The Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada awarded the Hawaii Catholic Herald the top prize for a diocesan newspaper in its circulation class at the Catholic Media Convention, May 25 in New York City.

Judges’ comments Best news writing local/regional 1-17,000 Diocesan paper, First Place, Hawaii Catholic Herald, Honolulu, Hawaii, March 10, “The ‘Miracle Girl’” by Lehia Apana “This was a tough and complex story to report and write. Did a ‘miracle’ really occur when the little girl in the story suddenly recovered from what looked like certain death? Did her recovery occur because people back home began to pray for her at the moment she got better? An intellectually lazy or less sophisticated reporter might have been suckered into writing a cliched rah-rah piece that tipped over into claiming a miracle had indeed occurred. Instead, Apana worked to gather all the facts, including quoting doctors who could not explain the girl’s recovery...and she let those facts speak for themselves. Apana honored her readers by letting them make up their own minds. Beyond the reporting and the sophisticated and objective tone, this story sings because it is beautifully written in a conversational storytelling style.” General excellence 1-17,000 Diocesan paper, First Place, Hawaii Catholic Herald, Honolulu, Hawaii “This newspaper stands out in the way it imaginatively — even joyfully — reflects its community. The editors give prominence to news and features about Hawaii issues and people while providing context through the judicious use of wire stories and a robust commentary section. The Herald also provides a comprehensive mix of service features — from reader notices to movie reviews and a roundup of parish and school news — not found in most Catholic papers of its size. The Herald is well organized into departments and is appealingly designed, with a magazine-style front page that signals its rich variety of content. To read it is to know what it means to be Catholic in Hawaii.”

The Herald took first place in the general excellence category for newspapers with a circulation up to 17,000. Winning second place in that category was Today’s Catholic of Fort Wayne, Ind. Third place went to The Catholic Spirit of Metuchen, N.J.

Former Hawaii Catholic Herald reporter Lehia Apana, now a reporter for the Maui News, also won a first place award in the best news writing local/regional category, for her March 10, 2006, story, “The ‘Miracle Girl.’”

The Hawaii Catholic Herald won three honorable mentions — one each for feature writing (“Mission Exceptional,” July 14), chart or information graphic (“Our Lady of Peace,” June 30), and local news story (“No Greater Love,” Jan. 13).

The awards were for newspapers published in the 2006 calendar year.