Congratulations to all of the winners at this year’s Pa’i Awards. It is great to see the creativity and innovation in Hawaii’s publications! Check out some pics of the awards luncheon and a list of the winners.
SCHOOL NEWSPAPER EXCELLENCE
First Place – Ka Leo O Hawaii of University of Hawaii at Manoa, “An excellent publication that combines eye-catching design with coverage of issues and hard news with panache and aplomb… The commitment of student journalists to make this publication happen on a weekly basis is also notable. Impressive work.”
Second Place – Ka Manao of Leeward Community College, “A terrific publication, beautifully designed and not afraid to take on sensitive issues. Excellent work, across the board.”
NON-DAILY NEWSPAPER
First Place – Pacific Business News, I was impressed at many aspects of this publication. Some excellent work in writing, editing, design and overall packaging!”
Second Place – Metro, “I really enjoyed seeing this new publication. There’s some thoughtful design, writing and editing throughout. I can tell you’re having fun with the production and enjoyed getting a feel for the personalities of the staff on the masthead.”
VISITOR PUBLICATION EXCELLENCE UNDER 500,000 per/year
First Place – The Kahala by Morris Visitor Publications, “The Kahala really nailed some unique stories. I appreciate theme of interconnectedness and it flows throughout the issue.”
Second Place – Halekulani Living, “The spreads and images were stunning in this issue. It’s apparent that your visual and design staff members carefully plan where stories should go and how they should appear.”
VISITOR PUBLICATION EXCELLENCE OVER 500,000 per/year
First Place – Hawaii Magazine’s July/August 2014 issue, TJS: “Excellent theme, attractive cover and topics that pull the reader through the issue.”
Second Place – Hawaii Magazine’s October 2014 issue, “A great theme and attractive photos and layout.”
SPECIAL SECTION EXCELLENCE
First Place – MidWeek for its “tasty” piece done for Hawaii Foodbank that informed readers of Hunger Action Month in September. “You kept your readers and information presentation as a driver of this section, and it shows. The infographic on the second page was particularly nice.”
Second Place – Hawaii Tribune-Herald for “Celebrate Hula,” its guide for the 51st annual Merrie Monarch Festival, “It was a very close race for first place and there was a lot to like about this section. Design was clean and thoughtful, stories were well-written and editing was solid overall.”
TRADE MAGAZINE
First Place winner in the Trade Magazine category is Building Industry Magazine, “In the end, this came down to two publications — one with better design and one with more substantive writing (yours). It was a close competition, but substance won. Excellent work on your feature articles. Nice to see a business story focus on women!”
Second Place – Honolulu Shops from Honolulu Magazine of PacificBasin Communications, “You’ve mastered the art of the short story “charticle” — chart and article. It’s not an easy thing to do or write. I particularly enjoyed your smart design solutions.”
DIRECTORIES
First Place – Honolulu Magazine for its “2015 Private School Guide.” “Strong content that’s tremendously valuable to readers, easy to use, engaging design, a truly useful publication that is far more than an advertising vehicle.”
Second Place – Honolulu Magazine for its “2015 All-island Restaurant Guide.” “A mouth-wateringly beautiful publication chock-a-block full of valuable content ranging from restaurant-specific details to foodie features.”
GENERAL WEBSITE EXCELLENCE
First Place – HonoluluMagazine.com, “Well-organized. I appreciate the focus on lean navigation design — thanks for not trying to highlight every imaginable piece of content. Visually appealing.”
Second Place – WestHawaiiToday.com,“Good effort to expose high-interest content.”
ONLINE VIDEO
First Place – Hawaii Tribune-Herald for “Pahoa Village Road Residents Prepare to Evacuate.” “Good opening quote from the most animated of the subjects. B-roll well-matched to audio where possible.”
Second Place – Hawaii Tribune-Herald for “Man vs. Lava: Alfred Lee and His Berm.” “Good to see that the subject is taped speaking from different locations. His character comes across.”
ONLINE REPORTING
First Place – West Hawaii Today for Chelsea Jensen’s breaking news coverage of Martin Frank Booth, who was sentenced and to life in prison for the 2013 murder of Kona musician Robert Keawe Lopaka Ryder. “The reporter took the right approach by pushing preliminary info to the web. Story could have been enriched by video, additional photos and archive links, but rapid delivery of info is the starting point for what we do online.”
Second Place – Pacific Business, News for Duane Shimogawa’s exclusive story that investigated a billionaire Thai-Chinese businessman who bought Kauai’s Princeville Resort for $343 million. “Good to see that his piece came out of legwork on the beat.”
EXCELLENCE IN COVER DESIGN (Newsprint)
First Place – Hawaii Tribune-Herald. “This cover has all of the elements of good news and design — dominant art, attractive downpage art, hierarchy, attractive fonts and flow.”
