This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Once a year, Utah journalists from all sizes of newsrooms and all platforms — paper, digital, TV, radio — gather to eat, drink, tell stories (of course) and celebrate a year's worth of great work. It's the awards banquet of the Utah Headliners Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

There are important stories being told around the state, like the Logan Herald Journal taking on Utah State University to reveal financial details of the naming rights to its football stadium.

Not everyone who was honored for their journalistic accomplishments are journalists.

Weber State University physics professor Dan Schroeder believed the public deserved financial accountability from an Ogden civic group operated by former Mayor Matthew Godfrey and pushed the issue all the way up to the Utah Supreme Court — a single citizen securing the right of all citizens to be informed about the actions of public officials.

Salt Lake Tribune journalists are second to none when it comes to producing essential work that informs the public and influences policy. Last week, their peers recognized the excellent reporting and the determination that produces it.

Tribune veteran Tom Wharton received the service to journalism award for his 50 years in the profession, covering beats from prep sports to crime, and traveling to and writing about every corner of Utah and the people who live there.

Nate Carlisle won the top investigative award for his deep look into two construction companies working on huge projects across the country that help fund the operations of the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Carlisle's seven-month investigation revealed exploitation of young workers and potential labor-law violations, all in the name of loyalty and faith.

Carlisle, a reporter and editor on our Justice Desk, was singled out a couple of times during the evening. The Herald Journal acknowledged his help in drafting open-records requests on the football stadium, and his reporting is the basis of the Utah Headliners' dubious Black Hole Award, given to a Utahn who represents the worst in keeping the public informed. This year's award was presented in absentia to Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, whose office refused to abide by a State Records Committee decision to hand over documents requested by Carlisle involving an altercation between Beaver County Sheriff Cameron Noel and a person at a crime scene.

The Tribune took home 70 awards overall, including the general excellence prize for best newspaper.

Among the top prizes:

• Justice Desk reporter Erin Alberty captured first and second for excellent stories on police use of force.

• Benjamin Wood received the top award for education coverage.

• Religion and ethics reporter Peggy Fletcher Stack and courts reporter Jennifer Dobner took the general news award for stories on the controversy over gay conversion therapy.

• Christopher Smart, who covers Salt Lake City Hall, took first in government coverage.

• Matt Canham, investigative reporter on our government desk, snagged top honors in minority-issues reporting.

• Canham and his colleague Thomas Burr, our Washington, D.C., reporter, won in series coverage for excerpts from their book "Mormon Rivals: The Romneys, the Huntsmans and the Pursuit of Power."

• Trent Nelson pulled off a first, second and third sweep of the sports action photo category.

• Photographer Francisco Kjolseth took first for his video about a guy whose passion for biking — to work, to the store — knows no bounds. It is part of our ongoing "I Love" video series at sltrib.com.

• Sports reporters Brennan Smith and Kyle Goon won first place for sports videography for a piece on ESPN's "College Game Day" at the University of Utah.

• Features reporter Ellen Fagg Weist netted the top prize in personality-profile writing.

• Christopher Kamrani took first in non-deadline sports reporting.

• Page designer Todd Adams took first and second for his Sunday Tribune front pages.

• Rudy Mesicek captured first and second for his dynamic designs of our feature Mix covers.

Some awards The Tribune received left a bittersweet taste, for they went to staffers who have moved on and no longer are in our newsroom.

Jennifer Napier-Pearce, now communications director at the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics, swept two categories, best podcast ("Trib Talk") and best public affairs radio talk show ("Behind the Headlines" on KCPW).

Amy Lewis-Davis took first and second in graphics design.

Kristen Moulton received the top award in medical reporting.

Among the most satisfying awards, as far as I am concerned, were the first-second-third-honorable mention sweep Tribune reporters Benjamin Wood, Kathy Stephenson, Peggy Fletcher Stack, Jennifer Dobner, Matt Canham and Annie Knox took home in the continuing coverage category for reporting on their beats. That shows a commitment not only to breaking the news, but also to sticking with it and telling readers the whole story.

Congratulations to a great staff.

Terry Orme is The Tribune's editor. Contact him at orme@sltrib.com.