Five prizes go to The Evangelist

In competition with Catholic newspapers across the U.S., The Evangelist has won five national prizes for excellence in journalism.

The awards were handed out at the annual convention of the Catholic Press Association, which represents Catholic newspapers and magazines. The convention was held last week in Nashville, Tenn.

There are about 200 Catholic newspapers in the U.S., with combined circulations of 6.6 million readers. The Evangelist is mailed every week to 50,000 homes in the Albany Diocese.

The CPA awards, which were judged by journalists from both the religious and secular press, were given for material that appeared during 2005.

The Evangelist won four CPA prizes:

* First prize in the category of "best reporting on children" for an article and photos in the June 9 issue by Karen Dietlein Osborne. Titled "Catholic school day filled with study, fun and prayers," the story profiled a typical day at St. Mary/St. Alphonsus School in Glens Falls.

Said the judges: "This story uses wonderful description, excellent verb choices and spare but good use of quotes to weave a tapestry of the myriad events and activities during a day at school. The writer shows us what the students are doing and saying, rather than telling us. We are there through the writer's eyes and ears."

* Second prize in the category of "best investigative writing or analysis" for a special, nine-page section on death and dying that appeared in the July 28 issue. The writers included Kate Blain, assistant editor, and staff writers Pat Pasternak and Karen Dietlein Osborne.

Calling the section "engaging and memorable," the judges said it was "possibly the most readable of all the entries. This package puts an emphasis on conversational language, keeping all of the stories approachable, and brings in a diversity of views and perspectives on the subject."

First prize in this category was given to Catholic News Service (CNS) in Washington, D.C.

* Third prize for "best reporting on teenagers" for the annual teen issue, which appeared Nov. 10. The writers included those listed above and freelancer Lisa Balschunat. The photos were by Dave Oxford, Bob Fiore and Nate Whitchurch.

In addition, the 22-page section included essays by several Catholic teens from around the Diocese who won an annual contest sponsored by The Evangelist.

The judges said that the special issues "focuses on profiles of young people whose faith has shaped their lives. The lead story is a well-written piece by Lisa Balschunat about a 13-year-old girl who helped save survivors of the Lake George boating tragedy. But other standouts are Kate Blain's piece about a Hodgkin's disease survivor, a timely look by Karen Dietlein Osborne about the benefits and perils of instant messaging, and Maureen McGuinness' update on what the Class of 2000 is doing. Overall, an effort worth emulating."

Since it began nearly 20 years ago, The Evangelist's annual teen issue has been cited repeatedly in the national awards contest.

First prize in this category went to the newspaper of the Diocese of Marquette, Mich.; second prize went to CNS.

* Honorable mention in the category of best front page design for tabloid newspapers, citing covers for the weeks between the death of Pope John Paul II and the election of Pope Benedict XVI.

In addition, Kate Blain, assistant editor, won the Bernardin-O'Connor Award for Pro-Life Journalism from Priests for Life, a national organization. The award is named for two late cardinals, Joseph Bernardin of Chicago and John O'Connor of New York City, who were dedicated to pro-life issues.

The prize for "best pro-life news story" recognized "Woman's stem cells halt cancer's spread," a front-page article in the Oct. 13 issue.

With its prizes, The Evangelist won more prizes than any other Catholic newspaper in New York State with the exception of the newspaper of the Rochester Diocese.

(Search for the award-winning articles at www.evangelist.org.)

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