El Mensajero Católico recently received eight awards from the Catholic Press Association for work published during 2010.
The CPA, which represents more than 600 Catholic publications in the United States and Canada, presented the awards June 24 during its annual convention in Pittsburgh.
El Mensajero won the following awards:
General Excellence: El Mensajero won first place.
"El Mensajero Católico, year after year, has interesting content, the time and very well written," the judges wrote.
Individual Excellence, Writer/Editor: Staff Writer Annette Jiménez won first place for a portfolio of her work.
"Excellent," the judges wrote. "Always a pleasure to read. Reporter puts a lot of effort into finding the right people to interview."
Best News Writing, National/International Event: Jiménez won first place for her series of articles on immigration.
"Complete, clear," the judges wrote. "Although it’s about a subject I know well, I learned more."
Best News Writing, National/International Event: Jiménez also won second place in this category for her story on Latinos’ participation in the U.S. Census, "Urgen que cuenten a los latino" ("Hispanics urged to stand up and be counted"), published in February 2010.
"Explains the importance of the census to the community," the judges wrote.
Best In-Depth Analysis: Jiménez won first place for a July 2010 series of stories about programs that help youths, "Iniciativa ayuda a los jóvenes con problemas de salud mental" ("Initiative helps youths with mental-health issues") and "Mentor transforma la vida de antiguo pandillero" (Mentor transformed life of former gang member").
"Annette Jiménez has the gift of storytelling — leading the reader without affectation," the judges wrote.
Best In-Depth Analysis: Jiménez also won second place in this category for her October and November 2010 stories on hunger, "Programa combate el hambre entre los niños" (Programs seek to combat childhood hunger") and "Grupo ayuda a los hambrientos ("Group helps the hungry").
"From the beginning of the article until the end, the writer explains everything with clarity and tenderness toward the people she interviews," the judges said.
Best Feature Story: Jiménez’s November 2010 story on drug addiction, "Programas ayudan a vencer las adicciones" ("Programs help Latinos overcome substance abuse") won second place.
"It’s uncommon to see so honest an article in the Spanish-language Catholic newspapers," the judges wrote. "Well done."
Best Lead Article: Jiménez won third place for August 2010’s "Crean programas de aprender inglés" ("Opportunities created for English-language learners").
"El Mensajero Católico’s article on learning English is an issue that is not only interesting but important," the judges wrote.
