Wins coveted Russwurm title again
NNPA staff
DETROIT (NNPA) – For the second year in a row, the St. Louis American prevailed during tight competition at the National Newspaper Publishers Association’s Merit Awards dinner.
The American netted eight awards, including the top honors General Excellence and the John B. Russwurm Trophy that is given to the newspaper receiving the most points in all Merit awards categories.
The American also placed first in Best Column Writing, for City Editor Alvin A. Reid’s meditative piece following the murder of a Kirkwood police officer.
“We are also surprised, flattered, deeply, deeply appreciative, honored and proud,” said Donald M. Suggs, publisher of the American.
“First of all, we have a great regard for our readers and a great obligation to our readers, so we invest in every page of our newspaper, into the quality of our reporting, into our layout, and into our content overall. Every week we try to make a special edition for our readers.”
Staffing is the key, says Suggs.
“We want people who are passionate about what they do and creative. We have been able to develop, over the years, people who take their work seriously,” says Suggs.
“It’s labor-intensive, but our philosophy is excellence.”
Carolina Peacemaker Publisher John Kilimanjaro was awarded with one of the most highly anticipated awards of the night, Publisher of the Year.
Kilimanjaro, who founded the Peacemaker in 1967, has served as professor of English at North Carolina A&T and established the Department of Speech and Theatre Arts there in 1969. He founded the Paul Robeson Theatre in 1970, served as executive director of the theatre and the Richard B. Harrison Players from 1970-1981. He produced more than 80 major plays and musicals.
Other big winners making several trips to the stage included the New Pittsburgh Courier, winning four first place awards including Best Feature Story, Best Women’s Section, Best Sports Page and Best Business section. The Courier was nominated five times. The Philadelphia Tribune also placed first in four categories, Best Youth Section, Best Use of Photographs, Best Church Page and Best Special Edition Broadsheet. The Tribune was nominated nine times, the most of any publication.
Mother and son politicos Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick and Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick welcomed the newspapers to the city of Detroit and thanked the Black Press for its contribution to the community.
“We thank you for feeding the information engine. We’re not ignorant because you give us the correct stories. You tell it straight and you tell it like we need to hear it and you lift up our community,” said Mayor Kilpatrick.
“We need you now more than ever,” said Congresswoman Kilpatrick.
Two American journalists also received national A. Philip Randolph Messenger Awards during the convention.
Reid won for his minority business inclusion story “Are blacks sharing in the boom?” and reporter Kenya Vaughn won for her piece “Shining light on blacks with AIDS.”
For a full list of NNPA award winners, visit www.stlamerican.com.
