GateHouse papers in Illinois claim 63 AP awards

GateHouse-owned newspapers in Illinois recently garnered 63 awards from the state's AP annual contest.

The Register-Mail in Galesburg earned 34 honors, including 13 first-place awards in the Division C competition. The Journal-Standard in Freeport claimed seven awards in Division C, including two first-place honors.

In Division A, The State Journal-Register in Springfield, the Journal-Star in Peoria and the Rockford Register Star took home 22 awards. The SJ-R received 11 awards and finished first in six categories, while Peoria (nine overall) finished first in two categories. Rockford claimed a second place and a third.

The organizations will receive their awards June 14 in Springfield during the Illinois Press Association convention.

DIVISION A

BREAKING NEWS

2nd --  Journal Star, Peoria, John Sharp, Staff,  “Enough already”

COLUMN OR BLOG

3rd -- Journal Star, Peoria, Pam Adams

SPORTS BREAKING NEWS

3rd --  The State Journal-Register, Springfield, Todd Engle, “Wild Wes shootout”

SPORTS COLUMN OR BLOG

3rd -- Rockford Register Star, Emily Tropp

ENTERTAINMENT

1st -- Journal Star, Peoria, Gary Panetta, “No Empty Words”

HEADLINES

1st -- The State Journal-Register, Springfield, Katie Davis

PRINT NEWSPAPER PAGE DESIGN

1st -- The State Journal-Register, Springfield, Mike Turley, “Deep Freeze”

2nd --  Rockford Register Star, Adam McHugh, “Reflections”

NEWSPAPER WEBSITE

3rd --  The State Journal-Register, Springfield, Staff

GENERAL NEWS PHOTO

1st --  Journal Star, Peoria, Adam Gerik, “Leap of Love”

3rd --  Journal Star, Peoria, Ron Johnson, “Grief of a Father”

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

1st -- The State Journal-Register, Springfield, Ted Schurter, “Mindful Eating”

3rd  -- The State Journal-Register, Springfield, Ted Schurter, “Economizing Dinners”

PICTURE STORY

1st -- The State Journal-Register, Springfield, David Spencer, “Living History”

2nd -- Journal Star, Peoria, Fred Zwicky, “Monkey House”

3rd -- Journal Star, Peoria, Fred Zwicky, “Megan's Battle to Heal”

PORTRAIT/PERSONALITY

3rd -- Journal Star, Peoria, Fred Zwicky, “Father lost when young, still an influence on her life”

SPORTS ACTION PHOTO

2nd -- Journal Star, Peoria, Fred Zwicky, “Dangerous Bike”

3rd -- The State Journal-Register, Springfield, David Spencer, “Dirt Track Danger”

SPORTS FEATURE PHOTO

1st -- The State Journal-Register, Springfield, Justin L. Fowler, “Me and My Shadow”

MULTIMEDIA STORYTELLING

1st -- The State Journal-Register, Springfield, Chris Young, “From Springfield, with love: A day for WWII veterans”

2nd -- The State Journal-Register, Springfield, Ted Schurter, Molly Beck, “Ossie Langfelder's incredible journey"

Div. A, Div. B, Div. C

NEWS INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR

RUNNER-UP -- Register-Mail, Galesburg, Jennifer Wheeler, “Live blogging from the Nicholas Sheeley murder trial

DIVISION C

PUBLIC SERVICE

2nd  -- Register-Mail, Galesburg, Jay Redfern, Staff, “The Register-Mail is lead "cheerleader" for Reader's Digest contest”

ENTERPRISE STORY

2nd -- The Journal-Standard, Freeport, Travis Morse, “Out and Proud in Freeport”

3rd --  Register-Mail, Galesburg, Jennifer Wheeler, “911 facing funding shortfall”

BREAKING NEWS

1st --  Register-Mail, Galesburg, Staff, “The bus stops here - Obama visits Galesburg”

2nd -- Register-Mail, Galesburg, Staff, “Can you dig it?”

ENTERPRISE SERIES

1st -- Register-Mail, Galesburg, Staff, “Maytag employees in transition”

2nd -- Register-Mail, Galesburg, Staff, “Tracking Poverty”

FEATURE

1st -- Register-Mail, Galesburg, Tom Loewy, “A life born of poor decisions, low expectations ...”

3rd -- Register-Mail, Galesburg, Tom Loewy, “The visible man”

COLUMN OR BLOG

1st -- Register-Mail, Galesburg, Tom Loewy

SPORTS BREAKING NEWS

1st -- Register-Mail, Galesburg, Aaron Frey, “Obama makes Silver Streaks practice one to remember”

3rd -- The Journal-Standard, Freeport, Adam Kradle, “Indians prove to be Super”

SPORTS COLUMN OR BLOG

1st -- Register-Mail, Galesburg, Aaron Frey

BUSINESS

1st -- The Journal-Standard, Freeport, Dave Manley, “The professional of pretend”

2nd -- Register-Mail, Galesburg, John Pulliam, “John Pulliam - 3 stories”

ENTERTAINMENT

1st -- Register-Mail, Galesburg, Lisa Coon, “No lotta shakin' going on”

2nd -- The Journal-Standard, Freeport, Jane Lethlean, “In the Spirit of Peace”

3rd -- The Journal-Standard, Freeport, Jane Lethlean, “Hard-Knock Life”

HEADLINES

2nd -- Register-Mail, Galesburg, Jay Redfern

3rd -- Register-Mail, Galesburg, Rob Buck

INFORMATIONAL GRAPHIC 

3rd -- Register-Mail, Galesburg, Christina Landon, “Timeline of a murder spree”

PRINT NEWSPAPER PAGE DESIGN

1st -- Register-Mail, Galesburg, Jay Redfern, “Tracking Poverty”

3rd -- Register-Mail, Galesburg, Jay Redfern, “9/11 The Day America Changed”

NEWSPAPER WEBSITE

1st -- Register-Mail, Galesburg, Staff

FEATURE PHOTO

2nd -- The Journal-Standard, Freeport, Joe Tamborello, “Stretching before the show”

GENERAL NEWS PHOTO

2nd -- Register-Mail, Galesburg, Nick Adams, “Classmate remembered”

3rd -- Register-Mail, Galesburg, Nick Adams, “Black Fried Out”

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

1st -- Register-Mail, Galesburg, Nick Adams, “App addict”

2nd -- Register-Mail, Galesburg, Nick Adams, “Cash Crop”

PICTORIAL PHOTO

1st -- Register-Mail, Galesburg, Nick Adams, “Smoke Runner”

2nd -- Register-Mail, Galesburg, Nick Adams, “Backwards bowl”

PICTURE STORY

1st -- Register-Mail, Galesburg, Nick Adams, “Poverty level”

2nd -- Register-Mail, Galesburg, Nick Adams, “Alzheimer's - no black and white malady”

3rd -- Register-Mail, Galesburg, Nick Adams, “Cornerstone”

PORTRAIT/PERSONALITY

3rd -- Register-Mail, Galesburg, Nick Adams, “D-Day Vet”

SPORTS FEATURE PHOTO

1st -- The Journal-Standard, Freeport, Joe Tamborello, “Flex for the fans”

SPOT NEWS PHOTO

3rd -- Register-Mail, Galesburg, Nick Adams, “Drive-by shooting”

MULTIMEDIA STORYTELLING

1st -- Register-Mail, Galesburg, Nick Adams, “The Visible Man - Harold Palash”

2nd -- Register-Mail, Galesburg, Nick Adams, “Alzheimer's - no black and white malady”

3rd -- Register-Mail, Galesburg, Nick Adams, “Free Dental Clinic”