Ron Martz of the Journal-Constitution was named Best Writer for his Iraq war coverage as he followed the soldiers of Charlie Company from Fort Stewart, Georgia. He also was selected the winner in the Deadline Writing category of the Metro Division.

Judges said, "His work harkened back to old-time war reporting when journalists were in the trenches or in the jungles. Ron put us on the ground with the rank and file soldier. This was their war and Ron gave readers a window into their world."

Journal-Constitution journalists took first place awards in nearly all newsroom disciplines, including Feature Writing, Business Reporting, Headline Writing, Graphics and Illustrations.

Jay Bookman’s first place in Column Writing was the second in that category won by the deputy editorial page editor of the Journal-Constitution. He has also won four times for Editorial Writing.

And Journal-Constitution food and dining critic John Kessler garnered his third first place in a row in the Criticism category.

Greg Lovett of the Palm Beach Post was selected Best Photographer, continuing a Post tradition in the top photography category. It is the 12th time in 15 years of competition that a Post employee has captured Best Photographer honors in Best of Cox.

Lovett also won in the News Photography and Feature Photography categories in the Metro Division.

The Post also was awarded one of the top prizes on the print side of the competition. The paper’s 32-page series "Modern-Day Slavery" was awarded the Gov. James M. Cox Public Service Award for Metro newspapers, for exposing abuses, fraud and lack of oversight in the world of migrant workers.

In the Community Division the public service award went to the Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel for its investigation into one of the principals who proposed building a speedway in Nacogdoches. The paper revealed that the race track official’s checkered past included larceny, forgery and bankruptcy.

The Nacogdoches paper also won the investigative reporting category for exposing the elevated levels of arsenic in county roads that use locally mined glauconitic clay.

The Dayton Daily News took first place in investigative reporting among Metro Division papers for its investigation into the hazards facing Peace Corps workers who are placed in dangerous places around the world.

For the first time, this year’s competition included a category for Most Improved Web Site. The Austin American-Statesman won that award in the Metro Division. The Waco Tribune-Herald won in the Community Division.

Non-daily Cox newspapers also competed against each other for the first time in the Best of Cox competition. A single general excellence prize was awarded in three divisions based on circulation size. The winners were: Pulse-Journal (Mason, Ohio), The Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Texas), and Westlake Picayune (Westlake Hills, Texas).

This year’s Best of Cox judges were:
Pegie Stark Adam, University of South Florida St. Petersburg; Hunter Bretzius, Havelock (N.C.) News; Jon K. Broadbooks, Hattiesburg (Miss.) American; Cheryl Carpenter, Charlotte Observer; Jahi Chikwendiu, Washington Post; David Green, The (Nashville) Tennessean; Tonnya Kennedy, The (Columbia, S.C.) State; Steve Meadows, The Clayton (Ga.) Tribune; Christine Montgomery, St. Petersburg Times; Mi-Ai Parrish, The (Minneapolis) Star Tribune; Bruce Potter, Media General, Inc.; Marta Salij, Detroit Free Press; Jeanie Adams-Smith, Western Kentucky University; Mizell Stewart III, Tallahassee Democrat; Juan Thomassie, USATODAY.com; and Warren Watson, American Press Institute.

There were 547 entries, two more than last year’s 545.

The contest was for work by Cox Newspapers Inc. journalists in calendar 2003. Cox Newspapers are located in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas.

For purposes of the contest, the Metro Division consists of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Austin American-Statesman, Dayton Daily News, Palm Beach Post and the Cox Washington Bureau.

The Community Division is comprised of the Elizabeth City Daily Advance; Grand Junction Daily Sentinel; Greenville Daily Reflector; Hamilton JournalNews; Longview News-Journal; Lufkin Daily News; Marshall News Messenger; Middletown Journal; Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel; Palm Beach Daily News; Rocky Mount Telegram; Springfield News-Sun; and Waco Tribune-Herald.

The Non-Daily newspapers are divided into three divisions and include:

Division 1 -- Florida Pennysaver, Pulse-Journal News (Mason, Ohio), Western Star (Lebanon, Ohio), Fairfield Echo (Fairfield, Ohio), The Nickel (Grand Junction, Colo.), Telegram Advantage (Rocky Mount, N.C.), and The Duplin Times (Kenansville, N.C.)

Division 2 -- North Lake Travis Log (Lago Vista, Texas), The Chowan Herald (Edenton, N.C.), The Enterprise (Williamston, N.C.), The Oxford Press (Oxford, Ohio), The Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Texas), The Beaufort-Hyde News (Bellhaven, N.C.), and The Bertie Ledger-Advance (Windsor, N.C.)

Division 3 -- Lake Travis View (Lake Travis, Texas), Westlake Picayune, (Westlake Hills, Texas), The Standard Laconic (Snow Hill, N.C.), The Smithville Times (Smithville, Texas); The Pflugerville Pflag (Pflugerville, Texas), The Times-Leader (Ayden-Grifton, N.C.), Farmville Enterprise (Farmville, N.C.), Perquimans Weekly, (Elizabeth City, N.C.), The Weekly Herald, (Robersonville, N.C.)

A $1,000 prize is awarded in each category.

The Best of Cox Awards began in 1988, had a two-year hiatus in 1991-92, and resumed in 1993.

Michael Schwartz is Best of Cox coordinator. Paul Cox is Best of Cox associate. Patty Dontje has guided the contest since its inception as Best of Cox assistant.