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Web coverage
of the 2006
conference
Thanks to our
conference sponsors!
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SPECIAL
COVERAGE
Conference sights and
sounds
Speaker handouts, etc.
ACES conference blog
PRIMARY COVERAGE
2006 conference home
page
Opening general session
Scholarship winners
Election
"Dealing with Disaster"
Headline contest
Robinson Prize
Auction
Banquet
Closing session
Fat Fish Blue
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ACES 2005 HEADLINE
CONTEST
RESULTS
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DIVISION I (circulation of 250,000-plus)
DIVISION II (circulation of 100,001 to 250,000)
DIVISION III (circulation of 50,001 to 100,000)
DIVISION IV (circulation of 50,000 or under)
DIVISION V (staff category)
DIVISION VI (student publications)
(Note: To avoid
any conflict of interest, judges did not receive and were not allowed
to vote on entries from their own newspapers. Decisions on those
entries were made solely by the three other judges.Entrants' photos appear if submitted.)
DIVISION
I (250,000-plus circulation)
Judges (division chairman listed first)
Fernando Dovalina, Houston Chronicle (retired)
Liz Miniet, Atlanta Journal-Constitution (2004 winner)
Clark Stevens, Los Angeles Times
Carl Lavin, Philadelphia Inquirer
Winner:
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DOMINICK
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Laura Dominick, Los Angeles Times
The Idle
of the
Storm
On the bumper-to-
bumper ordeal out of
Galveston, a 70-mile trip
takes 14 hours. Energy
bars and talk radio help
to ease the pain.
An Old
Dogma’s
New Twist
Residents of the
Chinese village of Nanjie
have happily reverted to
communism. The secret
to their success? A hefty
dose of capitalism.
Doubt
Is Their
Co-Pilot
More Americans are
shunning traditional
religions and turning
to upstart faiths such as
Universism, whose sole
dogma is uncertainty.
Critics Say the Prince Wore
His Ignorance on His Sleeve
Young Harry apologizes
after he sparks outrage
by showing up at a
costume party as a Nazi.
In a cold room, memories of a life of flowers
Abu Imad once tended the grounds of a Baghdad hospital, but
war made him a caretaker of the dead. Faith sustains him.
Judges’ comments:
“Dominick showed great skill, lyricism, range, imagination,
originality, cleverness and clarity in her entry. The judges were
struck by the cadence, imagery and elegance in the headline “In
a Cold Room, Memories of a Life of Flowers,” and by her ability to
write three demanding one-column heads that captured the guts of the stories
with inspired phrasing. One of those was on the story about a new
religion whose core belief is uncertainty. Her head: “Doubt is Their
Co-Pilot.” In the headline “Critics Say the Prince Wore His Ignorance
on His Sleeve,” Dominick found perfect pitch with a single, clear
idea.”
Award of excellence:(aka honorable mention)
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Jim McNett, The Oregonian
Headphone
users, listen up!
(if you still can)
Music players / Experts see
hearing loss at earlier ages as ears take a
high-decibel beating from the devices
Portland
welcomes
a skating
figure: $
A weeklong championship event
brings in money from out of
state and puts the city in a
national sports spotlight
Kriss crinkled
(on photo of Santa getting a hug from a burly man)
He didn’t come in first, but he’s never lost
Sam Brandt, 13, of Eugene knows his way
around an atlas, as he proved placing
third in the National Geographic Bee
NO ORDINARY JOE
Coffee-serving maestro Billy Wilson of Portland
prepares to vie for the title of U.S. Barista Champion
NOTE: The judges didn’t comment on every entry (in some cases,
only on the winner; in one case, on neither).
DIVISION
II (100,001-250,000)
Judges
Ken Mammarella, Wilmington News-Journal
Ellen Foley, Wisconsin State Journal
Leslie Waugh, Washington Post
Michael Janairo, Times Union (Albany, N.Y.)
