NJSPJ honors the best in reporting on a broad range of topics; as well as in photojournalism‚ cartooning‚ online writing‚ editing and more.

DAILY NEWSPAPERS
Deadline Reporting

1. Jason Method‚ James Prado Roberts & Nina Rizzo‚ The Asbury Park Press‚ "Operation Bid Rig"
2. Staff‚ Asbury Park Press‚ "Base closing"
3. Staff‚ The Record‚ "Bergenfield House Explosion"

Feature Writing

1. Lindy Washburn‚ The Record‚ "Crushed by medical bills"
2. Bob Ivry‚ The Record‚ "A Good Death"
3. Andrea Gurwitt‚ The Herald News‚ "The American Dream: One Immigrant's story"

Profile Writing

1. Manish Mehta‚ The Star-Ledger‚ "One step at a time"
2. Ruth Padawer‚ The Record‚ "Like it or not she's dad"
3. Kristen Graham‚ The Philadelphia Inquirer‚ "Sister Helen Cole"

Business Reporting

1. Andrew Pratt‚ Bloomberg News‚ "New Jersey 123"
2. Clint Riley‚ The Record‚ "Betting on Biotech"
3. Prasuant Gopal‚ The Record‚ "Boom or Bubble"

Sports Reporting

1. Manish Mehta‚ The Star-Ledger‚ "A whole new ballgame"
2. Adam Zagoria‚ The Herald News‚ "A shrinking minority"
3. Steve Adamek‚ The Record‚ "Mr. Big Shot"

Health/Science/Tech/Environment

1. Jessica Adler‚ The Herald News‚ "Beyond Skin deep"
2. Tracey Regan‚ The Trenton Times‚ "Cutting Weight Loss Surgery"

Series Writing and Reporting

1. Jerry Barca‚ The Home News Tribune‚ "Meet Elias: A boy's battle with cancer"
2. Elizabeth Llorente and Miguel Perez‚ The Record‚ "Out of the shadows"
3. Lini S. Kadabe and Rita Giordano‚ The Philadelphia Inquirer‚ "A rude awaking"

Investigative Reporting

1. Staff‚ The Record‚ "Toxic Legacy"
2. Jean Rimbach and Gregory Schutta‚ The Record‚ "Making Play Pay"
3. Staff‚ The Asbury Press‚ "Club Monmouth"

Enterprise Reporting

1. Tom Meagher and Suzanne Travers‚ The Herald News‚ "Low wages‚ strong backs"
2. Kera Ritter‚ The Philadelphia Inquirer‚ "Age of hard choices"
3. Sarah N. Lynch‚ The Daily Record‚ "N.J. pumps regular into fuel alternative cars"

Editorial Writing

1. Jim Wright‚ The Record‚ "Toxic paint"
2. Dave Boyer‚ The Philadelphia Inquirer‚ "Larry Peterson"
3. Bruce Lowry‚ The Philadelphia Inquirer‚ Selected Editorials

Column Writing

1. Mike Kelly‚ The Record‚ "The personal cost of war"
2. Monica Yant Kinney‚ The Philadelphia Enquirer‚ "Mortality's limits"
3. Joseph Mysak Jr.‚ Bloomberg News‚ "Lawmaker seeks swaps market transparency"

Review Writing

1. Stacie Babula‚ Bloomberg News‚ "Evidence of harm"

Headline Writing

1. Joel Pisetzner‚ The Star-Ledger‚ "The Stubborn and the dead"
2. Jeff Trently‚ The Trenton Times‚ "These crocodiles rocked"
3. Jay Levin‚ The Record‚ "Hey‚ New Jersey‚ can you spare a dime?"

Editorial Cartoon

1. Jimmy Margulies‚ The Record

Informational Graphics

1. Laurie Triefeldt‚ The Star Ledger‚ "World of Wonder − Body Armor"
2. Keita Sullivan and John Duchneskie‚ The Philadelphia Inquirer‚ "A Natural World Imbalanced"
3. R. L. Rebach‚ The Record‚ "Mind over Muscle"

Front Page Layout

1. Robert Townsend‚ The Record‚ "Terror Grips London"
2. Steve Kelly and Steve Glynn‚ The Philadelphia Inquirer‚ "Fierce Arctic Storm"

Feature Page Design

1. Sterling Chen‚ The Philadelphia Inquirer‚ "Dali for real"
2. Lisa Dalie‚ The Record‚ "Smart and Shapely"

Spot News Photo

1. Amy Newman‚ The Herald News‚ "Teens chase‚ attack man"

Feature Photo

1. Thomas E. Franklin‚ The Record‚ "Ford's toxic legacy"
2. Sarah J. Glover‚ The Philadelphia Inquirer‚ "Orphans"
3. Sharon Gekoski-Kimmel‚ The Philadelphia Inquirer‚ "Sky Lights"

