august best of the month

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August Best of the Month Congratulations to Steve Lackmeyer! Steve demonstrated his strength in collaboration in unique and frequent ways during August. First of all, he stepped up to cover the breaking news of Labor Commissioner Mike Costello's tragic death, working with reporters and editors from the local, features and copy desks to produce a complete and incisive report. He also collaborated with people all over OKC on Aug. 26, the day he declared he would write only good news stories about our city. He taped 15 videos that day with people all over town about good things that are happening here: nonprofits, locals with unique skills that make OKC a better place, and places that some of our readers may not be aware of. Finally, he collaborated with Brianna Bailey to unveil the sudden developments in the long-running saga of the First National Center. They detailed the imminent utility cutoffs, the departure of state agencies and the appearance of an 11th-hour bidder on the downtown property. For these reasons and many others, Don Mecoy nominated Steve Lackmeyer for the Best Overall award. The Oklahoma Publishing Company also named Steve Employee of the Month. Best Beat or Breaking News Story Nominee: Steve Lackmeyer Nominated by: Don Mecoy Steve was the person who stepped forward when it was time to 'scramble the jets' with an after-hours breaking story. Despite getting a late start, he compiled and updated a complete report on the slaying of Labor Commissioner Mark Costello. He augmented it with two periscope reports late Sunday and early Saturday. Kudos also to Nolan, Dave and Graham, and particularly to Nate Billings, who produced excellent photos of the suspect in the custody of police.

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Best of the Month winners for August, 2015.

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Page 1: August Best of the Month

August Best of the Month

Congratulations to Steve Lackmeyer!

Steve demonstrated his strength in collaboration in unique and frequent ways during August. First of all, he stepped up to cover the breaking news of Labor Commissioner Mike Costello's tragic death, working with reporters and editors from the local, features and copy desks to produce a complete and incisive report. He also collaborated with people all over OKC on Aug. 26, the day he declared he would write only good news stories about our city. He taped 15 videos that day with people all over town about good things that are happening here: nonprofits, locals with unique skills that make OKC a better place, and places that some of our readers may not be aware of. Finally, he collaborated with Brianna Bailey to unveil the sudden developments in the long-running saga of the First National Center. They detailed the imminent utility cutoffs, the departure of state agencies and the appearance of an 11th-hour bidder on the downtown property.

For these reasons and many others, Don Mecoy nominated Steve Lackmeyer for the Best Overall award. The Oklahoma Publishing Company also named Steve Employee of the Month.

Best Beat or Breaking News StoryNominee: Steve LackmeyerNominated by: Don Mecoy Steve was the person who stepped forward when it was time to 'scramble the jets' with an after-hours breaking story. Despite getting a late start, he compiled and updated a complete report on the slaying of Labor Commissioner Mark Costello. He augmented it with two periscope reports late Sunday and early Saturday. Kudos also to Nolan, Dave and Graham, and particularly to Nate Billings, who produced excellent photos of the suspect in the custody of police.http://www.oklahoman.com/article/5441972

Best Business Story or Business FeatureNominee: Paul MoniesNominated by: Don Mecoy Paul Monies examined how proposed EPA mandates are affecting Oklahoma's two major utilities. The main takeaway was that, although state officials are doing everything they can to block implementation of the new EPA standards, OG&E and PSO are well-positioned to be in compliance with the new rules. The issue is complex, but Paul demonstrated the depth of knowledge and coverage of the topic. It was a story that since has been duplicated by the Journal Record and Oklahoma Watch, though neither did it as well as Paul (even though they clearly had his story in front of them).http://www.oklahoman.com/article/5440478&headline=PONDERING%20THE%20POWER%20PLAN

Page 2: August Best of the Month

Best Sports Story From: Ryan AberNominee: Mike ShermanRyan broke the biggest story of the summer in Sports: Who would be the OU starting quarterback? And he did it by building relationships beyond the program, including with Baker Mayfield's family. http://newsok.com/article/5442030

Best Feature StoryFrom: Clytie BunyanNominee: Jaclyn CosgroveJaclyn did a great job explaining the issue of or absence of adequate mental health treatment accommodations at the Oklahoma County jail.

Best Specialty Feature From: Matt PriceNominee: Heather WarlickLike Lisa Patterson, thousands of Oklahomans live with the daily struggles that come with illiteracy. Heather did a great job capturing her story and providing a fantastic two-page package about this problem in Oklahoma. Reader Comments:

Bob Schauer -- Signal Hill, California This is a strong woman. It is hard for most of us to understand how someone can get along without reading for so many years. But it happens more often than I suspect anyone knows, because like Lisa, most non-readers try to hide that. Good for her to finally conquer that demon and move ahead in a positive way. I applaud her.

Oklahoma Department Of Libraries August 17 at 3:24pm -- Great article on the problem of adult illiteracy in our state, and the programs that are making a difference.

