Bloomberg News, Arizona Republic, Associated Press, WGBH-TV Among National Press Club Winners

WASHINGTON, July 5, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Bloomberg News won a top award for political analysis for its examination of Super PACS, while The Arizona Republic and The Associated Press were co-winners of the inaugural breaking news award for print in the 2012 National Press Club Journalism Contest.

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A team of Bloomberg reporters won the Lee Walczak Award for Political Analysis with their work on Super PACs. The Arizona Republic was cited as co-winner of the Breaking News Award for its coverage of the Tucson mass shooting that left six dead and twice that many wounded, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. The AP was honored as a co-winner in breaking news-print for its coverage of the earthquake and tsunami that rocked Japan.

In broadcast, The Associated Press won for its coverage of the Joplin, Mo. Tornado and WGBH-TV won the Arthur Rowse Award for Press Criticism for its examination of the Boston media's handling of a variety of stories.

Michael Berens and Ken Armstrong of The Seattle Times won the award for consumer journalism for newspapers for their exhaustive series called "Methadone and the Politics of Pain."  The winners of the Joan M. Friedenberg Online Journalism Award were Jenn Abelson and Beth Daley of The Boston Globe for their examination of the seafood restaurant industry.  In other consumer journalism competition, Reuters won for its look at the complex subject of shell corporations. In broadcast, the consumer journalism award was won by KOVR-TV of West Sacramento, Calif., for its look at cheating at Wal-Mart.

Ryan Lizza of the New Yorker won the Edwin M. Hood Award for Diplomatic Correspondence for his coverage of the U.S. foreign policy battles during the "Arab Spring." James Rosen of McClatchy Newspapers won the award for Washington regional reporting. The winner of the Ann Cottrell Free Animal Reporting Award for print was Chris Adams of McClatchy newspapers for "Chimps, Life in a Lab." The winner for broadcast was the NBC Nightly News for "Detroit Dog Rescue."

Paul Farhi of The Washington Post won the Arthur Rowse Award for Press Criticism  for his examination of some of the media's seedier practices. Tom P. Taylor of Bloomberg BNA, Law Week, won the Newsletter Journalism award for his reporting on the Supreme Court. The winner of the Sandy Hume Memorial Award for Excellence in Political Journalism honoring the work of young journalists covering politics was David Farenthol of The Washington Post for his look at the inner lives of members of Congress.

Nathan A. Hodge of The Wall Street Journal won the Michael A. Dornheim Award for stories that examined U.S. defense policy. Peter Waldman of Bloomberg News won the Joseph D. Ryle Award for Excellence in Writing on the Problems of Geriatrics for his stories on hospice care. In the humor writing category, Anne Kadet of The Wall Street Journal won the Angele Gingras Humor Award for a variety of "sparkling" columns on topics ranging from whether her own kitchen would pass a city health inspection to the experience of visiting a WalMart. She wrote that you can't see from one end to the other "because of the curvature of the earth."

The winners will be honored at an awards dinner Tuesday, July 24 at the National Press Club. Reception begins at 6 p.m., dinner at 7 p.m. Call the Press Club's reservation line at 202-662-7501 to reserve your tickets.

Those that received an honorable mention for their work:

• Breaking news-broadcast - honorable mention to Pierre Thomas of ABC News for coverage of the Tucson tragedy.
• Consumer journalism-newspapers - honorable mention to The Boston Globe for its series on the seafood restaurant industry.
• Consumer journalism-periodicals - honorable mention went to Bloomberg News for its reporting on the selling of human organs in Third World countries.
• Consumer journalism-broadcast - honorable mention to Inside Edition for debunking the benefits of power wristbands.
• Hood Award for Diplomatic Correspondence - honorable mention to Jay Solomon of The Wall Street Journal for his reporting on Syria.
• Washington Regional Reporting - honorable mention to Maureen Groppe of The Indianapolis Star for her compelling stories, including a look at Sen. Dick Lugar's political prospects.
• Ann Cottrell Free Animal Reporting Award - honorable mention for print to Deborah Nelson of Mother Jones for reporting on treatment of circus elephants; honorable mention for broadcast to Inside Edition for reporting on hoarding and the exotic animal trade.
• Newsletter Journalism - honorable mention to Nathaniel Gronewold of Greenwire for his stories about biofuels.
• Friedenberg Online Award - honorable mention to David Wood of The Huffington Post for compelling stories on military veterans "Beyond the Battlefield."
• Sandy Hume Memorial Award for Excellence in Political Journalism - honorable mention to Mina Kimes of Fortune for her reporting on arms sales.
• Angele Gingras Humor Award - honorable mention to Lore Sjoberg of Wired.com.
• Joseph D. Ryle Award for Excellence in Writing on the Problems of Geriatrics - honorable mention to The Associated Press for stories about the problems facing aging Americans.
• Walczak Award for Political Analysis - honorable mention to The Washington Post for stories on the wealthy, and how they got that way.

SOURCE National Press Club