Sports Photo

1. Sharon Gekoski-Kimmel‚ The Philadelphia Inquirer‚ "Diving instructor"
2. Jim Connelly‚ The Item‚ "Katie Misilo"
3. David Warren‚ The Philadelphia Inquirer‚ "Delsea football game"

WILSON BARTO AWARD FOR FIRST-YEAR REPORTERS’
Daily Newspaper

1. Sheila G. Miller‚ The Herald News
2. Sarah N. Lynch‚ The Daily Record
3. Margaret K. Collins‚ The Record
   

WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS
Deadline Reporting

1. Staff‚ The Montclair Times‚ "The Day That Shook Montclair"
2. Henry Gottlieb‚ New Jersey Law Journal‚ "Alito Nomination Package"
3. Barbara Parker and Steven Kelman‚ Twin Boro News‚ "Bergenfield Blast"

Feature Writing

1. Chris Sagona‚ Pascack Valley Community Weekly‚ "Love They Have Known"
2. Rita Annan-Brady‚ The Progress‚ "Goodman Does Good Deed"
3. R obert Schmelter‚ Fort Lee Suburbanite‚ "Speed Dating"

Profile Writing

1. John Covaeski‚ New Jersey Lawyer‚ "ATLA’s New Boss"
2. Maggie Fazelli Fard‚ Pascack Valley Community Life‚ "Author Writes Great American Novel"
3. Robert Seidenstein‚ New Jersey Lawyer‚ "Hoberman at NJSBA Helm"

Business Reporting

1. Dana Sullivan‚ New Jersey Lawyer‚ "Lawyer-Lobbyists"
2. Scott Goldstein‚ NJBIZ‚ "The Taste of a Cuban Cigar"
3. Scott Goldstein‚ NJBIZ‚ "Field Of Confrontation"

Health‚ Science‚ Technology & Environmental Reporting

1. Melissa Magyar‚ Northern Valley Suburbanite‚ "Esrig’s surgery aided by robotic hands"
2. William Quinn‚ NJBIZ‚ "Chemical Reaction"

Series Writing

1. Susan Hebert‚ South Bergenite‚ "The not-so-long road to Homelessness"
2. Teresa Akersten‚ The Montclair Times‚ "Caregiving"
3. Lillian Aleman‚ The Montclair Times‚ "What’s for lunch?"

Investigative Reporting

1. Staff‚ South Bergenite‚ "Encap/Cherokee Development"
2. Robert Fleury and Tim O'Brien‚ New Jersey Law Journal‚ "Judicial Survey"
3. Erik Schenck‚ Ridgewood News‚ "Respected Cop Disciplined"

Enterprise Reporting

1. Kathleen Bird‚ New Jersey Lawyer‚ "Minorities in Clerkships"
2. Susan Hebert‚ South Bergenite‚ "Bounty Hunter"
3. Michael Lamendola‚ South Bergenite‚ "Parents in the Dark"

Editorial Writing

1. Audrey Davie‚ The Citizen of Morris County‚ "Waiting for Bolcar"
2. Mark Porter‚ The Montclair Times‚ "NIMBS"
3. Rebecca Boroson‚ The Jewish Standard‚ "A Nation’s Losses"

Column Writing

1. Daniel Murphy‚ The Cranford Chronicle‚ "Sunday is a day to thank heroes in our lives"
2. Phil Garber‚ Randolph Reporter‚ "Tears of a passing generation"
3. Minx McCloud‚ Hillsborough Beacon‚ "Aging parents test patience"

Review Writing

1. Eric Levin‚ The Montclair Times‚ "Reinventing his back pages keeps Dylan forever young"
2. Robert Schmelter‚ Fort Lee Suburbanite‚ "Sith completes Star Wars legacy"

Headline Writing

1. Jacob Berkman‚ Jewish Standard‚ "Withdrawal Symptoms"
2. Jospeh Donat‚ Northern Valley Suburbanite‚ "Blue Laws have Retailers Seeing Red"
3. Harvey Fisher‚ New Jersey Lawyer‚ "Gay Marriage Arriving at NJ High Court’s Altar"

Editorial Cartooning

1. Harry Trumbore‚ Item of Millburn and Short Hills‚ "Modern Voting"
2. Bill Valdares‚ Montclair Times‚ "Ethics"
3. Harry Trumbore‚ Item of Millburn and Short Hills‚ "Deer Make Headlines"

Informational Graphic

1. Svetlana Levin‚ New Jersey Lawyer‚ "Percent of Minorities in the Entering Class"
2. Jamie Winters and Glenn Garrie‚ South Bergenite‚ "Year in Review"

Front Page Layout

1. Harvey Fisher‚ New Jersey Lawyer‚ "Sept. 12"
2. Douglas Jones‚ New Jersey Law Journal‚ "April 4th"
3. Jerry Szubin‚ The Jewish Standard‚ "Gaza Gamble"