Winner:
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DONAHUE
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Peter Donahue, The Providence Journal
Assault on batteries
Activists, legislators
renew call to ban
types that are found
in certain toys
Hunka hunka burnin’ men
Hot firefighters respond to call for charity calendar
The Orient expressed
Newly restored Japanese Garden takes root at Roger Williams
Park
Heavy-duty pickup, big trunk,
gray only, must see
(photo package of elephants at zoo)
Mountin’ Lion
It’s a jungle in there, setting up the Disney production at
PPAC
(he’s referring to “The Lion King”)
Judges’ comments:
“Five for 5, and very few entries met that standard. The main
hede and drop hede on each story tell me what it's about, and they
work well with the art. They're fun, engaging, witty, tasteful and
inviting. Each word has a place; nothing is excessive. For example,
"Hunka hunka burnin' men," playing on the Elvis song and association with
firefighters, is aptly followed by "Hot firefighters respond to call for charity
calendar," which tells me absolutely what the story is about and is perfect
with the photo. Nice plays on the word hot and respond, too. I also liked
the playfulness of the elephant standalone, dressed as a classified
ad: "Heavy-duty pickup, big trunk, gray only, must see." Easy to
read, punchy and engaging. Delightful.”
“This entry really stood out for me upon my first pass through
the pile. Nothing else topped it, in my opinion. They were equally
strong, and each reflected the story. Though they are heavy with
word play, they each work on several levels. They are direct and
engaging and humorous when appropriate.”
Award of excellence:
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BEACH
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Joshua Beach, Seattle Times
Things that go
ump in the ninth
ALCS: Chicago 2, Los Angeles 1
Angels say boo to disputed call
(baseball playoffs column)
Atone?
Maybe.
Forget?
Never
NFL wild-card playoffs
Hawks’ big collapse:
Seattle has a chance to
beat St. Louis when it
really counts, but players
will always remember
a stinging October defeat.
No-name
wouldn’t
just take
a number
At USC, Heisman
is a hand-me-down
Leinart follows
in Palmer’s footsteps
QB is sixth Trojan to win
the coveted trophy
DIVISION
III (50,001-100,000)
Judges
Sara Hendricks, Victoria Advocate
Mike Lewis, Anchorage Daily News
Peter M. Brophy, Press of Atlantic City
Candy Mount, Belleville News-Democrat
Winner:
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BYERS
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Steve Byers, Huntsville (Ala.) Times
Party guests arrive early
Hospital’s neonatal
intensive care unit
honors ‘class of ’03’
We interrupt this newscast to bring you real life
Couple struggles to balance work,
family in pressure-filled TV biz
No, sweetie, I distinctly said “till debt do us part’
Just married? Then
take a vow to buy
this financial guide
The spies who love me
Scared parents of teens
spending on surveillance
Head fer them stereotypes, Luke, and step on it
(no subhed; on a story about the “Dukes of Hazzard” movie)
Judges’ comments:
“Clever but on the mark. The heads gave solid clues to the
content with clever, easy-to-understand cultural references that
should speak to all generations of readers. Most important, I didn’t
feel any of them were stretching to be ‘cute’ without really describing
the stories. They just worked for me, and made me want to read the stories.
The heads were solid and reader-friendly, accurate and inviting.
Award of excellence
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VERBUS
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Jeff Verbus, The Repository (Canton, Ohio)
Touch of gray matters
a lot to brainy students
Louisville classmates’ hands-on lesson ultracerebral
Tick … tick … tick season at pound
Space crunch in Carroll County forcing warden to euthanize dogs
Knock down, drag out blight
Mounting expenses won’t
deter Canton from ridding
city of eyesore properties
Didja hear ’bout the deer that burst into a bar?
Bill to squeeze pop has juice
Senator proposes a limit or ban on sale of soda in public schools
Judges’ comments:
Dogs headline: He “still gets to tragic overtones of the story
without being too sappy.” Brain headline: “Excellent wordplay without
being complicated. We’d definitely keep reading.”
Pop head: “It, well, pops off the page. Excellent tie-in with the
art.”
Deer: “Sounds like the beginning of a conversation at a bar. Light-hearted;
everyone will read it.”
Blight: “Just terrific. Marriage of fight over blight and the actual,
physical act of eliminating it. Another great tie-in to the art.”
“Very nice wordplay and fun heads throughout.”
Overall remarks on Division III from chairwoman:
“This is the best bunch of headlines I’ve seen since being
asked to judge a contest for ACES. It was a
tough decision, and sometimes only one headline decided whether
the portfolio would be placed in the keep or look-at-later pile.
No one’s entries automatically went to a forget-about-it pile.”
