.ilemmimemilivelm~ftwousompowertomioll Something extra Winning Ways The Jewish News family is honored for its writing, photography and Web site. DAVID SACHS Senior Copy Editor F Robert Sklar Angie Baan Keri Guten Cohen Jonathan Friendly Harry Kirsbaum Diana Lieberman ellow journalists, locally and nationally, have handed the Detroit Jewish News, the JNOnline.com Web site and Style magazine 10 ringing endorsements for excellence. At the Simon Rockower Awards, presented by the American Jewish Press Association (AJPA) June 23 at its convention in Boston, the Jewish News received third-place awards for excel- lence in editorial writing (to Jonathan Friendly) and excellence in photogra- phy (to Angie Baan). The honors were won in competition with other Jewish newspapers across North America of similar circulation size. Staff Photographer Baan's striking cover photo set the tone for the JN's "Fighting Addiction" story on Jan. 30, 2004. "The awards we won at the AJPA were in two of the most important categories β€” editorial writing and photography," said JNEditor Robert A. Sklar, noting the paper's goal "to be a voice for the Detroit Jewish commu- nity on relevant, urgent issues as to who we are as American Jews." He added that visuals are central to our presentation each week. "Angie Baan's cover image of a Jew who over- came addiction and was willing to share his experience exemplifies the power of compelling photography in helping tell the story," he said. Local Kudus 7/ 7 2005 16 Suzanne Sherman Sharon Luckerman Elizabeth Applebaum Ed Nakfoor In addition, JNwriters and editors won eight nods from the Detroit Metropolitan Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists in awards presented June 21 at the SPJ annual dinner in Farmington Hills. The paper competed against local secular newspa- pers of like circulation. A highlight of the awards was the IN sweep of first, second and third prizes for general reporting. Story Development Editor Keri Guten Cohen took top honors for her story "Big Sky, Big Hearts" (Oct. 15, 2004), about the Camp Mak-A- Dream ranch in Montana for kids with cancer. Diana Lieberman won second place for "Fighting Addiction," about how Jewish sub- stance abusers become whole again, and Sharon Luckerman took third prize for "Rockin' The D" (July 30, 2004), about young Jews who have made Detroit's center city their home. In the feature writing competition, JN Apple Tree Editor Elizabeth Applebaum won first place for "Saying Goodbye β€” Helping Children Learn To Deal With Death" (June 18, 2004). And two of the JN's columnists also won awards. Harry Kirsbaum won sec- ond place for his "Last Call" column (he now calls it - "First Round") and Editor Robert A. Sklar was awarded an hon- orable mention for "Editor's Notebook." Ed Nakfoor, a freelance writer for both Style and JN Platinum magazines, won a third-place prize for feature writing for "The Dance Of The Unattached," probing the singles scene, in the February 2004 Style. Ed's "Retail Watch" column can be found in the July Platinum, inside this issue of the IN Also, Suzanne Sherman, the JN's assistant general manager and webmas- ter, won second place in the new media competition for the JNOnline.com Web site. Striving For Professionalism "We're both humbled and proud of our showing in this year's SPJ contest because it pits us, once again, against secular newspapers across Metropolitan Detroit," said Sklar. "To do so well against non-Jewish newspa- pers in the level and breadth of the competition is reflective of the profes- sionalism that our staff strives to achieve each and every day." "Exemplifying this point is our sweep of the general reporting catego- ry," said Sklar. "And Elizabeth The JN's "Fighting Addiction" cover story on Jan. 30, 2004, won praise for both photography and news reporting. Applebaum's first-place showing for feature writing with her story about helping children learn to deal with death, certainly, as the judges said, was very thought provoking and important reading for Jewish families. "Column writing is important to building connections with our readers, and I'm glad to see that we did so well," Sklar added. "And our second-place fin- ish for our Web site JNOnline.com is a tribute to our continuing efforts to pro- duce a relevant, useful, up-to-date, online news and information publica- tion that complements the Jewish News family of products." Complementing the Jewish News' success, its sister publication, the Atlanta Jewish Times, won three Rockower awards from the AJPA: first place for excellence in overall graphic design as well as excellence in special sections or supplements β€”and second place for excellence in arts and criti- cism news and features. ❑