By Staff
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
From left: Carolyn Bick, Jason Cruz, Arlene Kiyomi Dennistoun, Janice Nesamani, and Jessica Kai Curry
The Northwest Asian Weekly (NWAW) won 11 awards at the annual Washington Newspaper Publishers Association (WNPA) 2018 Better Newspaper Contest. WNPA representatives announced winners during the annual convention awards dinner in Yakima on Oct. 12.
Carolyn Bick was awarded second place for “News Writer of the Year” for her writing on politics, immigrant rights and social justices issues, and Asian American health concerns.
“We won big this year,” said Assunta Ng, publisher of the Northwest Asian Weekly. She said this is the first time in two decades that NWAW has won in the News Writer of the Year category. “How proud we are for this milestone!” Ng said.
The judges commented that Bick “handles hard news and background topics with equal skill … demonstrates a good nose for news that is relevant to the community she covers, while maintaining a good balance.” Bick also won third place for Business Feature Story.
Stacy Nguyen left) and Ruth Bayang
Editor Ruth Bayang and Stacy Nguyen took first place in the Comprehensive Coverage, Multiple Writers category, for their coverage on the Navigation Center controversy. Nguyen also won first place in the Special Section Covers category for her front page design on a Lunar New Year issue. Ng called Nguyen’s win inspiring.
First place in the Special Section Covers category for front page design on a Lunar New Year issue by Stacy Nguyen
“Self-taught in graphics, [Stacy] volunteers to create graphics for Northwest Asian Weekly from time to time. Like many, she believes in giving back to the community.”
Bayang also won third place in the Editorial category.
Jason Cruz and Arlene Kiyomi Dennistoun won two awards each. Cruz garnered first place in Government Story and third place in Sports Feature Story, and Kiyomi Dennistoun took second place for Social Issue Story and third place for Education Story.
Janice Nesamani won first place in the Lifestyle Feature Story category, and Jessica Kai Curry won second place in the Story on the Arts category.
“As a small ethnic community publication, we don’t pay what our writers deserve. It’s a labor of love,” said Ng.
The annual contest is a chance for nondaily papers across Washington state to compete in a variety of writing, photography, editorial content, advertising, and design categories. The contest covered works published between April 2017 and March 2018. NWAW competed against other newspapers with circulations between 5,001 and 12,500. However, the “News Writer of the Year” award won by Bick was across circulations of all sizes.
“Lots of hard work goes into each issue. A big ‘thank you’ to editor Ruth Bayang’s professional editing and Han Bui’s gorgeous layouts,” said Ng.
WNPA represents about 100 community newspapers in Washington state. It is the successor to the Washington Press Association, which was founded in 1887 by newspapers in Dayton, Ellensburg, Seattle, Tacoma, Yakima, and Walla Walla.
Staff can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.