News

30 May 2008 SPJ Excellence in Journalism Award Winners Announced!

Tonight we are proud to have announced the Society of Professional Journalist’s 2008 Excellence in Journalism Awards at the Western Washington Pro Chapter’s Annual Awards Banquet. Held at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue, Washington, the event drew more than 200 journalists, editors, staff, scholarship winners and guests to the gala evening.

Five $2,000 scholarships were awarded to students studying journalism. In addition, the SPJ board held a Silent Auction and Raffle to benefit future scholarships. The event was hosted by Dave Ross and Tom Tangney of KIRO Radio and featured special entertainment by Shane Cobane, traffic reporter-turned Elvis.

During the evening, two special awards were given. The June Anderson Almquist “Courage in Journalism” award was presented to Michael R. Fancher, who retired from The Seattle Times in 2008 after 20 years as executive editor. The Susan Hutchison Bosch award was given posthumously to Leonard J. Hansen because he embodied the characteristics Bosch brought to journalism during her short life:  intellectual honesty, a deep understanding of people and their problems, abiding fairness, grace, perseverance and quiet courage.

Of particular note are this year’s General Excellence award winners:

Magazines:   Washington Law & Politics

Nondaily Newspapers:  The Peninsula Gateway

Small Dailies:  Skagit Valley Herald

Mid-Sized Dailies:  The Olympian

Large Dailies:  The Seattle Times

Congratulations to all of this year’s winners!

Download a copy of the Awards Booklet here!

A special thank you to everyone who made tonight’s event possible, including Nathan Adams of Studioopolis who so graciously donated his time to put together the awards booklet for us. Thanks, everyone!