2008 NAAJ Writing Contest Winners

NEWS
Judge: Judge: Tim Anderson, news-editorial lecturer at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Before returning to UNL in 2005, Anderson worked for more than 30 years in newspapers in Nebraska, Missouri, Florida and New York. He got his start on his hometown weekly newspaper, the Oakland Independent, and also worked for the Albion News and the Seward County Independent, two other Nebraska weeklies. In addition, he worked for the Lincoln Journal and the Omaha World-Herald in Nebraska, the Kansas City (Mo.) Times, the Fort Myers (Fla.) News-Press and the Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle. He later spent nine years at New York Newsday, eventually becoming executive news editor, and another nine years at The New York Times, where he served as the news design editor.

Anderson, who grew up in Oakland, Neb., has taught Visual Literacy, Page Design, Advanced Editing, Magazine Editing and Design, Beginning Reporting and Depth Reporting. He has a bachelor's degree in journalism and a master's degree in history, both from Nebraska-Lincoln.

In his spare time, Anderson is writing a biography of Nebraska poet laureate John G. Neihardt. Anderson's master's thesis examines the first 20 years of Neihardt's life.

Anderson's overall impression of the News category:
"I learned a great deal in reading these widely varied entries. I read about ethanol production--reported from every imaginable angle--and its impact on farmers and farm communities. I learned that fish are now "livestock" and that they, too, eat midwestern grain. I learned that there are similarities between today's farm economy and that of the 1980s--and, perhaps more importantly, that there are profound differences as well. All in all, it was a fine selection of entries, and choosing the top ones was not easy. "

1. Catharine Richert, Congressional Quarterly, for "Reshaping the Farm Agenda''
All the top finishers shared at least one characteristic: thorough reporting. This reporter, in addition to a good grasp of farm bill history, had 10 sources. The reporter "surrounded" the topic, covering a variety of viewpoints and enriching the story. The writing, too, was first-rate. Clearly stated generalizations -- "Change has come slowly." "Pressure for changes in farm programs has mounted since the last bill was written." -- are quickly supported by necessary specifics.

2. Jonathan Knutson, The Forum (Fargo, ND) for "Just Call It a Cash Crop for Region''
This story, too, is marked by thorough reporting, with more than a dozen people interviewed in what is a very different story from the first-place winner. Here, instead of a broad, general view the reporter tells a big story by looking at one small area. Wells County, a rural county used to bad news -- declining population and school enrollment -- now is enjoying the good news of record crop prices and better-than-average yields, and the reporter skillfully weaves together the local residents' and shopkeepers' high hopes with the community's prudent streak. Well-chosen quotations from the people interviewed humanize a story that could have been all acres and bushels.

3. Linda Smith, Farm Journal, for "Field of Dreams''
This thoroughly reported piece is beautifully written. The reporter does a fine job of supplying context to the current period of prosperity, being careful to outline not only the similarities but also the dissimilarities between today's promise and the nightmares of the 1980s. Once again, this starts with the reporting: Farmers, economists and agribusiness CEOs are interviewed, and they offer not only anecdotal information but also advice. Though the writing is not as polished as in the first -- and second-place winners -- the lede, for example, is five sentences long�the story is still concise and coherent.

Honorable Mention - Sean Pratt, Western Producer, for "Fish Are Biting on Prairie Crops''
An interesting story that looks at a nicely focused result of a broad change in our culture, this piece opened with one of the most inviting ledes among the entries. More sources would have moved this one higher.

Honorable Mention - Alan Bjerga, Bloomberg News, for "U.S. Wheat Farmers Face Grim Harvests''
This story provided a compelling and different take on immigration reform in this country, examining the problems caused to a specific group of immigrants and the work they do in agriculture. As with all the winners, the story is well-researched, and the reporter was especially skilled at answering the kinds of questions readers would naturally have�for example, "Why don't these jobs go to Americans?" or "Why aren't these good summer jobs for teenagers?"

Honorable Mention - Ron Friesen, Manitoba Co-operator, for "Good for Farmers, but for How Long?"
This article echoed, somewhat more darkly, some of the themes and information found in the second-place winner. Nicely written, the story too often settled for generalities -- "biggest change in grain demand in modern history," "a sharp increase in U.S. corn plantings," "an awful lot of wheat" -- when supporting specifics would have bolstered the reporting.

