Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: Detroit Free Press Entry Title: John Carlisle Entry Credit: John Carlisle Judge Comment: What a great body of work. The writer put is in the heart of Romeo – on the streets, inside the church, at local stores, even at the high school. That’s exactly what good news-based feature writing should do. It made us care about this town, these people. Throughout all of the stories, there was great attention to detail, and wonderful scene setting. Judges especially thought the profile of the old man picking up litter was a piece of art. With every story, one thing that stood out was that the writer understands that endings are as important as beginnings. That’s a gift to readers. Also showed real versatility on various kinds of stories.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Detroit Free Press Entry Title: Jeff Seidel Entry Credit: Jeff Seidel Judge Comment: A powerful body of work. The idea to focus on the Oxford High School flowers was brilliant - and it was a great example of how tragedy touches unexpected people, too. Covering tragedy with empathy is a gift, and the writer clearly has it. He treated the stories with the care they deserved. The Tate Myre funeral story, in particular, made us feel such emotion. The stories utilized great quotes and had good cadence. The writer built good tension in some of the stories with his questions, as well
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: The Detroit News Entry Title: The best of Francis X. Donnelly Entry Credit: Francis X. Donnelly Judge Comment: These stories had all the necessary elements for good features. The tent city story was particularly well done with good imagery, national context, and description.
