By Sarah Abruzzese
Friday, September 30, 2005

DENVER - The American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors on Friday announced the top 10 Feature Sections at the association’s annual convention in Denver.

It is the first time the association has held the contest. The winners were chosen from more than 90 entries, which were scaled down to 20 semi-finalists.

“I found the best features sections were where their own personalities were also reflected,” said Thomas Huang, the features editor for The Dallas Morning News and the chairman of the best section contest committee.

The Media Management Center at Northwestern University chose the 10 winners, with newspaper readers participating. The winners: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Houston Chronicle, Herald News of the North Jersey Media Group, The State of Columbia, S.C., The Post-Standard of Syracuse, N.Y., Contra Costa Times of California, The Washington Post, Edmonton Journal of Alberta Canada and the Star-News of Wilmington, N.C.

The newspapers were selected from four divisions based on circulation size. The Star-News and the Herald News were chosen from newspapers with circulation up to 75,000.

The winners in the small circulation category made the best of limited resources, said Kelly McBride, the ethics group leader for the Poynter Institute and a contest judge. She said these newspapers focused on creating innovative designs.

Huang added that the papers presented in-depth stories important to the communities they serve.

The Post-Standard, The State, and the Edmonton Journal were chosen from newspapers with circulation between 75,001 and 175,000.

“These papers were fearless,” said Gretchen Day Bryant, a judge and the lifestyle editor for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, about the winners from the second–to-smallest circulation category. “Their attitude was just do it….They are lean and mean and they just do it.”

The Edmonton Journal, which was particularly lauded for its boldness, said it was honor to receive an award from an American association.

“We’re pretty thrilled to get that,” said Kathy Kerr, the features and design editor for the Edmonton Journal. “We’re Canadians.”

Chip Scanlan, a faculty member at Poynter, judged newspapers with circulation between 175,001 to 300,000, which included the Contra Costa Times and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

He said these newspapers fulfilled a promise to their readers that “there is something that enlightens me and enriches me,” in the pages every day.

For newspapers with circulation of more than 300,000, the winners were: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Houston Chronicle and The Washington Post.

Day Bryant of the Sun-Sentinel said the larger newspapers drew upon their resources to produce relevant, lively, well-written, accessible journalism.

The judges said the winners also were cited for strongly connecting with their readers.

“All of the editors were really out there and journalists in newsroom were out there finding real community stories,” Huang said.