Hommans, Southworth honored by Alaska Press Club

VICTORIA BARBER

May 02, 2008 at 10:13AM AKST

Two Unalaska reporters won top honors at the Alaska Press Club awards banquet in Anchorage on Saturday, April 19.

Monica Southworth’s and Charles Homans’ work was evaluated by journalists from across Alaska and the nation. Altogether the two took home six awards, five of which were first-place finishes.

Southworth’s article, "Camp Qunguyaax passes the Aleut flame," won the first prize for the best use of story and photos by a journalist for a small newspaper. Southworth wrote the story about the Aleutian cultural camp last summer while working as a staff writer for the Dutch Harbor Fisherman.

"I’ve never had any interaction with the press club, so I didn’t know how much about about how good a chance I had," said Southworth, who is currently a completing her undergraduate studies at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. "I was really surprised and excited and proud of myself."

Judge Doug Parker, photo editor at the New Orleans Times Picayne, said of the piece that a "nice variety of well-displayed images helps form a complete package ... clearly the leader of the pack and a unanimous vote by judges."

Homans, news director for Unalaska Community Broadcast radio station KIAL, swept the awards for the radio division. Homans won first for best breaking news story, best feature story, best environmental reporting and best arts reporting and won second place for best profile.

Homans’ best feature story, "End of an era in Unalaska," was about the closing of Latitudes, n'e9e the Elbow Room, a famous and notorious bar in Unalaska. The press club played the piece at the awards banquet.

"Nothing else comes close. Wonderful writing, terrific use of sound, well structured, a wonderful ear for details, marvelous storytelling," said judge Karen Michel, NPR contributor and Peabody award winner. "If only all radio sounded this good!"

Renowned NPR journalist and former Alaska resident Cory Flintoff chose one of Homans pieces, "Fire on the Stellar Sea," as the best breaking news story on the radio in 2007.

Flintoff remarked that beyond the initial drama of a processor boat fire, Homans "went further, and got an analyst to reflect on what the temporary loss of the processor could mean for local fisherman. The story was well-delivered, well-reported, nicely produced, written and delivered."

Reached while on vacation in Minnesota, Homans said that finding good stories in Unalaska is "like shooting fish in a barrel."

"I feel privileged to have had a lot of interesting subject matter pretty much to myself," said Homans, who is leaving Unalaska this June after two years at KIAL. "I think Unalaska comes across pretty well on the radio, and as far as a story goes fisherman are inherently more interesting than cruise ship passengers."

Victoria Barber can be reached at (907) 348-2424 or toll free at (800) 770-9830, ext. 424.