DIVISION
IV (50,000 or under)
Judges
Rich Holden, Dow Jones Newspaper Fund
Bill Cloud, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Matt Ochsner, Great Falls Tribune (2003 winner)
Jim Sweeney, Government Computer News
Winner:
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COX
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Tracy Cox, Tuscaloosa News (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
Note: She now works at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Straightening the shelves
Proposal would prohibit state spending on books with homosexual
content
Cold, hard Cash
Taking on difficult
but legendary roles,
Phoenix, Witherspoon
shine as country stars
Waging war
Despite public support to increase minimum wage,
businesss owners, their lobbyists remain a roadblock
Hits & ‘Mrs.’
Jolie, Pitt help keep film alive
Sole sisters
(no subhed; this is a lead-in with photo at the top: A monastery,
left, stands among the trees in the small community of Elysburg,
Pennsylvania. Thirteen nuns — 10 of whom are older than 75 — call
the place home. Today, the women wait to see what will become of
their order, because there are no new nuns. Here is a look at the lives inside
the Monastery of the Discalced Carmelite Nuns … )
Judges’ comments:
“Cox’s word plays worked well both literally and figuratively.
Not only did they entice the reader, they also fit the subject matter
and avoided the obvious clichés. Admirable work.”
“Tracy Cox delivers clever headlines that have fun while still
capturing the news of each story. She offers subtle alliteration
that’s pleasing to the ear but not forced.”
No award of excellence:
DIVISION
V (staff)
Judges
Vince Rinehart, Washington Post
Wallace Schroeder, New York Times
Brian Throckmorton, Lexington Herald-Leader
Wayne Countryman, American Style and Niche magazines
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| Headline
writers at the Tacoma News-Tribune celebrate after learning
that they won the staff division of the ACES headline contest, beating entries
from papers and nonpapers of all sizes.In the front row are
Cole Cosgrove and Kelly Davenport. In the back row, from left,
are Rick Arthur, John Wallingford and Jeremy Edwards. (News-Tribune
photo) |
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Winner:
The News Tribune, (Tacoma, Wash.)
(headline followed by names of contributing copy editors)
Throat cultures and hosiery —
that’d be aisle 9, ma’am
-- Jeremy Edwards
The impossible dream
(head for a feature photo a Dachsund puppy sizing up a large tall
fire hydrant)
-- Rick Arthur
Rather’s seat will be as hard to fill as teeth on a weasel
Kicker: Down-home ‘CBS Evening News’ veteran steps down
Deck: Anchorman Dan Rather vacates his
post tonight at CBS’ aging flagship
news program. He will look back
on the hottest stories of his career.
-- Kelly Davenport
Kicker: James Doohan / 1920-2005
Who’s going
to beam
us up now?
James Doohan, the actor best
known for playing ‘Scotty’ on ‘Star
Trek,’ dies at his Redmond home.
-- Rick Arthur
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Kicker: Christian writers go online
Jesus blogged. Well, he would’ve
-- John Wallingford
Proto-Thracians flashed B.C. bling
(on discovery of ancient gold pieces in Bulgaria)
-- Cole Cosgrove
kicker: Mekong River monster
Anybody got
a few gallons
of tartar sauce?
This one didn’t get away.
Instead, a 646-pound catfish
caught in Thailand goes into
the books as the largest freshwater
fish in ever recorded.
-- Rick Arthur
Kicker: Owner spends $50,000
How to call a clone? Here, kitty-kitty
Meet Little Nicky. He’s the first
privately commissioned cloned
pet. Let the ethical debates begin.
-- Kelly Davenport
‘I did,’ says runaway bride
(AP story about Jennifer Wilbanks’ court plea)
-- Rick Arthur
If you need me, I’ll just be over here escaping
A man just convicted of selling drugs pretends to be looking
for better cell reception in a Tacoma courtroom, but instead makes
a run for it.
-- Kelly Davenport
Judges’ comments:
“The News Tribune's team avoided puns and rhymes. Instead,
they conjure up intriguing situations ("Throat cultures and hosiery
‹ that'd be aisle 9, ma'am" and "If you need me, I'll just be over
here escaping") that help the reader experience the story, not just
observe it from a distance. They also took some pop-culture references
to the hoop with the Dan Rather head ("Rather's seat will be as hard to
fill as teeth on a weasel") and the "Scotty" obit ("Who's going
to beam us up now?"), creating a friendly tone that tells the reader "Hey,
we're not stuffy and official; we're just like you." That tone shows
up again in "Jesus blogged. Well, he would've," which not only gets
points for echoing the "Jesus wept" verse, but also makes the Bible
of long ago seem up-to-the-minute and contemporary. A similarly
intriguing and efficient conflation of time happens in "Proto-Thracians
flashed B.C. bling" -- a headline that manages to create some connection
and common ground between us and prehistoric people we've never heard of
and probably wouldn't have been interested in.”