Second Place – MidWeek for its publication that celebrated the 50th anniversary of Pagoda Hotel. “This creative piece draws the eye and uses graphics and colors in an effective way to intrigue the reader.”
EXCELLENCE IN COVER DESIGN (Coated Stock)
First Place – Hawaii Magazine for its July/August 2014 issue. “This issue combined theme, colors and fonts to give an overall consistent tone and aesthetic.”
Second Place – Honolulu Magazine for its December 2014 issue, “The Everything Guide to Coffee.” “This clean and classic design uses the right fonts, colors and arrangements to intrigue readers.”
EXCELLENCE IN ILLUSTRATION
First Place – Abstract Magazine for “Seed To Cup,” illustrations by artist Sergio Garzon of real-life visits to coffee spots around the island.
Second Place – Halekulani Living for “The Wonderful World of IZ.”
EDITORIAL CARTOON
First Place – MidWeek for “Statute of Limitations.”
Second Place – MidWeek for “Shell Game.”
EXCELLENCE IN DESIGN — NEWSPRINT
First Place – Hawaii Tribune-Herald for “Under the Surf.” “Kudos to the designer for keeping the typography simple, allowing the large photo to shine. The use of large, soft drop shadows on the type creates an artistic and beautiful “underwater” effect, and conveys the message of the article well. The placement of the column of text is perfect.”
Second Place – Hawaii Tribune Herald for “Celebrate Hula.” “The designer effectively combined a variety of images and information into a well- designed layout. The cover of the special section is especially eye-catching with its successful use of color and dramatic visuals.”
EXCELLENCE IN DESIGN — COATED STOCK
Firts Place – Hana Hou for “He‘e.” “This design is a winner for its less-is-more approach and understated elegance. The photography is so beautiful and simple that the layout doesn’t need any brightly-colored graphics or fussy typefaces that might clutter it up. The one additional graphic that the designer chose to use was pure genius — typesetting the word “he‘e” in suction-cup-like circles was a wonderfully creative decision.”
Second Place – Honolulu Magazine for “The Everything Guide to Coffee.” “The designer effectively combined a variety of images, illustration techniques and text into a beautiful layout. The textural quality of the coffee grounds, along with the coffee cup “rings” unify the layout and provide a nice theme throughout the piece. It can be very difficult to combine so many elements, including sidebars and copious amounts of text and information, and maintain an organized layout, but the designer did just that.”
VISITOR PUBLICATION PHOTOGRAPHY
First Place – Hawaii Magazine of PacificBasin Communications. “Impressive. The break in repetition of shapes is perfect. The side-lighting gives depth, and the color palette, all cool colors, really works to pull me into this image.”
Second Place goes to Trump Hookipa, by Oahu Publications. “A nice array of wide, tight and medium images that together make me hungry. Great use of color. Photos work well together with the story.”
ESSAY PHOTOGRAPHY
First Place – Trump Hookipa for “Rhythm of the Islands.” “You made beautiful use of the light. And the strength here — besides the story — is the variety of the images. Great colors. Great texture.”
Second Place winner is Mana for “Kealopiko.” “I love how you found a variety of camera angles here. The front image really pulled me in, and the images that showed interaction of people were also nice additions.”
SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY
First Place – MidWeek for “Pinto Baseball.” “You really can’t go wrong shooting photos of kids. In this case, I love the facial expressions and the intensity of the kids. Good exposure, great cropping.”
Second Place – West Hawaii Today. “Nice crop. The cropping makes this image. Nice facial expressions. Good color palette. This was an atypical sport to see coverage of.”
FEATURE PHOTOGRAPHY — NEWSPRINT
First Place – Hawaii Tribune-Herald for “Small Steps Toward Mars.” “I love this image. On the subject matter alone, you had the viewer’s interest. However, the interaction between these two people really gave it a human interest element. I also love the composition of the shot. I love the negative space, the fact that the barren landscape is featured. I just love this image.”
Second Place – Hawaii Tribune-Herald for “Slow-Motion Torture.” “Great image. Including the man in the shot really gives the viewer a sense of perspective to see how big the lava flow really is.”
FEATURE PHOTOGRAPHY — COATED STOCK
First Place – Hana Hou for “The Martian Chronicle.” “My favorite aspect of the series is the story it tells… These images turn these “astronauts” into people. The photography at this level has to be excellence. The storytelling and human interest really push this up to another level. Very well done.”
Second Place – Hawaii Magazine of PacificBasin Communications for “One Last Look: Diver.” “This image is just gorgeous. I love that the diver’s own legs form a leading line. I love the beautiful tint of the image. I love the fullness of the frame and that there’s not an inch that’s wasted. It’s a beautiful picture that I could see hanging on someone’s wall.”
