Las Vegas Sun
Published Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017 | 9 p.m.
Updated Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017 | 9:53 p.m.
Led by a best-in-class 28 awards for its weekly news magazine, The Sunday, Greenspun Media Group received 76 total honors Saturday evening in the Nevada Press Association’s annual Better Newspaper Contest.
The Sunday earned the General Excellence award in the Urban Weekly class, racking up 14 first-place awards and a total of 14 second- and third-place awards. GMG’s Las Vegas Weekly pulled in an additional 22 awards in the Urban Weekly class during the presentation Saturday night in Carson City.
Combined with awards for the Las Vegas Sun and VEGAS INC, GMG earned more total honors than any other Nevada media organization across the highly competitive Urban Daily and Urban Weekly categories, followed by the Las Vegas Review-Journal and its publications in the Urban Weekly category. Adding in the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s small-town papers competing in the Intermediate and Community categories, the R-J took home the most awards in all classes combined, with 102.
The awards received by GMG were highlighted by Chris Kudialis, who was named Journalist of Merit in the Urban Weekly category, and Camalot Todd, who received first place for Community Service and Best Investigative Story for her The Sunday cover story about foster care, "Children on the Cusp."
For 2018, GMG is requesting the NPA to allow The Sunday to compete in the Urban Dailies category.
“For more than 60 years, the Las Vegas Sun and Greenspun Media Group have set the bar for journalism in Nevada and ensured the civic conversation is robust and multifaceted,” said Brian Greenspun, the Sun’s owner, publisher and editor. “We’re proud to continue serving our community with innovative products like The Sunday and Las Vegas Weekly, which are absolutely must reads for the local audience, and Las Vegas Magazine, the definitive weekly guide for tourists.”
GMG’s top individual winners include Chris Kudialis, who was named Journalist of Merit in the Urban Weekly category. That award goes to one journalist in each of the contest’s four classes.
“The most polished of the entries in this categories,” read the judge’s comment.
Other first-place winners were:
Camalot Todd, whose March 12 cover story for The Sunday on foster care, “Children on the Cusp,” was named Best Investigative Story. Todd also won first place for Community Service for the story.
Liz Brown, associate creative direction, who was named Best Graphic Designer for her work on The Sunday.
Mike Smith, editorial cartoonist, who received both the first- and third-place awards for Best Editorial Cartoons in the contest’s all-class sweepstakes awards. Smith also won Best Editorial Cartoon in the Urban Weekly class.
Ray Brewer, assistant managing editor/digital and sports, who won for Best Sports Feature in the Urban Weekly class and Best Sports Column in the Urban Daily class.
Mike Prevatt, Las Vegas Weekly associate editor, who won Best Local Column and Best Entertainment Writing first-place honors.
Mikayla Whitmore, staff photographer, for Best News Photo Coverage and Best Multiple Photo Essay in Las Vegas Weekly.
In addition, The Sunday won for Best Editorial Page, Best Advertising Innovation, Best Ad Series and Best Overall Design, among other categories.
“Our goal now and always is to provide our audiences with a diverse array of high-quality products and engaging content,” said Ric Anderson, editorial page editor for the Sun and The Sunday, who was named president of the NPA board on Saturday. “It’s very satisfying to see our work recognized by our peers, and we couldn’t be more proud of our staff for its award-winning work.”
