Published: April 02, 2007 08:05 pm      

Jacksonville Daily Progress wins three APME awards

By Jim Goodson

editor@

jacksonvilleprogress.com



SAN ANTONIO – The Jacksonville Daily Progress won three awards at the Associated Press Managing Editor’s conference that concluded Sunday.

Former assistant editor April Barbe won first place in Texas in the Freedom of Information division, which recognizes newspapers that effectively utilized the FOI act in 2006.

Barbe’s relentless coverage of problems within the Jacksonville Police Department was recognized by judges for its commitment to basic journalistic responsibilities.

“I’m very thrilled to win a first place award, but I always felt I was just doing my job for the people of Jacksonville. They had a right to know what was going on in the police department they funded,” Barbe said.

Many of the problems Barbe’s stories detailed were verified when former Dallas Police Chief William Rathburn, who also headed security for the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, was asked to conduct an internal investigation of the department, leading to the resignation of former Jacksonville Police Chief Mark Johnson.

Barbe also covered the department’s investigation of ex-Jacksonville police officer Larry Pugh, 34, who was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison after pleading guilty on Sept. 28, 2006, to forcing two women to have sex with him while on duty.

During Barbe’s coverage of the department, officers were told not to cooperate with the Jacksonville Daily Progress assistant editor, forcing her to utilize the FOI Act.

“The Freedom of Information Act is available to any citizen,” Barbe pointed out after receiving the award.

Former Jacksonville Daily Progress Editor Samantha Swindler won two awards for her work in 2006. She won a second place award in the general column writing category and an honorable mention award in the headline writing category.

Pier Pressure was one of Swindler’s winning headlines, which appeared above a story about Lake Jacksonville residents’ efforts to control hydrilla at Lake Jacksonville. Swindler’s winning columns will be reprinted in upcoming editions this week.

Other CNHI newspapers in our area also won APME awards. The Greenville Herald Banner was named newspaper of the year in the Class A category, Corsicana Daily Sun editor Raymond Linex II won a first place award in the features category and Athens Daily Review sports editor Benny Rogers won an honorable mention award in the sports column writing category.

The Greenville Herald Banner was recognized for its hard-hitting local editorials when it finished first in the editorial writing category.

The TCU Daily Skiff won second place in the college and university newspaper division. Jacksonville Daily Progress editor Jim Goodson’s daughter Emily Goodson was news editor of the TCU paper in 2006