City Pages wins 12 first-place SPJ Page One awards

City Pages won 12 first-place trophies at the annual Page One awards Friday, beating both the Star Tribune and the Pioneer Press for the second year in a row.

The Star Tribune took home 8 first-place spots out of 17 overall; the Pioneer Press won 2 out of 10 nominations. City Pages won a total of 17 awards, 12 of them first place finishes.

The Society of Professional Journalists held its annual Page One Awards banquet to honor the best journalism in the state for 2009. City Pages competes in the large print category (50,000+ circulation) against all of Minnesota's major dailies.

Here are our first-place finishers:

Long Feature [Newspaper]

First Place: Matt Snyders, Fletcher's Gang

Business News [Newspaper]
First Place: Bradley Campbell and Matt Snyders, Craigslist Declassified

Sports News [Newspaper]
First Place: Erin Carlyle, Favre at Forty

Layout [Newspaper]
First Place: Nick Vlcek, Famous Enough

Best Issue [Newspaper]
First Place: Newsroom Staff, Best of the Twin Cities 2009

Best Cover [Magazine]
First Place: Ana Bagaya, Age Of Consent

Best Page Design [Magazine]
First Place: Nick Vlcek, Catcher in the Raw

Best Feature Design [Magazine]
First Place: Nick Vlcek, The Sound and the Fury

Best Commissioned Illustration [Magazine]
First Place: Dan Picasso, Fairmongering

Best Feature Photo [Photography]
First Place: Nick Vlcek, Treasure Hunt

Art and Illustration [Newspaper]
First Place: Lou Fancher and Steve Johnson, The Doctor Will Shock You Now

Best Commissioned Magazine Photo [Photography]
First Place: Ellie Bjorklund, Steve Cohen, Nick Vlcek , Andrea Swensson, Year In Music

Best Newsroom Blog [Online]
First Place: Newsroom Staff, The Blotter