SanDiegoStory.com: “Best Entertainment Website” in San Diego
Tuesday night this week, (October 27th, 2015), the San Diego Press Club held its 42nd annual Awards for Excellence in Journalism at the Jacobs Center in National City. The writers at Critics LLC, owner of SanDiegoStory.com won 8 awards overall with the site taking first place in its category “Websites, Entertainment Site.”
The San Diego Press Club is one of the largest press clubs in the United States. The annual awards take on added significance in that the entries are judged by members of press clubs in other cities, not by peers here in San Diego. The awards filled 160 categories for radio, tv, magazines, newspapers, websites, student journalists and even public relations professionals who interface with the press.
SanDiegoStory.com Staff (from left) Mark Burgess, Ken Herman, Kris Eitland (front), Welton Jones (back), Bill Eadie, David Dixon
The SanDiegoStory.com team dominated several categories in addition to the first place award given to the site overall. Under “Daily newspapers and websites, Arts & Entertainment Reporting“, Critics LLC member and outgoing Press Club President Kris Eitland won first place for “When Dance Makers Test Work & Compete for Prizes, Everyone Wins” from February 2015 and she also won Third place for “Deadly Sins, Seductive Dance, Divorce Musical: Fringe Fest 2014 Invades Downtown” from July 2014.
Press Club President and SanDiegoStory.com critic Kris Eitland with Press Club Executive Director Terry Williams
In the category Daily Newspapers and websites, Reviews: Theater-Opera, another founder of Critics LLC and longtime critic for the San Diego Union Tribune, Welton Jones, took First Place for “Bright Star” Globes Reward for the Faithful from October 2014. In the same category, our colleague and another founding member, Bill Eadie, professor in the San Diego State University School of Journalism, scored in a three way tie sharing 2nd place with James Hebert of the San Diego Union Tribune and Pat Launer of the TimesOfSanDiego.com for his review “Into the Woods: The Old Globe which he wrote for TalkinBroadway.com. And sharing third place with Diana Saenger of ReviewExpress.com, Kris Eitland added to her accolades with her review “They Love this Dirty Dancing Chick Flick Clone” from January 2015.
As our chief dance critic, Kris Eitland won two more awards for her coverage in the category Daily newspapers and websites, Reviews: Live Performance. She earned a First Place for Dangerous Dance, Spoken Word in “Damaged Goods’ from July 2014 and sole 2nd Place with Dances with Choirs: Malashock at the Forum, Morris at the Barclay from May 2015.
During the review period eligible for the award (July 1, 2014 – June 30, 2015), SanDiegoStory.com writers produced 240 reviews: 108 theater reviews; 87 music reviews; 36 dance reviews and 9 other works. We covered over 60 presenting organizations at 34 venues all over San Diego.
With a Creative Writing degree from the University of Arizona and an MBA from the University of San Diego and years of website experience, Mr. Burgess supports this site with technical and publishing expertise and pretty much really enjoys working with everyone associated with it. Read more…
Congratulations to you all! We are so grateful for each one of you and your wise, thoughtful and inspiring writing!