Nettles won second place in Sports Feature Photo and honorable mention in Spot News Photo.

--Charleston Scene Editor Allison Nugent won second place for Entertainment Section.

--Special Projects Editor Doug Pardue won second-place honors in the Judson Chapman Award and third for Series of Articles.

--Social Media Coordinator Andy Paras won second place for Reporting-In-Depth with Bo Petersen and Glenn Smith.

--Adam Parker won third place for Enterprise Reporting for his "Being Gay in Charleston" story.

--Sports page designer Luke Reasoner won third place for Sports Page Design Portfolio.

--Deputy Sports Editor Fred Rindge won second place for Sports Headline Writing.

--Freelance photographer Doug Rogers won third place for Sports Action Photo.

--Sports columnist Gene Sapakoff won third place in the Judson Chapman Award and for Reporting-In-Depth with Edward Fennell and Glenn Smith.

--Glenn Smith won second-place awards for Profile Feature Writing and Reporting-In-Depth, as well as third place for Beat Reporting and Reporting-In-Depth.

--Wade Spees took third place awards for Humorous Photo, Spot News Photo and Feature Photo, as well as honorable mentions for Unpublished Photo and Sports Feature Photo.

--Arts writer Bill Thompson won second place in Critical Writing.

--Night News Editor Tim Thorsen won a second-place award for Page One Design Portfolio and a third-place award for Inside Page Design.

--Statehouse reporter Yvonne Wenger won second place in Beat Reporting and third place in Enterprise Reporting.

--Business reporter Warren Wise won second-place honors for Business Reporting.

--Assistant Editor Frank Wooten won third place in the E.A. Ramsaur Memorial Award for Editorial Writing.