“Inventive, varied and fun. I liked the fact that the creativity
extended from tiny briefs to longer stories.”
Award of excellence:
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The Washington Post
If a Boss Falls, Look Out Below
High-Level Exits
Have Put Proteges
In Jeopardy
-- Michael Stuntz
A Couch Tom Cruise
Won’t Jump On
Actor Lambastes Psychiatry on ‘Today’
-- Martha Wright
A Clockwork Lemon
‘Robots’ Creates a Fantastic Setting,
Then Fills It With Insipid Characters
-- Scott Butterworth
And She
Loved Him
Cynthia Lennon Pens
A Memoir of Her Beatle
-- David Hall
The Phrases of Grief
To Deal With Tragedy,
Joan Didion Ventured
Beyond Her Famously
Polished Prose
-- Rose Jacobius
Technicolor Dream Coats
Little Pink Houses (Purple and Blue, Too)
Spring From a Palette of Vivid Colors
-- Mickey Trimarchi
They Took Her T-Bird Away
Suzanne Somers Tried to Tell All, but Few Cared Enough to Listen
-- Tom Kavanagh
2 Hours of the Albatross
Sean Penn’s Over-the-Top Performance
Doesn’t Translate in ‘The Interpreter’
-- Doug Norwood
A Return Less About Zen Than Yen — and the Money’s Not Bad, Either
(column about Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson)
-- David Larimer
Kicker: Fall Television Preview 2005
Ewws and Ahhs
Too Many Shows Will Give Viewers the Creeps This Season, but
a Few Noble Souls Save the Day.
-- Pat Myers
Judges’ comments:
“These entries top the list on the sophistication scale, led
by "A Couch Tom Cruise Won't Jump On," "The Phrases of Grief" and
"And She Loved Him." They require knowledge from the reader ("A
Clockwork Lemon") and the few plays on words are high rather than
low.”
“Several of these headlines seem untoppable -- the ones I wish
I had written, the ones that seem to pounce precisely. "A couch
Tom Cruise won't jump on" is the best of them, capitalizing on the
universal public recognition of the Oprah moment and parlaying that
into a tart comment on the Matt Lauer moment. "A Clockwork Lemon"
is a smart and resonant appraisal of "Robots," but by no means an
obvious one (until you read it, and after that it seems like the only possible
headline). "And She Loved Him" compliments the musical literacy
of the Beatles fan, without bewildering those who miss the allusion
-- the headline uses a sweet old song to evoke the author's sweet
old memories. "The Phrases of Grief" is a gentle and careful pun
-- all its layers apply equally, with a simplicity that suits the
story's subject.”
Judges' overall comments on Division V
“One, the quality of the entries overall was stunning, and
in my view it has improved each year I have judged this division.
Two, as judges we wish more papers would recognize the value of
feature heds that don't have to rely on puns, and the value of really
clear, careful and alluring news headlines written under difficult circumstances.”
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BUTTERWORTH
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HALL
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JACOBIUS
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KA VANAGH
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LARIMER
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MYERS
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NORWOOD
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STUNTZ
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TRIMARCHI
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WRIGHT
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RAAB
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DIVISION VI (student publications)
Judges:
Jerry Sass, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Anna Holland, Dallas Morning News (2004 winner)
John Russial, University of Oregon
Marie Hardin, Penn State University
Winner:
Lauren Raab, The Daily Bruin (University of California, Los Angeles)
San Antonio residents become patrons of the Saints
Hoping to host a
permanent team,
city takes in New
Orleans football
Education
deficit may
tank state
economy
Subway on Wilshire
inches toward reality
USC’s Bush has red-letter skills
It’s beginning to look a lot like salmonella
Washing hands, cooking thoroughly could be key to a healthy
holiday
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DILLON
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Award of excellence:
Zachary Dillon, The Daily Bruin (University of California, Los
Angeles)
A breath of fresh exhaust
Hydrogen fuel cell
prototype marks
next step toward
emissions-free cars
Jaywalkers tread a fine line
Undefeated Bruins easily break Waves
Stars shine on South Campus
UCLA planetarium offers students
and locals a brighter view of sky
Big plans for a small line
Despite diminutive size, defensive line wants to be a key unit
for the Bruins
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