Denver Post staff members won nine Best of the West awards in the annual journalism contest, including five first-place honors.
The awards are administrated by First Amendment Funding Inc., an Arizona nonprofit, and draw about 2,000 entries from 13 states — from the Rockies west to Alaska and Hawaii.
The Post won:
First place in the general reporting category for “Sketchy Evidence” by Miles Moffeit about the Tim Masters case.
First place in project reporting for “Dying to Testify” by David Olinger about problems with protecting witnesses.
First place in feature photography for “Lightning,” by R.J. Sangosti, a photo of lightning and an old church.
First place in editorial cartooning for a portfolio of work from Mike Keefe.
First place in multimedia storytelling for “Trashing the Truth,” an online package supporting a project about how evidence in criminal cases can be destroyed or lost.
Second place in spot news for “Church Shooting,” staff coverage of the December shootings at Faith Bible Chapel in Arvada and New Life Church in Colorado Springs.
Second place in explanatory reporting for “Lawless Land” by Michael Riley, about crime on American Indian reservations.
Second place in feature photography for “Shave” by Cyrus McCrimmon, a photo of a woman shaving her head for breast-cancer awareness.
Second place in video storytelling for “Sketchy Evidence: The Tim Masters Story,” by Meghan Lyden, Helen Richardson and Mike McPhee.
The Rocky Mountain News received two awards, and The Gazette of Colorado Springs received two awards.
