Columnist Wins Award for Writing

Los Angeles Times columnist Peter H. King has been honored with a 1996 distinguished writing award by the American Society of Newspaper Editors.

King and three others were selected from more than 500 journalists by a nationwide panel of media professionals. He and the other winners will receive $2,500 prizes in April at the society’s annual convention in Washington D.C.

“Pete King’s column is a marvelous guide to the Golden State and its fascinating folkways. He cuts to the heart of its forgotten people and its flamboyant famous as well, its poetry and its tragedies, its complex problems and simple joys,” said Times Editor and Executive Vice President Shelby Coffey III. “We’re honored that the ASNE prize, with its special emphasis on graceful prose, has been awarded to Pete King.”

Before becoming a columnist in 1991, King was a reporter and then city editor for The Times. His columns have explored the lives of everyday people, from farmers struggling to survive in the San Joaquin Valley to residents living with seemingly insurmountable violence and crime in Los Angeles’ urban core. King’s columns also have explained the inner workings of government and the effects of public policy on California’s residents.

A sampling of King’s columns and other winning entries will be featured in “Best Newspaper Writing 1996,” a publication produced by the Florida-based Poynter Institute for Media Studies, which administered the competition.

“This honor is one of the top prizes in journalism and is one that editors consider very important because it goes to the heart of our craft,” said Lee Stinnett, executive director of the American Society of Newspaper Editors.

The other winners were: Mitch Albom, Detroit Free Press; Daniel P. Henninger, Wall Street Journal, and Rick Bragg, New York Times.