Honorable Mention - Jim Downing, Sacramento Bee, for "A Growing Thirst: Water Cutbacks �"
This story provided an understandable explanation of a rather complicated subject. It is sprinkled with nice touches of reporting and writing -- "At its peak, his irrigation water could have serviced two cities the size of present-day Folsom," for example, and "But Borba wouldn't have succeeded in the farm business without knowing how to adapt."

SPOT NEWS
Judge: Rebecca Mabry, regional editor at The Champaign News-Gazette in Champaign, Il. Mabry has written news, features, a weekly column and indepth-investigate pieces for nearly 20 years. She now oversees rural coverage in East-Central Illinois.

Judge's comment: "Was tough judging. Learned a lot.'' (Comments on individual winners to come later.)
1. Christopher Doering, Reuters, for "U.S. government takes fewer samples from wild birds''

2. Phil Brasher, Des Moines Register, for "What this year's corn rush means to you''

3. Chuck Abbott, Reuters, for "U.S. farm law overhaul has revenue guarantee''

Honorable Mention - Cheryl Warren, DTN, for "Frost devastates many alfalfa fields''

Honorable Mention - Chuck Abbott, Reuters, for "Bologna sandwich is U.S. Senate meal on hunger day''

Honorable Mention - Bill Tomson, Dow Jones Newswire, for "U.S., Russia verge on deal for massive new market for U.S. beef''

Honorable Mention - Alan Bjerga, Bloomberg News, for "U.S., Canada designated "controlled risk" for BSE''

Honorable Mention - Jeff Caldwell, Mike McGinnis and Gil Gullickson of Agriculture Online for "Asian Soybean Rust confirmed in Central Iowa''

FEATURES
Judge: Lee Egerstrom
Egerstrom was a writer for the St. Paul Pioneer Press and Knight Ridder Newspapers for 36 years, during which he served as NAAJ president in 1990 and previously as a Midwestern regional vice president. He received the Glenn Cunningham Farm Editor of the Year award in 1986 and the lifetime J.S. Russell Memorial Award in 1992. Lee is currently retired from the Pioneer Press but works part-time as a research fellow on rural development issues for the Minnesota 2020 think-tank.

Judge's Comment: I've gone through these fabulous entries time and again and now, quick, I must send you my conclusions before I look at them again and change my mind.

First, a few observations. There is great disparity between entries based on the sophistication of the reading audience --- an agricultural readership or a general readership. This, I suspect, will become more pronounced going forward as we push farther into the realm of "new media." It may be cause for NAAJ to form a committee and do another of its periodic reviews of the awards categories sometime in the not too distant future. Tied in with the above comment, it is also clear that different NAAJ member media view "features" differently. In some cases, entries could have been considered spot news. Some of the outstanding work by writers for ag mags would have been considered well-developed spot news for a general audience reading a metropolitan daily newspaper.

Finally, many of the entries could be broken into three categories: corn and commodities in a time of transition, unintended consequences of public policy, and connecting consumers with producers. This was the impact of the outstanding journalism and content. In the end, I went back to the mission of saluting excellence in reporting and writing and tried to avoid making value judgments based on the importance of the content. I would have selected other winning entries had I weighed importance of content.

1. Lori Potter, Kearney (Neb.) Hub. My choice for First Place honors goes to a package of stories in which the lead story is headlined "Historic Crop: A corn crop that yielded just five undersized ears of corn small success for Ronnie O'Brien."

This outstanding package combines thorough reporting and masterful storytelling about an effort to revive ancient seeds of Pawnee corn varieties in Nebraska's Platte Valley. It combines wonderful people involved in a labor of love with culturally and historically important work on Pawnee seed. The writer makes that connection perfectly. Wonderful journalism.

2. Julia Scott, San Mateo County Times. Some urban people in northern California have just been reconnected with the people who grow their food. The reporter who wrote "New meaning to 'harvest moon': Farmers planting to the lunar phases," profiles a former Stanford scientist-turned farmer who raises vegetable crops on a schedule based on phases of the moon. I can't see this method of planting gaining great acceptance among Iowa and Illinois corn growers, but this is one interesting, well written and well reported feature story.

