Spokesman-Review wins several top honors

The Spokesman-Review placed second in general excellence in the Pacific Northwest chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists’ annual contest announced Saturday. The newspaper won in the category for newspapers with circulation more than 65,000. The Seattle Times placed first, the Oregonian came in third and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer received honorable mention.

Columnist D.F. Oliveria won first place for best Web blog for “Huckleberries online” on Spokesmanreview.com.

Spokesman-Review staff awards included third place in comprehensive coverage for stories about Otto Zehm, a mentally-disabled janitor who was falsely accused of a crime and died after being beaten by police.

Other staff awards included third place for public service on the Web for “The transparent newsroom” and honorable mentions for “Spokesmanreview.com prep sports database” and “Spokane7.com” in Best Web Design.

Individual winners on The Spokesman-Review staff included:

“ Second place, Virginia de Leon, “Four Cuban sisters.”

“ Third place, Geoff Pinnock, page design.

“Honorable mention, JoNel Aleccia, “A big boy.”

“ Honorable mention, Benjamin Shors, “A family finally made whole.”

Individual winners for Spokesmanreview.com included:

“ First place for arts and entertainment – Isamu Jordan and Ryan Pitts, “Spokane 7.com local music coverage.”

“ Second place for best Web design – Ryan Pitts, “Spokane7.com.”