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SARASOTA - The St. Petersburg Times won nine first-place prizes Friday and 26 awards overall in the annual competition of the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors.
Craig Pittman won the Waldo Proffitt Award for Excellence in Environmental Journalism in Florida, presented each year to recognize distinguished examples of reporting and commentary about environmental issues in the state.
Pittman's stories exposed a secret plan by a group of influential developers and business leaders to create a board that could redistribute Florida's water supply. An uproar ensued, with public hearings that drew crowds adamantly opposed to the Florida Council of 100 plan. The outcry persuaded Gov. Jeb Bush and legislative leaders to announce they would not change water law this year.
Pittman, 43, received a $1,000 check and a plaque named in honor of Proffitt, a former editor of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Staff writers Thomas French, Monique Fields and Dong-Phuong Nguyen won first place in the competition's explanatory category for "13," a series on young teens the judges found "non-judgmental and totally authentic."
Performing arts critic John Fleming won first place in beat reporting for his coverage of the Florida Orchestra. "An intelligent and important beat that is often ignored or relegated to simple critical analysis," the judges said.
Joanne Korth won first place in sports reporting, writing "with an eye rarely applied to sports," according to the judges.
Howard Troxler won first place in column writing ("razor-blade sharp and irresistibly persuasive," said the judges); Gary Shelton won first place in sports columns ("honest, intelligent and at times cutting"); and Jack Reed won first place in editorial writing ("provocative . . . well-reasoned").
Alan Rittner won first place in headline writing ("they provide a wonderful entry point"); Paul Alexander and Patty Yablonski won first place in feature page design ("sleek, appealing and contemporary"); and Teresanne Cossetta won first place in illustration ("simple, vibrant and elegant").
The Times received three second-place awards. They went to Dirk Shadd in sports photography; Steve Persall in criticism; and Mike Stephenson, Jim Melvin and the sports staff for special sections/sports.
The six third-place winners were Lane DeGregory in the category of feature writing; Jon East in editorial writing; and Christian Drury in news/business page design; Jim Melvin in sports page design; Jamie Francis in individual achievement for body of work in photography; and Kim Pendery, Jim Melvin and the sports staff for special sections/sports.
Times staffers also received eight honorable mentions: Kris Hundley in business reporting; Mark Wood in headline writing; Amanda Raymond and Jeff Goertzen in news graphics; Toni Sandys in feature photography; Chris Zuppa in individual achievement for body of work in photography; Christian Drury, Steve Cavendish and Scott DeMuesy in special sections/general; sports staff in special sections/sports; and to the staff in Page 1 design.
With 26 awards, the St. Petersburg Times took more print honors than any other large newspaper in Florida. This is the eighth consecutive year the Times has captured 10 or more awards in Division A (daily circulation of more than 125,000).
Michael Browning of the Palm Beach Post won the Paul Hansell Award, presented each year at the annual convention to a Florida journalist for overall excellence in reporting and writing.
The House Democratic Caucus, with special recognition to Rep. Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa, and others, received the First Amendment Foundation's Pete Weitzel Friend of the First Amendment Award.