The Anna Maria Island Sun earned seven statewide awards for reporting and photography in print and online at the Florida Press Association Weekly Newspaper Contest on Aug. 10, 2018.
First place awards
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Staff writer Joe Hendricks, First Amendment Defense, for “Bradenton Beach Sunshine Violations.” Hendricks also won the statewide Jon A. Roosenraad award for First Amendment Defense.
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Columnist Sean Murphy, Humorous Column, for “Uncle George’s Zipper Parade.”
Second place awards
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Cartoonist Steve Borggren, Original Local Editorial Cartoon, for “To Die For,” depicting red tide victims.
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Digital editor Cindy Lane and freelance videographer Bob Hite, Multimedia Storytelling, for “Vaught’s Vietnam,” a profile of Vietnam veteran Tom Vaught.
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Staff writer Cindy Lane, Online Slideshow, for “Flippers and Feathers,” featuring photos and information about manatees, dolphins, sea turtles and shorebirds.
Third place awards
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Staff writer Cindy Lane, Photo Series in One Issue, for “Surf’s Up,” featuring West Coast Surf Shop summer surf campers.
2017: Sun best weekly in Florida
The Anna Maria Island Sun earned the distinction of being the best weekly newspaper of its size in the state of Florida.
The first place award in General Excellence is one of 14 awards The Sun earned in the 2016 Florida Press Association Better Weekly Newspaper Contest at the FPA annual convention at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Naples on Aug. 11. The awards and judges’ comments are:
First place
General Excellence, Staff
“There is a lot to like about this newspaper. The front page design is unusual but very inviting. The paper is chock full of everything – solid, comprehensive coverage of the community, including arts and sports. Love the info graphics and treatment of the editorial page. Paper is well designed – fun and engaging treatment of every page – and loaded with ads. I would subscribe to this paper in a heartbeat. Nice work.”
Original Local Editorial Cartoon, Steve Borggren, “No app for that”
“Steve Borggren has a talent for finding irony and wry humor in news events and everyday life. Especially liked his cartoon about a parent telling her kids to get out in the yard to hunt for Easter eggs rather than look for an ‘app for that’ on their phones.”
Second place
Best Headline, Pat Copeland, “Commission pooh-poohs peeing in public.”
“Playful alliteration helped draw readers into what might have been just another story about a city commission meeting.”
Breaking News Story, Joe Hendricks, “Webb challenges voter’s eligibility”
“Points for recognizing a story that’s not sexy but it is important – especially when the newspaper takes note of it.”
Feature Story: Non-Profile, Cindy Lane, “Legendary hammerhead immortalized”
“This is a great little story about immortalizing a local legend – Ol’ Hitler, the biggest, meanest, scariest hammerhead ever to scare people out of the water. Well done with plenty of local color. A story that people will keep talking about.”
Third place
Local Government Reporting, Pat Copeland, “Stirring the pot”
“Well written story covering all sides of this issue – great headline – lots of compelling arguments to help the public understand.”
Best Headline, Mike Field, “You ain’t nothing but a houndfish.”
“Fun headline. Elvis would approve!”
Overall Graphic Design, Ricardo Fonseca and Mike Field
“Less flashy, but a nice, solid design, with very well-designed graphic elements.”
Humorous Column, Cindy Lane, “Eat more octopus”
This entry was cute and funny, but also informative and entertaining. Good writing – nice work.”
Community History, Cindy Lane, “Tourism slogans, logos evolving”
“Loved the topic, and it was presented in a very stylish way.”
Outdoor and Recreation, Cindy Lane, “Saving seashells on the seashore”
“Picking up shells on the beach is probably one of the most popular seaside recreations there is. But this story went well into the science and conservation of shelling. A story you should read before you reach for that sand dollar.”
Editorial Award, Cindy Lane, “Respect the wildlife”
“It’s refreshing to see the newspaper use its power to remind the locals of their responsibilities to help protect the environment.”
Sports Photo, Monica Simpson, “Two little wrestlers”
“With apologies to the many other great entries in the category – beware of photos with cute kids – this one stole the show.”
Portfolio Photography, Tom Vaught
“Loved the shot of Elvis in the water on New Year’s Day for the annual ‘Shamrock Shiver.’ And a dramatic news photo of workers trying to cap a water leak in Anna Maria.”
She won second and third place awards for “Protecting Holmes Beach from rising tides,” about a city engineer’s plans to harden the city against flooding, and “Property owners sue neighbors for complaining about noise,” about vacation rental owners suing neighbors who reported noise violations to the city.
Lane won second place in “General News Writing” for “Fishermen ask Floridians to vote against net ban,” about commercial fishermen’s efforts to put a constitutional amendment on the state’s ballot reversing the net ban.
