A night of journalism awards (and work)

I was lucky enough to attend the 2009 Carl Rogan Awards banquet Saturday night in Tulsa.

It was a nice drive, a nice dinner and some nice conversations with colleagues.

I even sat at the table with Ken 2.0 (and, yes, he was still eating reasonable portions).

But the honors made the night truly memorable.

• NewsOK.com won for Best Web Site.
• The Oklahoman won for best newspaper.
• Reporter Nolan Clay won the sweepstakes award, given for the best entry of ALL the award-winning entries for writing. He won for his role in the Dying Too Young series.
• Photojournalist John Clanton won the sweepstakes awards for the best entry of ALL the award-winning entries for photography.

It was a good night for NewsOK and The Oklahoman; we won 40 individual awards.

It was a good night for a dedicated group of journalists who truly aim to deliver quality products to our audience.

And if you want proof of that final statement (the one about truly aiming to deliver for our audience), try this:

Nolan was driving along I-44 on his way to Tulsa for the banquet, when he was diverted to cover the breaking news of the shooting at the mall in Muskogee. He had a choice: Receive a great honor in front of hundreds of colleagues … or cover a gang-shooting.

He chose our audience.

I think he made that choice based on his dedication to his craft. But perhaps the idea spending a night with a roomful of journalists sent him yearning for a gang-shooting. We’re still not sure.

Regardless, Nolan’s updates to the breaking news story appeared on NewsOK before I finished dessert.

And no, Ken 2.0 did not partake in dessert.