Feature Page Design

1. Jerry Szubin‚ The Jewish Standard‚ "A Grand Artistic Explosion"
2. Laura Adams‚ Times Beacon Newspapers‚ "Crush The Grapes"
3. Paul Gary‚ The Jewish Standard‚ "Beyond Baseball"

Spot News Photography

1. Scott Longfield‚ The Two Rivers Times‚ "Brush Fire"
2. Adam Anik‚ Verona-Cedar Grove Times‚ "Cedar Grove Voters"
3. Scott Longfield‚ The Two Rivers Times‚ "Petco Explosion"

Feature Photography

1. Scott Longfield‚ The Two Rivers Times‚ "Kaboom − Fireworks over the Navasink"
2. Scott Longfield‚ The Two Rivers Times‚ "Sunrise Salute"
3. Robin Zielinski‚ NJ Business‚ "A Place For Us"

Sports Photography

1. Scott Longfield‚ The Two River Times‚ "Coming Through!"
2. Scott Longfield‚ The Two River Times‚ "Double Take"

WILSON BARTO AWARD FOR FIRST-YEAR REPORTERS’
Weekly Newspapers

1. Maggie Fazelli Fard‚ Pascack Valley Community Voice
   

TELEVISION
News

1. Walt Kane‚ William Scholosser and Anthony Coco‚ News 12 New Jersey‚ "Small Business Scams"
2. Walt Kane‚ William Scholosser and Anthony Coco‚ News 12 New Jersey‚ "Rebuilding Asbury Park"
3. Walt Kane‚ William Scholosser and Anthony Coco‚ News 12 New Jersey‚ "Car Scams"

Enterprise

1. Barbara Nevins Taylor‚ Ed Lopez and Paul Tsakos‚ WWOR-TV‚ "Stevens Institute Troubles"
2. Barbara Nevins Taylor‚ Ed Lopez‚ Chris O’Donoghue‚ Paul Tsakos and Jimmy Mitchell‚ WWOR-TV‚ "Stolen Homes"
3. New Walt Kane‚ William Scholosser and Anthony Coco‚ News 12 New Jersey‚ "Elizabeth Police Misconduct"

MAGAZINE
Reporting

1. Seamus McGraw‚ New Jersey Monthly‚ "Officer Down"
2. Henry Meyer‚ New Jersey Monthly‚ "Survival of The Richest"
3. Olga Wickerhauser‚ New Jersey Monthly‚ "Worlds Apart"

Feature Writing

1. Liz Willen‚ Bloomberg Markets‚ "US Colleges Get Swanky"
2. Peter Robison‚ Bloomberg News‚ "Craig McCaw’Äôs Wireless Obsession"
3. John Ward‚ New Jersey Monthly‚ "Dead Meat"

Profile Writing

1. Liz Willen‚ Bloomberg News‚ "Harvard’Äôs Hell Raiser"
2. Jeff Pillets‚ N.J. Monthly‚ "Mixed Messages"
3. Michael Callahan‚ N.J. Life‚ "French Dressing"

Investigative Reporting

1. Bob Drummond‚ Bloomberg Markets‚ "Opinions For Sale"
2. John Ward‚ New Jersey Monthly‚ "Spies of Loveladies"

Opinion Writing

1. David Chmiel‚ New Jersey Monthly‚ "A Farewell to Alms"
   Business Writing
2. Katherine Burton‚ Bloomberg Markets‚ "Secrets of Ken Griffin"
3. Allan Hoffman‚ Rutgers Magazine‚ "Doing Business in China"

Health‚ Science‚ Technology and Environmental Reporting

1. Leslie Chess Feller‚ Rutgers Magazine‚ "A Mother’s Story"
2. Lori Chambers‚ Rutgers Magazine‚ "The Miracle Hunters"

Review Writing

1. Eric Levin‚ New Jersey Monthly‚ "LUA"
2. Max Green‚ New Jersey Monthly‚ "Squan Tavern"

NEWSLETTERS
General Excellence

1. Staff‚ Rutgers Focus‚ Feb. 21 Edition
2. Joe Renna‚ Around About Peterstown‚ "Activism is more of a calling"
3. Staff‚ Rutgers Focus‚ "Staff Spotlight"

ONLINE PUBLICATIONS
General Excellence

1. Brooke Sample‚ Jaee Pathak and Shawn Weston‚ The Asbury Park Press‚ "Jetty Magazine"
2. Michael Lewis‚ Dylan Butler‚ Charlie Cuttone and Linda Cuttone‚ BigAppleSoccer.com‚ MetroStars coverage

Previous Excellence in Journalism award-winners are as follows:

• 2004
• 2003
• 2002
• 2001
• 2000
• 1999
• 1998