Of all the contests the Boston Phoenix enters, the annual Association of Alternative Newsweeklies (AAN) Editorial Awards is the most satisfying to win. AAN, an association of 128 alternative papers from across the US and Canada, has high standards. Its membership includes weeklies of all sizes from media markets as different from one another as San Francisco and Duluth, but there are no community newspapers, no dailies, no shoppers, and no tourist rags in the group. So we're proud to announce a trio of AAN wins this year.

In the Media Reporting category, Phoenix senior writer and media reporter Dan Kennedy grabbed third place for his February 18, 2001, road-trip report from the presidential-primary campaign trail, "The Love Bus" - described by judges as "one of the first long, hard peeks into McCain's ability to hypnotize the press."

Freelance illustrator Kevin Banks placed second in the Illustration category for his "Outdoors" cover in the November 3, 2000, "Best" issue. And freelance photographer Geoffrey Kula landed a second-place Photo Journalism plaque for his October 20, 2000, urban-bicycling photo essay - described by judges as "almost cinematic" - illustrating freelancer Andrew Weiner's feature "Bike to the Future."

View our prize-winning pieces:

Dan Kennedy’s " The Love Bus " http://www.bostonphoenix.com/archive/features/00/02/17/DON_T_QUOTE_ME.html

To read more of Dan Kennedy’s work, visit http://www.dankennedy.net.

Kevin Banks’s " Outdoors " cover http://www.bostonphoenix.com/gallery/kbanks/10_HELLvetica/image1aa.html

To see more of Kevin Banks’s illustrations, visit his Phoenix gallery site at http://www.bostonphoenix.com/gallery/kbanks/.

Geoff Kula’s photos for " Bike to the Future " http://www.bostonphoenix.com/archive/features/00/10/19/scul_photo1.html

Issue Date: July 17, 2001