Observer, staff win eight Katie Awards

Last Saturday night, the Dallas Observer and its staff took home eight Katie Awards -- the most in the newspaper's 19-year history -- including one for best non-daily newspaper. The Katie Awards are presented by the Dallas Press Club in recognition of excellence in journalism and mass communications throughout Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.

Four of the Observer's Katie Awards came in the major market daily newspapers division, which contains entries from the five-state area's biggest papers, including The Dallas Morning News, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and the Austin American-Statesman.

Theater critic Jimmy Fowler won the best arts criticism award for "Slick Willie," his November 1998 review of Kitchen Dog Theater's take on The Taming of the Shrew.

Robert Wilonsky took home the arts feature story award for "Odd man out," about the late Texas-born author Terry Southern and his estate. Wilonsky also won Katies in the sports column category with his column "Balls" and in the sports feature story category with "The spring of our discontent," which followed the Texas Rangers through spring training.

The Observer also won four Katie Awards in the non-daily or special-interest newspaper division.

Editor Julie Lyons won the Katie Award for best general column. Staff writer Rose Farley won for best general news story with "Whine Capital of Texas," about a rigged wine contest in Grapevine.

Former staff writer Juliana Barbassa won for best feature story with "Children of the storm," which detailed the journeys of homeless Honduran children forced to seek refuge in Dallas.