Gazette reporters, publisher honored with IWPA, Apex Awards 

By William S. Bike 

Reporters Sheila Elliott, Miriam Cintron, and Vivian Malli and publisher Mark J. Valentino recently received honors for their work on the Gazette.

            Elliott was a two-time winner in the prestigious Illinois Woman's Press Association's (IWPA) Mate E. Palmer Communications Contest.

            The IWPA is the local affiliate of the National Federation of Press Women. The awards were presented at a May luncheon.

            Elliott won a first place award in the Special Article: History category for two Gazette articles. “One story dealt with a public art exhibit displayed in the former Goldblatt’s Building near Chicago and Ashland avenues, a site honored by the City of Chicago for its architectural and historic significance,” Elliott said. “Much of the artwork on display also had historical themes or subject matter. The other article described the delicate balance that can occur when an area of the city, in this case the old Motor Row business district on south Michigan Avenue, is already a designated preservation area but is also seeing a lot of interest in residential development.”

            In previous years, IWPA awards have been won by Gazette reporters Kim Beachum, Vivian Malli, Gail Mansfield, Anne Nordhaus-Bike, and Felicia Swanson.

            The IWPA originated in 1885 and is an organization of communications professionals.

Valentino was one of only eight finalists nationwide for the inaugural Maria Leavey Tribute Award by the Campaign for America’s Future of the Institute for America’s future, a national Washington, DC-based progressive activist organization.

            The award honors “an unsung hero of the progressive movement whose behind-the-scenes work and selfless service made a big contribution to social justice,” according to the institute.

            Valentino was chosen a finalist because the Gazette “brings together…people, from white to people of color, immigrants to gentrifiers, low-income to well-to do,” according to the institute.

            The winner was Ari Lipman, a community organizer from Boston.

            “Although I did not win, it was an honor to be chosen a finalist from among hundreds of nominees nationwide,” Valentino said. “Being nominated was a testament to the Gazette’s commitment to fighting for the underdog and to giving voice to all sides in issues affecting our communities.”

            Maria Leavey was a Washington-based progressive political activist and political consultant who died in 2006 at 52.

            In the Apex Awards competition run by Communications Concepts, a Virginia based journalism and writing think thank, the Gazette won three awards.

            Vivian Malli won an Award of Excellence in the News Writing category for articles she wrote in the Feb. 3 and March 3, 2006, issues of the Gazette about Care for All, a community outreach and patient advocate coalition sponsored by the Service Employees International Union. The articles detailed the group's efforts to get hospitals to follow Illinois law by providing free hospital care for the uninsured.

            "This honor would not have been possible without the editors' recommendation that I convert what was a mammoth article into a series of more reader-friendly stories," Malli said. "The Gazette gives its writers the unparalleled freedom to pursue community issues in-depth, and I'm very grateful that the editors entrusted me with valuable column space to deliver this information to readers."

            Miriam Cintron won an Award of Excellence in the Special Purpose Writing category for an article in the Oct. 6, 2006, Gazette about how local colleges are dealing with escalating suicide rates among young adults. The article's goal was to inform the public of this growing problem and what local colleges are doing about it.

"Receiving the Apex Award really is an honor, particularly for a story about such an important topic as college suicide," Cintron said. "It is important to get a college education, but it also can be a stressful time so people need to be aware of how students can be affected."

            Paired with Cintron's article was one by Mark Valentino on the suicide of a young Near West Side man, Vito Pesoli. The article's goal was to humanize the problem of young adult suicide by getting readers to know one suicide victim and his family.

            "I wanted to give people information on what to look for in a young person who may unfortunately be a candidate for suicide," Valentino said.

            The Gazette now has won 33 Apex Award since 1996.

            "With close to 5,000 entries, competition was exceptionally intense," said John De Lillis, a member of the Apex panel of judges.

            Apexes are international awards. Winners came from around the globe including Hong Kong, Japan, Canada, Singapore, and South Africa.