Star-Telegram wins Community Service award for Las Vegas Trail project
Jeff Caplan's deep look into the crime-ridden Las Vegas Trail neighborhood in west Fort Worth led the Star-Telegram to a first place award for Community Service among the state’s largest newspapers in the annual Texas APME contest.
The award, announced Sunday in Corpus Christi, was the second first place awarded to the Star-Telegram, the other going to Emmy-winning videographer Jared Christopher for his “Titletown,TX” video series. Christopher placed first and third in the category for videos longer than two minutes.
The Star-Telegram competes in the Class 4A category, with the Austin American-Statesman, Dallas Morning News, Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News.
Caplan won a total of five awards, including second place in the inaugural Celeste Williams Star Sportswriter of the Year category, which is named after the Star-Telegram sports editor who died last year. Williams was a longtime board member of the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors.
Other awards won by the Star-Telegram include:
Star Online Package of the Year: Child Abuse project, 3rd place (Deanna Boyd, Jeff Caplan, Diane Smith, Lee Williams, Mitch Mitchell, Jared Christopher, Mark Hoffer and Michael Currie)
Feature writing: Deanna Boyd, 2nd place; Jeff Caplan, 3rd place.
Short feature writing: Lee Williams, 3rd place.
Deadline writing: Anna Tinsley, 3rd place.
Online Newspaper of the Year: Staff, 3rd place.
Infographic: Mark Hoffer, honorable mention.
News photography: Rodger Mallison, honorable mention.
Sports feature writing: Jeff Caplan, honorable mention.
Specialty reporting: Deanna Boyd, honorable mention.
Headline writing: Staff, 3rd place.
The Las Vegas Trail coverage was part of a Child Abuse project that last week was awarded a high impact Showcase Silver Award by the Headliners Foundation of Texas. Judges noted that the "Star-Telegram sounded the alarm for needed change, which quickly began coming to the area through police surveillance, donations, and community building."
This story was originally published April 15, 2018 at 8:18 PM with the headline "Star-Telegram wins Community Service award for Las Vegas Trail project."