Virginia Press Association Awards Bristow Beat First Place in Online Breaking News, Best Online Column

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The Virginia Press Association named Bristow Beat the best in Breaking News Writing in the online-only category Saturday night at their annual awards banquet.

“This award is especially meaningful to us as ‘breaking news’ is the foundation of our business,” Bristow Beat publisher Jason Shaw said. “For the past two years, residents of western Prince William County have turned to Bristow Beat for breaking stories and the latest information.”

The VPA specifically praised Bristow Beat for their coverage of the fuel tanker spill July 11 that had residents of Braemar communities wondering of they would have to evacuate their homes.

“After we were alerted to the incident, we mobilized and dedicated ourselves to covering the entire story until it reached its natural conclusion,” he said. “We were the only news outlet that had a continual presence at the site.”

The VPA also awarded Bristow Beat columnist Kathy Smaltz first place for online-only Column Writing.

Smaltz, a published author and language arts teacher, writes the though-provoking column “Busy in Bristow,” which details the challenges and rewards of a working mother living in Northern Virginia.

Judges commented that her columns were “well written and thoughtful, with good use of humor.”

"Kathy's columns never shy away from the difficult parts of parenting," Executive Editor Stacy Shaw said. "It's not about parents patting themselves on the back; it's about looking at how hard a job parenting is, combined with the added pressure that comes from society's expectations."

She notes that Smaltz pulls no punches. One of her articles even retold of how she navigated through a local school shooting as a teacher at Bull Run Middle School years ago.

"Perhaps that's not what people expect to read in a typical 'Mom blog,' but Kathy chooses her own topics, and we definitely support her when she's tackling the tough, compelling issues," Stacy said.

Bristow Beat also received third place prizes for education coverage of Prince William County Schools and public safety stories about crime in the county.

"I really think we do a good job keeping up with what's going on in the county for our readers," Stacy said. "I love to talk to community members about the issues."

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