Orange County Competition : Times Wins Lion’s Share of Press Club Awards

Los Angeles Times reporters and photographers garnered 18 first-place awards and 13 second-place accolades Saturday night at the annual Orange County Press Club banquet, held at the Meridien Hotel in Newport Beach.

The Orange County Register won three first-place awards and six seconds in the over-100,000-circulation division.

Times staff writer Marcida Dodson was a double winner, being named best in the science and technology category and teaming with Nancy Wride for the best feature. The latter award was for a profile of a couple who are accused of kidnaping and murdering two young Southern California women.

Wride also won second place for the best news story, a category that was won by Times reporter Kristina Lindgren.

Times business writer James S. Granelli won for the best beat coverage and Heidi Evans garnered the second-place award. Writer Dennis McLellan won first place for the best entertainment story and Lynn Smith won the Marjorie Freeman award for the best humorous story for a piece concerning a club of men named Fred.

McLellan also won for the best story on sports and recreation and Andy Rose placed second in the same category.

Other Times staff members winning first-place awards were Doug Brown for best public affairs story and Bob Sipchen for the best story on a social issue. Robert Knight tied for first for the best feature page layout portfolio.

Second-place awards went to David Ferrell for feature writing, Sipchen for public affairs writing and Jim Adamek for news page layout portfolio.

Times photographers swept all eight categories, with Sam Mircovich picking up three first-place awards for best feature, sports and portrait photographs. Don Tormey won two first-place awards, for best portfolio and for the best photo illustration, and one second, for best photographic pictorial.

Colin Crawford won for best news photograph, Kari Rene Hall for best photographic essay and Henry DiRocco for the best photographic pictorial. Hall also won second-place awards in the portrait and photo illustration categories.

Debora Robinson was awarded second for news photograph, Gary Ambrose for feature photograph, Don Kelsen for sports photograph and Gail Fisher for photographic essay.

Martin J. Smith of the Register won for the best story on business and finance, and his colleague Ann Imse won second place. Adam Dawson also won first place for best series and Tim Alger won second place. Dave Petro won the Register’s other first-place award, for best news page layout portfolio.

Smith also won three second-place awards, for science and technology, for humorous story and a story on law and the administration of justice. Carroll Lachnit, for social issues writing, won the other second-place award for the Register.

Other winners were in the 100,000-or-less-circulation division:

Best news story: First place, Kim Irwin, Saddleback Valley News; second place: Bob Van Eyuken, Laguna Niguel/Dana Point Pilot.

Best feature: First place, Steve Marble, Orange Coast Daily Pilot; second place, Greg Hardesty, Orange County Businessweek.

Winners in the Public Relations division:

Best feature release: first place, Ed Zintel, Thomas Wilck Associates; second place, Mary Jane Foster, Saddleback Community Hospital.

Best news release: first place Kathryn Faith, Mission Viejo Co.; second place, Michael Runzler, Pacific Bell.

Best external publication: first place, Linda Granell, UC Irvine; second place, Dawn Bouzeos, the Irvine Co.

Best internal publication: first place, Craig MacDonald, Pacific Bell; second place, Monica Statz, Saddleback Community Hospital.