GMG’s awards
Sweepstakes
(all classes)
Best Editorial Cartoon: Mike Smith, first place and third place
Urban Daily
(All awards for Las Vegas Sun)
First place
Best Sports Column: Ray Brewer
Best News Feature Story: “‘The hurricane is about to hit,’” by April Corbin, Mick Akers, Chris Kudialis, Camalot Todd, Ricardo Torres-Cortez and Ian Whitaker
Best Overall Design: Staff
Second place
Best Web Site: Staff
Best Editorial Writing: Ric Anderson
Best Online Ad: Dany Haniff
Best Breaking News Reporting: Ricardo Torres-Cortez
Best Sports Spot News Story: Jesse Granger
Best Business Spot News Story: Adam Candee
Best Page One Design: LeeAnn Elias
Best Sports Photo: L.E. Baskow
Best Editorial Page: Staff
Third place
Best Graphic Designer: LeeAnn Elias
General Excellence: Staff
Best Editorial Cartoon: Mike Smith
Urban Weekly
Journalist of Merit: Chris Kudialis, The Sunday
First place
General Excellence: The Sunday
Community Service: Camalot Todd, The Sunday
Best Feature Writing: J.D. Morris, The Sunday
Best Business Spot News Story: Adam Candee, VEGAS INC
Best News Feature Story: Eli Segall, The Sunday
Best Investigative Story: Camalot Todd, The Sunday
Best Local Column: Mike Prevatt, Las Vegas Weekly
Best Sports Feature Writing: Ray Brewer, The Sunday
Best Entertainment Writing: Mike Prevatt, Las Vegas Weekly
Best Editorial Page: Staff, The Sunday
Best Editorial Cartoon: Mike Smith, The Sunday
Best Overall Design: Liz Brown, LeeAnn Elias, The Sunday art staff
Best Page One Design: Las Vegas Weekly design staff
Best Graphic Designer: Liz Brown, The Sunday
Best News Photo Coverage: Mikayla Whitmore, Las Vegas Weekly
Best Feature Photo: Yasmina Chavez, Las Vegas Weekly
Best Multiple Photo Essay: Mikayla Whitmore, Las Vegas Weekly
Best Illustrated Photo: Liz Brown, Mikayla Whitmore, The Sunday
Best Print Ad: Dany Haniff, Las Vegas Weekly
Best Advertising Innovation: Emma Cauthorn, Liz Brown, Sean Rademacher, The Sunday
Best Ad Series: Emma Cauthorn, Liz Brown, Sean Rademacher, The Sunday
Best In-House Promotion: Dany Haniff, Las Vegas Weekly
Best Niche Magazine: Las Vegas Weekly
Advertising General Excellence: Las Vegas Weekly
Best Web Site: Las Vegas Weekly
Second place
Best Feature Writing: Daniel Rothberg, The Sunday
Best Business Feature: Geoff Carter, Las Vegas Weekly
Best Explanatory Journalism: Valerie Miller, The Sunday
Best News Feature Story: Ricardo Torres-Cortez, The Sunday
Best Investigative Story: Megan Messerly, The Sunday
Best Editorial Writing: Ric Anderson, The Sunday
Best News Photo Coverage: Mikayla Whitmore, Las Vegas Weekly
Best Feature Photo: Steve Marcus, Las Vegas Weekly
Best Sports Photo: Mikayla Whitmore, Las Vegas Weekly
Best Special Section (Editorial): Giving Guide 2017, VEGAS INC
Best In-House Promotion: Dany Haniff, The Sunday
Best Niche Magazine: Top Doctors 2016, VEGAS INC
Advertising General Excellence: The Sunday
Third place
Best Feature Writing: Daniel Rothberg, The Sunday
Best Business Feature: Jackie Valley, VEGAS INC
Best Explanatory Journalism: J.D. Morris, The Sunday
Best News Feature Story: April Corbin, The Sunday
Best Local Column: Brock Radke, Las Vegas Weekly
Best Staff Non-Local Column: Stacy Willis, Las Vegas Weekly
Best Critical Writing: Leslie Ventura, Las Vegas Weekly
Best Overall Design: Las Vegas Weekly
Best Page One Design: The Sunday
Best Graphic Designer: Corlene Byrd, Las Vegas Weekly
Best News Photo Coverage: Mikayla Whitmore, Las Vegas Weekly
Best Feature Photo: L.E. Baskow, The Sunday
Best Multiple Photo Essay: Mikayla Whitmore, The Sunday
Best Print Ad: Dany Haniff, The Sunday
Best Niche Magazine: Industry Weekly, Las Vegas Weekly
Magazines
(All awards for Las Vegas Magazine)
Second place
Advertising General Excellence: Staff
Best Web Site: Staff
Best Page One Design: Wesley Gatbonton, Marvin Lucas, Joshua Nelson, Christopher DeVargas
Best Multiple Photo Essay: Christopher DeVargas
Best Entertainment Writing: Kiko Miyasato
Third place
Best portrait: Christopher DeVargas
Best Feature Photo: Christopher DeVargas