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September 19, 2006 - UIS professor takes top honors in national competition

SPRINGFIELD – Charles N. Wheeler III, associate professor and director of the Public Affairs Reporting program at the University of Illinois at Springfield, recently received top honors for magazine commentary/news analysis in the annual competition sponsored by Capitolbeat, a national organization of journalists covering state and local governments. This is the third year in a row that Wheeler has won a first-place award in the contest.

The award, presented at the organization's annual conference in Columbus, Ohio, recognized Wheeler’s contributions over the past year as a columnist for Illinois Issues magazine. Topics in his column Ends and Means ranged from pieces on wind farming to Gov. Blagojevich's All Kids health insurance program.

Four PAR graduates also received awards from Capitolbeat this year. Adriana Colindres, a reporter for Copley Illinois Newspapers, took second place in beat reporting for newspapers with a circulation under 75,000. John O'Connor, an Associated Press reporter, won second place in beat reporting for a wire service and second place in the single report category. Christopher Wills, also an AP reporter, took third place in commentary/news analysis for a wire service. Scott Reeder, a reporter for the Small Newspaper Group, received an honorable mention for an investigative report on teacher tenure.

Capitolbeat, formerly called the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors, has more than 300 members in 46 states. Illinois Issues, a not-for-profit monthly publication focusing on analysis of public policy, is part of the Center for State Policy and Leadership at UIS.

UIS' Public Affairs Reporting program is a one-year master's degree program focusing on coverage of state government news. In addition to academic work, students serve six-month internships with newspaper, magazine, radio, television, wire service, or audio news service bureaus in the Statehouse pressroom in Springfield.

For more information, contact Wheeler at 206-7494.