Nine current, former staffers take honors

Transcript Staff

The Norman Transcript took top honors as Best Newspaper at the annual awards banquet Saturday of the Oklahoma Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists at the Skirvin/Hilton Hotel in downtown Oklahoma City.

The Transcript competed in Division B, which includes newspapers with circulations from 7,000 to 17,999.

The contest drew more than 1,200 entries from across the state.

Transcript staffers garnered six first place awards, with nine current and former newsroom staff winning awards. Included were M. Scott Carter, Andy Rieger, Shana Adkisson, Julianna Parker, Meghan McCormick, Carol Cole-Frowe, Michael Kinney and former staffers Althea Peterson and Brianna Bailey.

Reporter M. Scott Carter won first place in the category of "investigative reporting by an individual" for his Moore Medical Center bankruptcy investigation.

Judges said, "Great work, in-depth but not boring; informative but not overbearing; raises questions, gives answers." ?

Carter also took second places in feature writing for "Veterans Day tough for one soldier's wife," and in general news reporting for "Spelling comes easy for 8-year-old champ."

Managing Editor Andy Rieger won first place in personal columns for "Texaco star fading as full-service station shuts down."

Judges said, "Fantastic slice of the community pie of something that will be missed. Lots of good quotes as well."

Copy Editor Shana Adkisson took two first place awards in best page one layout and news headlines.

"This is a clean layout with elements that catch the eye without confusing the reader. The use of the airplane graphic was a well-executed choice," judges said about her page layout about the opening of a Legacy Trail plaza, "Leaving a legacy."

She won her headline award for lines like "Down and derby" and "Weather snorecast."

On Adkisson's headlines, judges said, "These headlines have appropriate fun with roller derby and bad weather that was less bad than expected."