Boston Phoenix nominated for 10 awards by the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies

Tooting our own horn a bit today -- here's the press release we just sent to people who might give a shit. We should also mention that the judges for these awards included Ana Marie Cox and Markos "Daily Kos" Moulitsas, ProPublica's Tracy Weber, and Columbia's David Hajdu (of Positively4th Street fame), among others.

The Association of Alternative Newsweeklies (AAN) announced yesterday that the Boston Phoenix and thephoenix.com were finalists for 10 AAN awards, the most prestigious and coveted prizes in the alt-weekly field. The Phoenix led all large-circulation newspapers across the United States and Canada in nominations (the Nashville Scene, which secured 11 bids, competed in the small-circulation category). Ninety-one newspapers submitted more than 1,000 entries for the prestigious awards, which will be distributed at the AAN awards ceremony in Toronto next month.

The Phoenix and thephoenix.com, which are owned by the Phoenix Media/Communications Group, are finalists in the following categories:

• Arts criticism: Greg Cook
• Investigative reporting: “Soldiers Committing Suicide” & “Stress Test” by Jason Notte
• Feature story: “A Weed Grows in Boston” by Valerie Vande Panne
• Media reporting: “Don’t Quote Me” by Adam Reilly
• News story, long form: “Sarah, Inc.” by David S. Bernstein
• News story, short form: “Local Activists Crusade to Cut Circumcisions,” “Hacking Pact” & “Tapped Out” by Chris Faraone
• Blogs, individual: “Talking Politics” by David S. Bernstein
• Cartoon: “Failure” by Karl Stevens
• Cartoon: “Idiot Box” by Matt Bors
• Multimedia: “Independents Day” by Daniel Brockman, Michael Brodeur, Lance Gould, Matt Parish, & Ryan Stewart

Boston Phoenix Editor Lance Gould commented: "The Phoenix is truly honored to be considered for such prestigious awards. We feel these nominations recognize the hard work and dedicated drive of our staff, along with the creativity and insight required to produce interesting content every day.”

Phoenix Publisher and Chairman Stephen Mindich added: “I am extremely proud of our entire editorial staff for their outstanding efforts and their recognition by the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. The talent of our journalists is second to none.”

The Phoenix newspapers are nationally recognized for award-winning, incisive journalism, and comprehensive arts-and-entertainment coverage. Together with its Providence and Portland editions, it is one of the nation's largest alt-weekly enterprises. All three papers are owned by the Phoenix Media/Communications Group.