Hawaii’s journalism community celebrated some of the best work produced last year at the annual Excellence in Journalism Awards dinner Friday, with reporter William Cole winning seven first place awards, including the top public service category.

Judges said Cole’s articles on the battle of Wanat in Afghanistan, produced last year for The Honolulu Advertiser, were "an excellent job of making a faraway war real, emotional and accessible."

Cole’s articles, titled "Bad Blood: The Ambush of Chosen Company in Afghanistan," detailed Army command failures before a battle near the Pakistan border which killed nine U.S. soldiers, including Aiea resident Jonathan Brostrom, a 1st lieutenant with the 1734d Airborne Brigade Combat Team.

Cole now works as a reporter for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

The Honolulu Advertiser won the most awards of any news organization with 16 first-place awards. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin took home five first-place awards and Hana Hou! magazine won four awards. MidWeek won two first-place honors.

Former KHNL news reporter Leland Kim won the public service award for television news for "Tracking H1N1," stories on swine flu in Hawaii. KHNL won a total of four awards, more than any other television station.

The Excellence in Journalism awards are presented annually by the Hawaii chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

PUBLIC SERVICE REPORTING:

Print: William Cole, The Honolulu Advertiser, "Bad Blood: The Ambush of Chosen Company in Afghanistan"
Television: Leland Kim, KHNL News 8, "Tracking H1N1"

DAILY NEWSPAPER

Business Reporting: Andrew Gomes, The Honolulu Advertiser, "Last of Sugar Cane Plantations on Track Toward More Financial Losses"
Spot News: The Honolulu Advertiser, "Furlough Furor"
General News/Enterprise Reporting: William Cole, The Honolulu Advertiser, "Bad Blood: The Ambush of Chosen Company in Afghanistan"
Feature Writing/Short Form: Mary Vorsino, The Honolulu Advertiser, "Father Damien’s Miracle Woman"
Feature Writing/Long Form: William Cole, The Honolulu Advertiser, "Bad Blood: The Ambush of Chosen Company in Afghanistan"
News Page Design: Mike Rovner, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, "Tight times"
Feature Page Design: Russell McCrory, The Honolulu Advertiser, "Prized Fighter"

NONDAILY NEWSPAPER

Business Reporting: Christine Cabalo, Hawaii Marine, "Bright Idea! New efficient lights dazzle K-Bay"
General News/Enterprise Reporting: Ragnar Carlson, Honolulu Weekly, "Malaekahanaville"
Feature Writing: Joe Udell, The Hawai’i Herald, "Water Runs Deep"
Community Reporting: Mark Vieth, Lahaina News, "Cochran concerned about LHS Boarding Department"
Page Design: Christine Cabalo, Hawaii Marine, "Hawaii Hotspots: Ten sites to see"

MAGAZINES

Business Reporting: Dennis Hollier, Hawaii Business magazine, "HMSA Will Remain Goliath"
Industry or Trade Reporting: Patricia Tummons, Environment Hawai’i, "Longliners Seek Loophole in Bigeye Limits"
Profile: Rufus Kimura, Hana Hou!, "Into the Twilight Zone"
Feature Writing/Short Form: Chad Blair, Hana Hou!, "The Art of Algae"
Feature Writing/Long Form: Jesse Katz, Hana Hou!, "Seven Summits"
Page Design: Wes Funai, Hawaii Business magazine, "Best Places to Work—And the Winners are … "
Magazine Cover: Darin Isobe, HAWAI’I Magazine, "HAWAI’I Magazine’s November/December 2009 Cover"

OPEN PRINT

Column Writing/News: David Shapiro, The Honolulu Advertiser, "David Shapiro"
Column Writing/Features or Sports: A. Kam Napier, Honolulu Magazine, "Editor’s Page"
Government Reporting: Nancy Cook Lauer, West Hawaii Today, "Sell, Sell, Sell"
Breaking News Reporting: Craig Gima, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, "Samoa Tsunami"
Health Reporting: Rob Perez, The Honolulu Advertiser, "Nursing Home Patient Evicted, Left at the Hospital"
Sports Reporting: Don Chapman, MidWeek, "The High Priests Wore Board Shorts"
Arts/Entertainment Reporting: Mike Gordon, The Honolulu Advertiser, "Part-time Performers"
Editorial: Patricia Tummons, Environment Hawai’i, "Going, Going, Gone: Will Ahi Vanish from the Auction Floor?"
Editorial Cartoon/Illustration: Dick Adair, MidWeek, "North Korea"
Informational Graphic: Minette McCabe, Martha P. Hernandez, Richard Ambo, The Honolulu Advertiser, "Missouri to be towed to drydock"
News Photography: William Ing, Hawaii Tribune-Herald, "Terrifying home robbery"
Feature Photography: Dana Edmunds, Hana Hou!, "Surf summit"
Sports Photography: Jamm Aquino, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, "Doused"
Photo Essay: Jamm Aquino, F.L. Morris, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, "Lantern ceremony"
Special Section: Mary Poole, special projects editor, and staff, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, "50 years of statehood, 1959-2009"
Investigative Reporting: William Cole, The Honolulu Advertiser, "Bad Blood: The Ambush of Chosen Company in Afghanistan"

INTERNET

Online Spot News Reporting: The Honolulu Advertiser, "Obama inauguration: Hawaii Goes to Washington"
Online General News Reporting: The Honolulu Advertiser, "Bad Blood: The Ambush of Chosen Company in Afghanistan"
Best Online Multimedia Presentation: The Honolulu Advertiser, "Bad Blood: The Ambush of Chosen Company in Afghanistan"
Best Web Page Design: The Honolulu Advertiser, "Bad Blood: The Ambush of Chosen Company in Afghanistan"

STUDENT

Student Feature Writing: Lauren Rigney, Pacific Edge Magazine, "G.I.V.E.-ing at Ma’o Organic Farms"

RADIO

General News/Enterprise Reporting: Ben Markus, Hawaii Public Radio, "Hawaii School Furloughs Stir Anger"
Feature Reporting: Ben Markus, Hawaii Public Radio, "Big Waves Delight Surfers in Hawaii"

TELEVISION

Government Reporting: Sisto Hawaii Domingo Jr., KHNL News 8, "Courthouse Al"
Business Reporting: Marisa Yamane, Ken Mashiyama, KHON2 News, "Joe Pacific"
General News/Enterprise Reporting: Leland Kim, Ed Matthews, KHNL News 8, "Back to the ‘Aina"
Feature Reporting: Diane Ako, Tracy Arakaki, KHNL News 8, "The Unlikely Samurai"
Spot News Reporting: Dick Allgire, KITV, "Surfer Rescued"
Investigative Reporting: Andrew Pereira, Greg Lau, KHON2 News, "Dirty Ogo Sold in Chinatown"
Videography: Sonny Ahuna, KITV, "Surfer Rescued"
Series Reporting/Documentary/Special News Program: Lisa Kubota, Oscar Valenzuela, Anna Gomes, KGMB9, "Hawaii: The Imperial Visit"