Best Project/Enterprise/In-Depth Story Nominee: Anthony Slater, Darnell MayberryNominated by: Mike ShermanAnthony and Darnell's five-part series on Billy Donovan told our readers everything they need to know about the Oklahoma City Thunder's new coach, from his childhood in Long Island through his back-to-back national championships in Florida. It was extensively reported, written and edited -- crafted in a way that would be engaging to hard-core and casual readers alike.Additional Comments: The package included an extensive photo gallery, videos with each segment and a podcast with Darnell, Anthony and Donovan.http://newsok.com/article/5437702http://newsok.com/article/5439078http://newsok.com/article/5440510http://newsok.com/article/5441839http://newsok.com/article/5443315

Best Watchdog StoryNominee: Rick GreenNominated by: Robby TrammellPage 1 -- Seizing control? Lawmen confiscate millions without criminal charges, but some want that to change (Green)

Page 3: August Best of the Month

http://archive.newsok.com/olive/apa/oklahoman/SharedView.Article.aspx?href=DOK%2F2015%2F08%2F29&id=Ar00108&sk=FFCAE461

Best Column/Opinion/First-Person StoryNominee: Steve LackmeyerNominated by: Don MecoyAfter covering the Mark Costello slaying and then seeing a TV crew gunned down, Steve launched a quest to find good things about our city. I know I felt better after watching many of his 15 live interviews on Periscope. Steve also produced a heartfelt column about good works in Oklahoma City. Steve's decision to go against the grain provided a timely reminder that good is all around us if we take the time to look.http://www.oklahoman.com/article/5442671&headline=Events%20prompt%20choosing%20good%20news%20over%20the%20bad%20headlines

Best Video Nominee: Tim MoneyNominated by: David MorrisTim Money took an assignment and turned it around in just two days, thinking it was a quick turn, while handling other assignments. Story was held for a few weeks. But Tim's initial edit nailed the story of the historic Diamond Ballroom. Great interview, fantastic use of sound to accompany the storyline and set the tone. Effective composition throughout. Visually striking shots, using vertical lines and spacing. Really well done edit. http://brightcove.vo.llnwd.net/e1/uds/pd/713285227/713285227_4420029536001_150814-DIAMOND-BALLROOM.mp4?pubId=713285227&videoId=4419937315001

Best HeadlineNominees: Felicia Murray & Amy RaymondNominated by: Tom Maupin HISTORY UNDER WRAPS Scientist hope CT scans of mummies help them unravel the life stories of two ancient Egyptian women -- -- Main headline by Felicia Murray, Deck headline by Amy Raymond Page 1a

Best PhotoNominee: Jim BeckelNominated by: Doug HokeAnna Marie Costello walked to the casket that holds her father, placed a yellow carnation on it and leaned over and laid her face on top of the casket to spend a moment alone with him and to say an emotion-filled good-bye to her dad. Mark Costello was killed in a knife attack Sunday night at a northwest Oklahoma City ice cream restaurant. Costello's body was in repose on the second floor rotunda of the state Capitol most of Thursday morning and afternoon, Aug. 27, 2015 Jim captured the emotion of the day in a respectful and compassionate way.

Page 4: August Best of the Month

Best Design/Illustration/GraphicNominees: Rob Backus, Steve Boaldin and Todd PendletonNominated by: Mike Sherman and Todd PendletonRob designed our College Football Preview section by himself, working with editors, reporters, illustrators, photographers to pull it all together. He made hundreds of good decisions about the content and made it an enjoyable experience in a trying time -- we were down a designer all summer. Todd and Steve created memorable illustrations that cleverly carried the theme throughout the section.

Page 5: August Best of the Month

Special Effort to Improve AccuracyNominee: Felicia MurrayNominated by: Yvette WalkerThis month, we focus on the importance of getting the basics right, such as names. Felicia caught two instances where names were either misspelled or the person was misidentified and this would have caused confusion for the reader. Felicia normally gets nominated for her headlines and design but it's important to note that as the page one editor, she copy edits all the page one stories, too. Her eagle eye is critical to our accuracy.

Special Recognition (all nominated by Robby Trammell except where noted)

The killing of labor Chief Mark Costello was an important event in Oklahoma City and beyond, and the staff stepped up to the task in covering this communitywide story.

Nominee: Schwab, Clay, Green, GrahamSlain CommissionerPlay – “Heartbreaking on so many levels;” Suspect in labor chief’s killing had been at odds with dad before (Clay/Graham) (8-25-15)http://archive.newsok.com/olive/apa/oklahoman/SharedView.Article.aspx?href=DOK%2F2015%2F08%2F25&id=Ar00101&sk=11F83D19

Nominee: Kyle Schwab Play – Investigation suggests attack on commissioner was planned; casket to be displayed Thursday at capitol for public viewing (Schwab) (8-27-15)http://archive.newsok.com/olive/apa/oklahoman/SharedView.Article.aspx?href=DOK%2F2015%2F08%2F27&id=Ar00100&sk=760B8EA2

Page 6: August Best of the Month

Nominee: Rick GreenCenterpiece – “He wanted to help people become productive in their own way;” slain labor commissioner leaves legacy of service (Green) (8-28-15)http://archive.newsok.com/olive/apa/oklahoman/SharedView.Article.aspx?href=DOK%2F2015%2F08%2F28&id=Ar00101&sk=8CD5C555

Nominee: Kyle Schwab Play – Slain labor chief’s widow requests protective orders (Schwab) (8-29-15)http://archive.newsok.com/olive/apa/oklahoman/SharedView.Article.aspx?href=DOK%2F2015%2F08%2F29&id=Ar00100&sk=A3904FE1

Nominee: Nolan ClayPage 1 – Suspect in labor chief’s killing said victim was in “cult,” mental health records show (Clay) (8-31-15)http://archive.newsok.com/olive/apa/oklahoman/SharedView.Article.aspx?href=DOK%2F2015%2F08%2F31&id=Ar00101&sk=2112374B

Nominee: Nate BillingsNominated by: Doug Hoke Oklahoma City police take photos of a handcuffed Christian Costello, son of Labor Commissioner Mark Costello, before returning him to the back of a police car as they work the scene at a Braum's restaurant on May and NW 112th St. where Mark Costello was fatally stabbed, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2015. Nate acted on his own when he found out about the murder and stayed on the scene filing photos, gathering video and getting photos out on social media and assisted Steve Lackmeyer with communications.

Page 7: August Best of the Month