3. Nancy Cole, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, may have found the person with the worst job in agriculture and agribusiness. The entry, "Nose knows, and taste tells: 'Flavor-checkers' keep state's catfish industry swimming straight," is about the sniffer who checks 100 samples of farm-raised catfish each day at an Arkansas fish processing plant. Well written, informative, well reported and fun. I could smell those darn fish all the way up in Minnesota.

Honorable Mention - Alan Bjerga and Shruti Date Singh, Bloomberg News. Several entries dealt with the unintended consequences of public policy and the threat of world hunger looming in the year ahead. This story, "Texas Cotton's Subsidies Help Destroy Africa's Cheaper Farmers" is the most thoroughly reported of the group.

Honorable Mention - Chris Clayton, DTN. Along the same vein, the report "Payment Storm Looms" profiles the diversified Florida businessman who is the nation's largest farm subsidy recipient. This is the annual story that follows the release of Environmental Working Group data, but is as good a treatment as I've seen.

Honorable Mention - Daniel Davidson, DTN. This is an outstanding example of agriculture in transition, and especially how farmers are reacting to corn prices. In this case, corn and soybeans are taking over the short growing season and dryland small grains crops in Manitoba, well explained in "Consequences of High-Priced Corn."

Honorable Mention - Mikkel Pates, Agweek, ("Straight Shooter") and Honorable Mention - Catharine Richert, Congressional Quarterly Weekly ("Charting His Next Move"). These are the two best profile features entered in this year's competition. The first article profiles new House Agriculture Committee chair Collin Peterson. The second chronicles the efforts of North Dakota Sen. Kent Conrad to win disaster designation for his farmers and ranchers. Outstanding reporting and writing. There are lucky readers along the Red River of the North.

SERIES
Judge: Jim Nelson, deputy business editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Nelson has been an editor in business and local news at Journal Sentinel since 1995, working the past 10 in business news. He worked 10 years as a reporter at the Milwaukee Sentinel, covering state issues, agriculture, government and business beats. He worked at three other Wisconsin newspapers before joining the Sentinel.

Judge's Comment: Thank you for allowing me to judge this interesting category for this year's NAAJ contest. I learned a lot, and that�s the hallmark of a good contest in my book. I�ll send some comments with the returned entries.

1. Lauren Etter, Scott Kilman, Antonio Regalado, Grace Fan, Patrick Barta, Laura Meckler, Joe Barrett and Joel Millman of the Wall Street Journal for "Betting on biofuels�.''

2. David Hendee, Omaha World-Herald, for "Irrigation Empire''

3. Chris Clayton, Aine Gianoli and Marcia Taylor of DTN for "Consequences of high-priced corn''

Honorable Mention - Kieran Gartlan, DTN, "U.S. Farmers in Brazil''

Honorable Mention - Todd Neeley, DTN, "Cellulosic research''

Honorable Mention - Elizabeth Williams, Aine Gianoli and Marcia Taylor of DTN for "Young Farmers Financing''

Honorable Mention - Alan Bjerga, Bloomberg News, "Mysterious Bee Disorder''

COLUMN & ANALYSIS
Judge: Chuck Haga, Grand Forks Herald

Haga was a reporter at the Star Tribune of Minneapolis for 20 years until he took a buyout last year and returned to his native North Dakota, where he works at the Grand Forks Herald. He also writes for MinnPost, a new Internet newspaper serving the Twin Cities and region. Haga, 58, began his journalism career at the Herald, where his coverage included sessions of the North Dakota and Minnesota legislatures. He was a city editor and a four-times-a-week columnist before going to Minneapolis in 1987, and he has led writing workshops in the Dakotas, Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin and for the American Press Institute.

Judge's Comment: It was tougher than I remember from last time, partly because of the wide variety in style and approach (comparing apples to oranges, or rather the intricacies of the farm bill to descriptions of rural landscapes).

