By Mike Sherman, APSE First Vice President/Contest Chair
Nathan Fenno’s story on a Frostburg State football player who died of head injuries after coaches pressured him to return to the field won first place in the APSE 2013 contest for Explanatory writing in the 75,000 to 175,000 category.
Fenno, who wrote the story as a columnist for the Washington Times, received three of six first-place votes from APSE judges. Now a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, Fenno will be presented a first-place plaque at the 2014 APSE Banquet June 28 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Va.
Indianapolis Star reporter Zak Keefer’s story on the day Brad Stevens left Butler for the Boston Celtics placed second. Jill Riepenhoff and Mike Wagner of The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch placed third for their story on rigid rules that bar athletes transferring schools from varsity competition in Ohio. The top 10 is listed below with links to each writers’ Twitter pages and entries.
Sports editors in the 75,000 to 175,000 circulation category submitted 47 Explanatory entries. Contest catchers numbered each entry, assuring they had been stripped of headlines, graphics, bylines and any other element that would identify the writer or news organization.
In early March, preliminary judges at the APSE Winter Conference in Indianapolis selected a top 10, with each judge ranking the entries in order from 1 to 10 separately on a secret ballot. Entries were given 10 points for a first-place vote, nine points for second and so on down to 1 point for a 10th-place vote. The final 10 were given to a second judging group, which ranked the entries 1-10 in the same fashion. The winner and final rankings are determined by tallying the ballots.
For purposes of the APSE contest, explanatory stories include trends, issues and original ideas. They shed new light on issues and personalities in the news. They are more than the feature and less than the project entry. They go beyond the “yesterday” of the breaking news story.
The contest is open to APSE members. Go to this link to join.
2013 APSE Contest: Explanatory, 75,000 to 175,000 circulation
(First-place votes in parentheses)
1. Nathan Fenno, The Washington Times, (3), 56 points
Frostburg State football player pressured back on field after blows to the head dies
2. Zak Keefer, Indianapolis Star, (2), 41 points
Brad Stevens leaves for the Boston Celtics: The day that rocked Butler University
3. Jill Riepenhoff and Mike Wagner, The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, 39 points
Rule often keeps athletes who switch high schools on the bench
4. Todd Jones, The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, (1) 37 points
Rhabdomyolysis laid low 6 athletes
5 (tie). Justin Barney, Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville), 30 points
Ryan Freel: Full speed, crashing end
5 (tie). John Whisler, San Antonio Express-News, 30 points
Weigh-in continues on heated headgear debate
7. Jason Wolf, The News Journal (Wilmington, Del.), 27 points
Eagles prepare to debut innovative signs of the times
8. Aaron Falk, Chris Kamrani, Kurt Kragthorpe and Tony Semerad, The Salt Lake Tribune, 25 points
Pacific Islanders change the face of football in Utah
9. Harry Minium, The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.), 24 points
A lot of work in not much time for ODU's big move
10. Berry Tramel, The Oklahoman, 21 points
College football: Ejection will put some teeth in NCAA's targeting policy
(Mike Sherman, APSE first vice president and contest chair, is sports editor of The Oklahoman. Email him at msherman@opubco.com, follow him at @MikeSherman or call 405-475-3164.)
