RJ honored for Sports coverage, wins ‘Grand Slam’
The Review-Journal on Friday earned the top prize in the Associated Press Sports Editors annual contest, finishing in the Top 10 in daily, Sunday, special section and website coverage — the industry’s coveted “Grand Slam.”
The RJ sports section had never won more than three section awards in the same year.
Only three other publications in the country won a Grand Slam on Friday: the Los Angeles Times, the Seattle Times and the Spokane Spokesman-Review.
Overall, the RJ won seven awards, including three individual honors, while competing in the second-largest circulation category. This year’s competition honored work published in 2020.
“We’re glad to see the APSE judges confirm what our readers already knew,” said RJ Executive Editor and Senior Vice President/News Glenn Cook. “We’re proud of our Sports department and the top-notch coverage they provide Southern Nevada. Our readers are the real winners today.”
The department received three top 10 individual awards:
— Ron Kantowski and Rick Velotta for breaking news, covering the National Finals Rodeo’s temporary move to Arlington, Texas.
— Ed Graney in project journalism for his profiles and previews of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team’s 40-year reunion in Las Vegas.
— Ben Hager in action photography for his image of Raiders running back Josh Jacobs leaping a Carolina Panthers defender in the debut edition the Vegas Nation: Replay section.
The RJ sections honored by APSE featured the Raiders season preview magazine, the Sunday Vegas Nation preview sections and Monday reporting of Raiders and NFL games, coverage of the firing of Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant and the multimedia content at reviewjournal.com, which included an in-depth look at Allegiant Stadium.
It marked the fifth consecutive year that the RJ has earned multiple awards in the contest.
The contest recognizes the best in sports sections, sports writing and sports reporting. The organization includes representatives from most daily newspapers and major sports websites in North America.
Bill Bradley is sports editor of the Review-Journal. He can be reached at bbradley@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2909. Follow him on Twitter @billbradleyLV.