SPOT NEWS PHOTOGRAPHY
First Place – Hawaii Tribune-Herald for “Wrath of Iselle.” TJS: “I just love the photo of the cleanup crew truck. I love the framing the curving trees provide. I love how the white truck contrasts, nicely, with the dark greenery. I love how the road forms a slight leading line. It’s a great photograph.”
Second Place – Hawaii Tribune-Herald for “Iselle’s Terrible Toll.” “I rarely (maybe never) have said this, but I really like the chaos on the shot. While the wires are also chaotic, they provide a nice framing and leading line aspect that really brings the photo together… Nicely done.”
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
First Place – Wailea Magazine of Morris Visitor Publications for “Earth and Water, Mountain and Motion.” “An interesting story concept, executed through carefully chosen words that create vivid images. The writer appreciates the subjects at a deep level and translates to a mass audience what makes the artists special and their work a reflection of place.”
Second Place – Honolulu Magazine for “Summer of Books,” which appeared in its June 2014 issue. “This is a refreshing local angle on the obligatory summer-reading booklist. It’s a well-conceived, well-crafted juxtaposition of authors, books and place.”
BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY REPORTING
First Place – Honolulu Magazine for “Empire of the Sun Noodle.” TJS: “Very fine writing, thorough coverage of the topic and outstanding presentation, especially with the multiple sidebars.”
Second Place – Building Industry for “Flying Eyes.” “This is perhaps the most complex topic and deeply researched, especially with its look at different sides of the issue, and yet, it never comes across as difficult to follow.”
SPORTS REPORTING
First Place – Honolulu Magazine for “Big Surf.” “Compelling story that gives significant insight into a mysterious area of interest to readers. Excellent writing, getting into the personal and professional lives of the sources. A joy to read!”
Second Place – Hana Hou for “The Aerialist.” “Very well-written feature. The writer weaves in and out of the story with the subject, creating a piece in which the reader feels as if they are on the journey of discovery.”
EDITORIAL COLUMN
First Place – Michael Keany’s “Afterthoughts” in Honolulu Magazine. “Three very different pieces show the versatility of the writer… Great reading!”
Second Place – Martha Cheng’s “Ono: Food and Dining,” from Honolulu Magazine. “Great job taking the typical food review to the next level — interviewing the owners and chefs, and telling their stories. Part feature journalism, part column — all entertaining!”
EDITORIAL OPINION
First Place – Pacific Business News for “Solving the Housing Crisis Needs To Be Top Priority.” “Very focused and with evidence of solid research. Especially impressive is the fact that this editorial includes many numbers and yet is not hard to follow.”
Second Place – For Kauai Magazine for “The Dream of Lasting Peace.” “Great passion and message. Much of the writing is strong.”
EDITORIAL SERIES
First Place – Hawaii Tribune-Herald for “Wrath of Iselle.” “This is fine journalism, the kind of service a community deserves when big news happens. Good fast-twitch reporting, followed by interesting explainers of the news about the science of storm paths and the vulnerability of albizia trees. Journalists stayed on the story as they tracked it through elections, schools, business and other aspects of readers’ lives.”
Second Place – Hawaii Tribune-Herald for “Lava Scars.” “The pace of the ongoing story allowed the journalists to conceive many coverage angles and they took advantage of the opportunity, all the while staying on top of news developments in print and online. Lots of useful information, anticipating what readers wanted to know… Compliments, too, for the photography and editing.”
EDITORIAL ENTERPRISE REPORTING
First Place – Pacific Business News for “Group 70’s Tahiti Nui.”
Second Place – West Hawaii Today for “Native Hawaiian Sovereignty.”
EDITORIAL FEATURE
First Place – Hana Hou for “A Star is Reborn.” “An excellent, in-depth look at Union Station… in Los Angeles. While some might be perplexed about how a feature on a California transportation hub can win an editorial feature prize in Hawaii, make no mistake — this is a terrific piece of writing, built on foundation of excellent reporting and researching. Outstanding work.”
Second Place – Honolulu Magazine for “The Everything Guide to Coffee.” TJS: “A fabulous in-depth package that included a fascinating inside look at the coffee scene and then added all kinds of other elements, including reviews and other sidebars. Well done.”
SPOT NEWS
First Place – West Hawaii Today for “Homeless Bill Heads Back To The Drawing Board.” TJS: “Great news writing — objective, balanced, etc. human touch to frame the story. So well done.”
Second Place – Hawaii Tribune-Herald for “We Can’t Keep on Desecrating.” TJS: “Outstanding story told so clearly. This fulfills the basic job of journalism: Make the complex understandable.”