News Tribune staff wins several awards

The newsroom staff at the Jefferson City News Tribune brought home several honors from the 2010 Missouri Associated Press Managing Editors Newswriting and Photo Contest announced this month.

The reporting team of Jeff Haldiman, Gerry Tritz and Rosa Ruiz took first place in community affairs/public interest for the ongoing coverage titled "A lack of evidence."

Designer Stacy King and photographer Kelley McCall also garnered first-place plaques for the illustration "Nincompoops: Are we raising a generation of them?" and the picture of the Helias Crusader football team's playoff loss, respectively.

Another reporting team - Angie Hutschreider, Ben Yarnell and Haldiman - locked in third place in the community affairs/public interest category for a "Youth Violence" series.

Sports writer Tony Hawley was recognized in spot sports for his "Class of Class 2 sprinters" coverage with third place. And reporter Michelle Brooks also received a third-place award for the spot news story "I screamed and dropped the phone."