DEARBORN, Mich., April 26 /PRNewswire/ -- The Detroit Press Club Foundation (DPCF) presented its 2007 Wheel Awards for excellence in automotive in journalism at the Automotive Hall of Fame this evening.
The top honor, the Golden Wheel Award, went to reporter Ron French of The Detroit News for his series "The General and The Beast" on health care costs at General Motors Corp.
According to the judges at the Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University, led by Senior Assistant Dean Richard Roth, "This exhaustive examination of health care systems not only showed us GM's prodigious problems, but also the problems -- including nothing less than world economic competitiveness -- that all the rest of us in the United States face or could face . . . This series, in a word, is terrific. It should be required reading for anyone running for president."
The series also won first place in the "Newspaper News Story or Subject- Related Series" category. Earlier this year, it won first place in the "Newspaper Reporting" category in the Michigan Excellence in Journalism Competition, also sponsored by the DPCF.
Other Wheel Awards winners were:
NEWSPAPER - News Story or Subject-Related Series
Second place: Bill Vlasic, Brett Clanton, Louis Aguilar, Josee Valcourt, Bryce G. Hoffman and David Shepardson, The Detroit News, for "UAW: Can It Survive?"
Third place: Jennifer Dixon, Detroit Free Press, for "How GM Juggled Millions"
Honorable Mention: The Detroit News staff for "The Road Ahead"
NEWSPAPER - Editorial or Column
First place: Daniel Howes, The Detroit News, for "Thursdays with Alan"
Second place: Tom Walsh, Detroit Free Press, for "What has Mulally gotten himself into?"
NEWSPAPER - Product Review
First place: Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press, for "Passable Passat"
Second place: Tony Swan, Detroit Free Press, for "Chevrolet Trailblazer SS"
WIRE/NEWS SERVICE - News Story or Subject-Related Series
First place: Jeff Green, Bloomberg News, for "GM Plans Gas-Electric Car to Rival Toyota, People Say"
Second place: Bill Koenig and John Lippert, Bloomberg News, for "Ford Motor May Miss Its 2008 Profit Goal, People Say"
Third place: Jeff Green and Alan Katz, Bloomberg News, for "Detroit's Loss Is China, Slovakia's Gain as Auto Jobs Move East."
WIRE/NEWS SERVICE - Photojournalism
First place: Alan Weller, Bloomberg News, for "Workers Share"
Second place: Daniel Acker, Bloomberg News, for "Katrina Insurers"
Third place: Seokyong Lee, Bloomberg News, for "Hyundai Asan Plant"
GENERAL INTEREST MAGAZINE - News Story or Subject-Related Series
First place: Michael Smith and David Voreacos, Bloomberg News, "The Secret World of Modern Slavery."
Second place: Robert Sherefkin, Automotive News, for "When Chips Were Down."
Third place: Alex Taylor III, Fortune, for "A Tale of Two Factories."
Honorable Mention: Keith Naughton, Newsweek, for "The Long and Grinding Road"
Honorable Mention: Kevin Wilson, Phil Berardelli, Kenneth Zuber, Marquita Bedway, Bob Gritzinger, Larry Edsall and Eric Adams, AutoWeek, for "Back to School - Teenage Driving"
GENERAL INTEREST MAGAZINE - Editorial or Column
First place: Carol J. Loomis, Fortune, for "The Tragedy of General Motors"
Second place: Alex Taylor III, Fortune, for "How Toyota Does It: The Birth of the Prius"
Third place: Peter Brown, Automotive News, for "GM Already Knows Everything"
GENERAL INTEREST MAGAZINE - Product Review
First place: Angus MacKenzie, Motor Trend, for "Thunder Road"
Second place: Natalie Neff, Autoweek, for "No Fly Zone"
Third place: Bill Visnic, Ward's Automotive, for "'M' is for Muscle"
INTERNET - News Story or Related Series
First place: Eric Mayne, WardsAuto.com, for "Absenteeism: Auto Industry's Dirty Little Secret"
Second place: Philip Reed, Edmunds.com, for "Torch My Ride: Arson for Hire"
Third place: Eric Mayne, WardsAuto.com, for "Chrysler Vehicle Stocks Higher Than Reported"
INTERNET - Editorial or Column
First place: Michelle Krebs, Edmunds.com, for "Inside Line: Perception is Reality"
Second place: Alisa Priddle, WardsAuto.com, for "Chung Arguments Don't Add Up"
Third place: Barbara McClellan, WardsAuto.com, for "Ford Exec Complains Media Needs New Attitude."
INTERNET - Product Review
First place: Chris Walton, Edmunds.com, for "Inside Line: V6 Family Sedan Comparison Test"
Second place: Mike Sutton, WardsAuto.com, for "Audi S8 Flies Below Radar"
Third place: Eric Mayne, WardsAuto.com, for "Chrysler Sebring: Another Scrappy new Domestic Midsize Sedan"
INTERNET - Photojournalism
First place: Josh Jacquot, Edmunds.com, for "Inside Line: Follow-Up Test: Jaguar XK Convertible"
Second place: Scott Jacobs, Edmunds.com, for "Inside Line: Follow-Up Test: 911 Carrera Cabriolet"
Third place: Scott Jacobs, Edmunds.com, for "Follow-Up Test: 2007 Hummer H2 SUT"
TELEVISION - News Story or Subject-Related Series
First place: Roderick Meloni, WDIV TV 4, for "Ford's Way Forward - Mexico"
Second place: Jeff McAtee and Dave Baier, WWMT TV 3, for "The Next Invasion"
TELEVISION - News Programming or Documentary
First place: Karin Annus, Ramona Duoba, Carol Massar, Bloomberg Television, for "The Ethanol Fix: Breaking America's Addiction to Oil"
Second place: Fred Martino, Kevan Chapman and Deb Kirk, WGVU TV 35/52, for "High Gear 2006"
RADIO - News Story or Subject-Related Series
First place: Jeff Gilbert, WWJ AM 950, for "The Auto Industry in Transition"
RADIO - Product Review
First place: Jeff Gilbert, WWJ AM 950, for "Car Chronicles Test Drive"
RADIO - News Programming or Documentary
First place: Jeff Gilbert, WWJ AM 950, for "The White House Automotive Summit"
For a complete list of honorees and judges' comments, visit the Wheel Awards Web site at www.wheelawards.com.
The International Wheel Awards are managed by the Individual Communicators Network (ICN), a broadly based, not-for-profit collaboration of individual communications professionals.
The DETROIT PRESS CLUB FOUNDATION is a 41-year-old, not-for-profit organization, whose charter is to promote excellence in journalism.
The AUTOMOTIVE HALL OF FAME is the only industry-wide means to honor the women and men of the global motor vehicle and related industries. It is dedicated to preserving the history of mobility by celebrating the creativity, toil and genius of the individual. The Automotive Hall of Fame is a visitor attraction and an educational resource for inspiring others to higher levels of achievement in their own work and lives. www.automotivehalloffame.org
The INDIVIDUAL COMMUNICATORS NETWORK (ICN), a not-for-profit corporation chartered by the State of Michigan, offers public relations and other communication services through Network members. ICN also presents enlightening forums that focus attention on key issues. ICN membership comprises individual communications professionals. www.icnpr.net
Detroit Press Club Foundation