The Star’s print and digital sports coverage wins fourth straight APSE ‘Triple Crown’
The Kansas City Star’s sports department has been honored as a “Triple Crown” winner among large-circulation news organizations for the fourth consecutive year following judging by the Associated Press Sports Editors this week in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
The Triple Crown honor consists of three of four top 10 finishes in daily, Sunday and special print section and website judging. The Star’s sports website plus Sports Daily’s Sunday print sections and Football 2014 print special section were honored among the nation’s top 10, while its daily print sections received honorable mention, or top 15 recognition, in the contest’s highest circulation category for 2014.
In the Category A writing contest, Andy McCullough, The Star’s Royals reporter, placed in the top 10 for beat writing with a five-story portfolio that consisted of his game story off the team’s World Series-clinching victory, a feature on outfielder Lorenzo Cain, news coverage of the baseball trade deadline, an exclusive on why James Shields missed a start during the American League Championship Series and a story on players becoming obsessed with the video game “Clash of Clans” while the team struggled. The final voting will be released at a later date.
Kellis Robinett of The Wichita Eagle, who also covers Kansas State sports for The Star, placed in the top 10 for breaking news in Category C for a story that revealed the Wildcats were about to announce $50 million in football stadium upgrades.
In Category A, the Boston Globe won “Grand Slam” honors for earning top 10s in all three print categories and website, while the Chicago Tribune, Denver Post, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Washington Post and Seattle Times joined The Star in receiving Triple Crown honors.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, competing in Category B, and the Lawrence Journal-World, in Category D, also won Triple Crowns with top 10 finishes in all three print categories.
Sports Daily has placed in the top 10 of at least two of APSE’s three print section categories in the contest’s highest circulation category every year since 1999, including 16 consecutive special section top 10s. The Star also has won eight Triple Crowns since 2003 and in seven of the last nine years, including the Grand Slam in 2012. Members of The Star’s sports department have won 53 APSE top 10 writing awards since 1999.
This story was originally published February 11, 2015 at 3:29 PM with the headline "The Star’s print and digital sports coverage wins fourth straight APSE ‘Triple Crown’."