The Hawaii Catholic Herald was mentioned eight times at the Catholic Media Conference awards ceremony June 20 in Charlotte, N.C., for two first-place honors, two second places and four honorable mentions.
The Hawaii Catholic Herald picked up a first place in the “best coverage of local politics” category for its news stories, commentary and photos on the legalization of same-sex marriage in Hawaii.
“Outstanding pictures and stories,” the judges said.
Coming in second and third in that category were the newspapers for the archdioceses of Boston and San Francisco.
The Herald’s Manaolana section won first place for “best reporting on a special age group —young adults.” Taking second and third were the Catholic Register of Toronto and The Criterion of Indianapolis.
“If you want to get to young people, you have to go where they are. Manaolana does this extremely well,” the judges said, praising its content and its “lively look and layout.”
Hawaii Catholic Herald writer Kathleen T. Choi took second place for “best spiritual life column” in a Catholic newspaper for her “In little ways” column.
The judges commented on her “nice, personal, well-focused” commentary, her “comfortable style of writing, conversational but not cliched” and admired its “freshness.”
Herald reporter and photographer Darlene Dela Cruz won three honorable mentions, one for “Conversion stories,” her articles and photos of catechumens preparing for baptism at the Easter Vigil; another for “Journeying through Advent with Mary,” her feature on Marian devotions leading up to Christmas; and the third for “Making hoop history: St. Francis boys division II champs” in the best sports news story category.
“Beautifully done,” the judges wrote of Dela Cruz’s “Conversion stories.” “Strong photos and interesting stories. Well-written.”
The Hawaii Catholic Herald also won a second place and an honorable mention for headline writing.
The annual conference is for members of the Catholic Press Association of the U.S. and Canada and the Catholic Academy of Communication Professionals.
