Blatantly Self-Congratulatory Blog Post Alert!

We try to be modest, but sometimes we just gotta toot our own horns. And that’s OK. Or at least it’s inevitable. Anyway, the point is, the Oregon and Washington Society of Professional Journalists held their annual awards banquet on Saturday, and we picked up a handful of awards, including two first-place nods for arts coverage. The honored stories are linked below.

In the category for non-daily print publications with a circulation greater than 8,000:

Third place, environmental reporting
“One Good Tern Deserves an Island” by Camilla Mortensen

Second place, consumer, food, lifestyle, home
“Much More Than a Mimosa” by Molly Templeton.
(This one’s a PDF of the entire Uncorked issue â€” sorry! Some scrolling is required.)

First place, arts and criticism
“Forging Ahead” by Jason Blair

Second place, arts and criticism
“Operation Sharing Their Truth” by Suzi Steffen

In the category for alternative newsweeklies in region 10:

Second place, government
â€œBlind Oversightâ€ by Alan Pittman

Second place, consumer/environmental affairs
“One Good Tern Deserves an Island” by Camilla Mortensen

First place, arts
â€œBuddhist Visionsâ€ by Suzi Steffen

Third place, special sections
â€œWater Dayâ€ by EW staff, edited by Suzi Steffen

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.

None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!