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Boston Globe staff honored for Marathon bombing coverage

The staff of The Boston Globe won the breaking news writing award Thursday from the American Society of News Editors for coverage of last April’s Boston Marathon bombings. Globe columnist Kevin Cullen was honored with the commentary award for his pieces on the bombings and other topics in 2013.

“Globe reporters used their depth of knowledge about their community and its people to navigate around the chaos at the scene and area hospitals — through a city in lockdown still searching for unknown assailants — to fully report all known and verified facts about what happened,” the judges wrote of the Marathon coverage.

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“Judges appreciated how thoroughly and honestly the Globe reported what it knew and what it did not about suspects and potential motives without speculating or giving undo credence to unverified rumors and theories. Stories were tightly written and edited, packed with information and context about the tragedy. Every quote mattered.”

Globe editor Brian McGrory expressed gratitude for the recognition.

“It is thankfully rare that a newsroom is challenged to make sense of something so utterly senseless and tragic,” McGrory said. “We all wish it never happened, but we’re proud that we could play the role we did, and deeply appreciative of this award.”

Cullen’s writing, the judges said, “demonstrates a deft writing touch, a ferocious spirit, and a no holds-barred clarity that is by turns bracing and brilliant. His well-reported columns surrounding the Boston Marathon bombing were particularly noteworthy for their humanity and the way they captured the defiant spirit of a city simultaneously reeling from a devastating attack.”

In addition to Marathonrelated columns, Cullen’s submission included columns on the trial of South Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger and a remembrance of Irish poet Seamus Heaney, who died last year.

“Kevin Cullen has emerged as a vital voice in Boston and one of the most eloquent columnists in the nation, never more than last year,” McGrory said. “It’s beyond gratifying to see this kind of recognition.”

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The Washington Post garnered two ASNE awards, for nondeadline writing and for local accountability reporting.

Dante Ramos, the Globe’s deputy managing editor for the editorial pages, was named a finalist in editorial writing.


Bennie DiNardo can be reached at dinardo@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @bdinardo.