The Four Corners Free Press took four awards in the Society of Professional Journalists’ regional Top of the Rockies competition for 2018.
Zak Podmore of Utah received a firstplace award in politics enterprise reporting for his in-depth piece in the May 2018 issue on “The cost of war,” how legal battles were draining the coffers of San Juan County and threatening it with bankruptcy. Podmore has since revitalized the Canyon Echo online and is now set to work for the Salt Lake Tribune.
Carolyn Dunmire of Cahone, Colo., took first place in arts and entertainment food criticism for her “foodie” columns.
David Feela, a contributor to the opinion section since the newspaper began in 2003, took first place in personal/ humorous column writing for three of his pieces.
And Sonja Horoshko, a longtime contributor to the news and arts sections, placed third in political reporting for “Winds of change?” in the July 2018 issue, an article about changes to the makeup of the county commission in San Juan County, Utah.
The competition included print, online and broadcast media in four states – Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico. The Four Corners Free Press competes in the category for outlets with circulation of under 10,000.