1. D'Arce McMillan, The Western Producer, for "Food, farmers win in food, fuel debate.''

Judge's comment: This is a thoughtful, reasoned and well-written contribution to an important public discussion that will shape the future of agriculture. The research is obvious but not overwhelming or obscuring, the premise is clear and the argument intelligent and understandable.Whether you agree with the premise or not, you recognize this as a valuable and legitimate piece of the debate.

2. Carl Sampson, Capital Press, for "Climate change claims a victim''

Judge's comment: Another critically important public policy debate, and in this piece another thoughtful and cautionary opinion: The debate over climate change must be free and unfettered and not bound by any orthodoxies, including that of political correctness.

3. Lori Potter, Kearney Hub, for "Horses facing storm endures in Sandhills photograph''

Judge's comment: "Delightful imagery, heartfelt emotion and deep appreciation for one's surroundings all mark this piece. It's the sort of column that leavens and makes more tolerable the heavy importance of the rest of a publication. And it is not without importance itself, as it helps to answer the questions, "Why are we here? Why do we do what we do? What is our compensation for living and working in this place?"

Honorable mention - Barb Glen, The Western Producer, for "In praise of spaghetti farmers''

Judge's comment: "A risky undertaking, but it works. The opening lines could have signalled the style and intent of the piece a little better.''

Honorable mention - Mikkel Pates, Agweek for "Ag's image in rose-tinted, star-shaped spectacles.''

Judge's comment: "Nicely written, but doesn't seem to end up anywhere.''

Honorable mention - Betsy Freese, Successful Farming, for "With a cherry on top''

Judge's comment: "A nicely personalized and well-crafted account of developments in a niche ag industry.''

Honorable mention - Laura Sayre, Edible Jersey, for "In praise of CSA''

Judge's comment: A nice look at the sunny side of CSAs (I especially liked the "15 shades of green" line), but could have used more analysis of why the movement hasn't grown more in the past 20 years.''

SPECIAL PROJECTS
Judge: Randy Smith, deputy managing editor at The Kansas City Star

Smith is a deputy managing editor at The Kansas City Star. He supervises over 100 editors and reporters in these departments: metropolitan, suburbs, special projects and national. Smith has worked at The Star in a variety of roles over 28 years, including business editor and metropolitan editor. He has served as president of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers and is a board member of the Alfred Friendly Press Fellowships foundation. He is the author of a book, A Kenyan Journey, and has taught journalism in Africa and China. Smith is a member of The Star staff that won the Pulitzer Prize for spot news in 1982. He is married and has three children.

1. Des Moines Register staff for "Fueling Iowa's Future''

Judge's remarks: A comprehensive package told in small, readable bites. Great graphics and photos amplified the good story telling. The editors and reporters took a complex subject and explored it thoroughly. An outstanding job!

2. Trevor Aaronson, Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tenn.), for "Zambia: King cotton's new empire oceans away''

Judge's remarks: It's rare to see a reporter go around the world to cover an agribusiness story. But in these times, that's sometimes the only way to capture what's happening with a local company. The reporter of this story is to be commended for vividly showing readers the challenges of doing business overseas. Strong writing and good story-telling skills connect the reader to a local company facing obstacles that few can imagine.

3. Garance Burke, The Associated Press, for "Salad Safety''

Judge's remarks: Powerful watchdog reporting on the government's continuing failure to monitor food safety. Well reported, using a combination of data and a wide-range of sources with different points of view give credibility to the package.

Honorable Mention - DTN staff for "Ag Policy Blog''

Judge's remarks: A great way to keep up on top of the news, and informative. It would have greater credibility without the injection of the reporter's political commentary.

Honorable Mention - Bob Krauter and Cecilia Parsons, Capital Press, for "Frost alarm sounds in San Joaquin citrus belt''

Judge's remarks: Comprehensive reporting on a topic that's vitally important to readership. Wider sourcing and a better sense of story telling would have elevated this entry.

Honorable Mention - Lori Potter, Kearney (Neb.) Hub, for "Pecos compliance issues similar to those of Republican''

Judge's remarks: An exhaustive exploration of water issues. The series would have been elevated if the writing would have been less technical and provided more reasons for readers to care about this important subject.

WARD SINCLAIR STUDENT WRITING AWARD Judge:
1.