Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) journalists won 18 awards here Thursday night (April 4) in the annual “Best of the Christian Press Awards” competition sponsored by the Associated Church Press (ACP), the oldest Christian press association in North America.
The kudos included three prestigious “Best In Class” awards for general excellence: first place in the denominational magazine category for Presbyterians Today; second place in the special interest magazine category for HORIZONS; and third place in the news service category for Presbyterian News Service.
The top prize for Presbyterians Today was an unprecedented second straight win for the magazine. Former editor Eva Stimson accepted the award. Also noted on the award were former art director Shellee Jones and publisher Jeffrey Lawrence.
The “Best in Class” award for Presbyterian News Service was PNS’ 14th such award in the past 15 years.
The independent Presbyterian Outlook led the way for PC(USA)-related publications with five awards. PNS, Presbyterians Today and HORIZONS each won three awards.
And Unbound: An Interactive Journal of Christian Social Justice won four awards in its first year of existence. The Rev. Patrick Heery, who edited the online successor to the defunct print journal Church and Society, is now the editor of Presbyterians Today.
The awards for The Presbyterian Outlook:
- Award of Merit (2nd place) for convention or meeting coverage by a magazine for “A wonderfully difficult GA” by Jack Haberer, editor, and Leslie Scanlon, national reporter; Michael Jennings associate editor; Stann Bailey, art designer.
- Honorable Mention (3rd place) in the editorial courage category for “Tough questions”
by Jack Haberer; Stann Bailey, art designer.
- Honorable Mention in the theme issue-magazine category for “The text generation,” edited by Jack Haberer; reported by Leslie Scanlon; written by Wayne Meisel, Mark D. Hines, Matthew A. Rich and Charlotte Nance Albright; Stann Bailey, art director.
- Honorable Mention in the magazine news story category for “Court clears way for Larges ordination” by Leslie Scanlon; Jack Haberer, editor; Stann Bailey, art designer.
- Honorable Mention in the theological reflection-short format category for “Christmas complexity” by Jack Haberer, editor; Stann Bailey, art designer.
The awards for Unbound:
- Award of Excellence (1st place) in the theme issue by a website/blog category for “Hope for eco-activists: discovering an environmental faith” by multiple contributors; edited by Patrick Heery with guest content editors Diane Waddell and Sue Smith.
- Award of Excellence in the social media category, designed and administered by Patrick Heery.
- Honorable Mention in the convention or meeting coverage by a website/blog for “The backstory of General Assembly social witness” by Patrick Heery and Christian Iosso, editors, and multiple contributors; Patrick Heery, designer.
- Award of Merit in the in-depth coverage by website/blog category for “Seven sins against democracy ― and what’s faith got to do with it,” edited and designed by Patrick Heery; written by multiple contributors.
The awards for HORIZONS, in addition to its Best in Class award:
- Award of Excellence in the Bible resource category for “Dispatches to God’s household: the general epistles” by Nancy Benson-Nicol; Susan Jackson-Dowd, publisher; Betsy Ensign-George, editor; Laura Lee, art director; Debbie Paris, designer.
- Honorable Mention in the magazine feature article-long format category for “Gun Violence: A Faithful, Grassroots Answer to Aggression” by Katie Day; Sharon Dunne Gillies, editor.
The awards for PNS, in addition to its Best in Class award:
- Award of Excellence in the convention or meeting coverage newspaper category for “General Assembly News” at the 2012 General Assembly, Sharon Youngs, editor, and the General Assembly Communications Center staff.
- Award of Merit in the convention or meeting coverage by a news service for its coverage of the 2012 General Assembly through the General Assembly Communications Center staff.
The awards for Presbyterians Today, in addition to its Best in Class award:
- Award of Merit in the biblical interpretation category for “Jesus, bread of life” by David Gambrell; Eva Stimson, editor.
- Honorable Mention in the theological reflection-short format for “Why Christians like science” by Ronald Cole-Turner; Eva Stimson, editor.
In other ACP business, Bethany Furkin Daily of the Presbyterian News Service was elected to a three-year term on the association’s board of directors. Stimson also serves on the ACP board.