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Philip Anselmo from the Daily Messenger (N.Y) has been named Features Writer of the Year for Division B in the 2009 Best of GateHouse contest.
About his entry
Philip Anselmo took an obituary to another level, tracked the stormy career of a town supervisor and reminisced about the days of the one-room schoolhouse. In his feature obituary of Jeannette Klute, a groundbreaker in the field of color photography, Anselmo invited the reader into the woman’s life and revealed her sense of determination, her challenges, her achievements and her love of music. Switching gears, he wrote about the career trajectory of a town official who built a solid following, held his town’s highest elected post, then experienced a gradual erosion of political support. Anselmo detailed the initial optimism, internal squabbles and drunken-driving conviction that ended the man’s term. In another glimpse into the past, Anselmo attended a reunion of former students who attended area one-room schoolhouses. He took readers back in time to enjoy the educational experiences of kids who were taught in the 1930s and ’40s.
Judges’ comments
Judges praised Anselmo’s versatility. In the story about Klute, he “takes what could have been an ordinary obit and turns it into a full-fledged profile. … He shows us the fabric of the social world she built for herself and the joy she took in the natural wonders of the land she acquired.”
Finalist
Stephanie Boothe, The Examiner (Mo.)
Special recognition
Cristina Janney, The Newton Kansan (Kan.)
Philip Anselmo from the Daily Messenger (N.Y) has been named Features Writer of the Year for Division B in the 2009 Best of GateHouse contest.
About his entry
Philip Anselmo took an obituary to another level, tracked the stormy career of a town supervisor and reminisced about the days of the one-room schoolhouse. In his feature obituary of Jeannette Klute, a groundbreaker in the field of color photography, Anselmo invited the reader into the woman’s life and revealed her sense of determination, her challenges, her achievements and her love of music. Switching gears, he wrote about the career trajectory of a town official who built a solid following, held his town’s highest elected post, then experienced a gradual erosion of political support. Anselmo detailed the initial optimism, internal squabbles and drunken-driving conviction that ended the man’s term. In another glimpse into the past, Anselmo attended a reunion of former students who attended area one-room schoolhouses. He took readers back in time to enjoy the educational experiences of kids who were taught in the 1930s and ’40s.
Judges’ comments
Judges praised Anselmo’s versatility. In the story about Klute, he “takes what could have been an ordinary obit and turns it into a full-fledged profile. … He shows us the fabric of the social world she built for herself and the joy she took in the natural wonders of the land she acquired.”
Finalist
Stephanie Boothe, The Examiner (Mo.)
Special recognition
Cristina Janney, The Newton Kansan (Kan.)
