Florida Catholic | Newspaper Wins International, State Awards

Florida Catholic wins international, state awards

Published: 06.06.08

ED FOSTER JR. | FC FILE
This photograph of Father Carlos Rojas received first place honors in the portrait division for photojournalist Ed Foster Jr.

The Florida Catholic newspaper garnered six awards from the Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada and a state-level journalism award late last month for work published in 2007.

Among the Catholic Press Association honors, bestowed May 30 at the international association’s annual convention in Toronto, was a first-place award for the Miami edition for general excellence in diocesan newspapers in the 17,000-40,000 circulation range. The judges wrote: “The newspaper had the strongest local writing of any of the entries and coupled that with good local coverage and strong cover pages. They are clearly a familiar face in the community.”

The Florida Catholic of Miami also earned second place for best trade or special interest publication of any circulation level in the Sunshine State Awards, statewide honors given by the South Florida chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Ana Rodriguez-Soto, Miami archdiocesan editor, accepted the award at the society’s annual banquet in Fort Lauderdale May 31.

The other five Catholic Press Association awards earned by the Florida Catholic – which publishes editions for the dioceses of Orlando, Palm Beach, Pensacola-Tallahassee, St. Petersburg and Venice as well as the archdiocese – were for writing, editing, photography and promotion. The association represents Catholic national and diocesan newspapers, books, newsletters and other publications.

“We’re thrilled to be considered the best Catholic newspaper in our class by the CPA and among the best in the state by the SPJ,” said Christopher Gunty, associate publisher of the Florida Catholic. “Recognition from professional associations isn’t the reason we work hard every day to bring the best Catholic news and information to our readers, but it’s nice when our peers affirm the efforts we make.”

The Florida Catholic’s other CPA awards included:

• First place, best circulation promotion campaign, all membership classes, for a multimedia approach by Mary St. Pierre.

• First place, best portrait, all newspapers, St. Petersburg edition, for Ed Foster Jr.’s photograph of Father Carlos Rojas through an image of Mary.

• Third place, best use of syndicated/wire art or graphics, all newspapers, for a cut-and-paste Advent calendar in all editions designed by Jean Gonzalez and Denise O’Toole Kelly.

• Honorable mention, best feature writing, diocesan newspaper with circulation less than 17,000, Palm Beach edition, for “Sisters open their home,” a story about an adoptive family by correspondent Bennet Bolton.

• Honorable mention, individual excellence, writer/editor (English), all membership classes, Denise O’Toole Kelly, for coordinating and editing several statewide reporting projects that harnessed the talent in all of newspaper’s diocesan bureaus and the state editorial office. “Readers may remember last summer’s report on high gas prices affecting ministries throughout Florida, a story on Knights of Columbus efforts to erect Ten Commandments monuments throughout the state and a tribute to the statewide legacy of late Archbishop Joseph Patrick Hurley,” said O’Toole Kelly, managing editor. “This award truly belongs to the Florida Catholic’s entire editorial team.”

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Florida Catholic wins international, state awards

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