Book Description

Best Newspaper Writing 2002 celebrates the winners of the ASNE Distinguished Writing Awards, including the Jesse Laventhol Prizes honoring deadline reporting, and featuring the Community Service Photojournalism Award on a companion CD-ROM. N.R. Kleinfeld of the New York Times reconstructed the morning of Sept. 11 with stories and stunning details. Jim Dwyer's short stories in the New York Times, resurrected from the smallest pieces of Sept. 11 debris, accomplish a feat that Dwyer himself describes in one of his poignant stories. The Wall Street Journal staff, amid a cloud of personal grief and national uncertainty, produced stories so stirring, encompassing, and complete that they remained relevant and vibrant long after Sept. 11. John McCormick, an editorial writer for the Chicago Tribune, displays amazing range -- from the contradictions of praying for peace amid war in Afghanistan, to a tribute to a murdered Chicago cop. Steve Lopez's storytelling always surprises, whether he's chronicling the unfolding tragedy of Sept. 11, or knocking back a six-pack of beer and a dozen doughnuts in the name of journalistic inquiry. Anne Hull of the Washington Post explores the gentrification of a neighborhood and the aftershocks of Sept. 11. Ellen Barry of the Boston Globe writes of the "Lost Boys" of Sudan, and their odyssey from African cattle herders to urban teens. J. Albert Diaz of the Miami, Herald captures the elusive concept of the American Dream.