February 20, 2005

Associated Press writer Helen O’Neill wins ASNE award


RESTON, Va. – Associated Press Special Correspondent Helen O’Neill has been honored for her writing by the American Society of Newspaper Editors.

O’Neill won the award for non-deadline writing for her story, “Kidnapping Grandma Braun,” about the kidnapping of an 88-year-old grandmother in a small Wisconsin town. In awarding her the prize, the judges said, “O’Neill’s writing is spare, exciting, intimate. The pace is relentless, the cliffhangers nailbiting. There simply wasn’t a false note in the series; it was authentic to the core.”

"Helen has that rare ability to pull you right into a riveting story, enticing you to care about the characters and holding you in her spell until the very last word," said Kathleen Carroll, the AP's executive editor. "Readers anxiously followed each harrowing development, sighing with relief when Heddie Braun was rescued alive and cheering when her captors were sent to prison."

O’Neill, 45, joined AP in 1996 and was named a national writer for the AP in 1997. In 2001, she was named a special correspondent. Her tales of high adventure and human drama have garnered a wide audience and captured other major writing awards. She is a native of Ireland, and graduated from University College Dublin.

The ASNE is the main organization of newspaper editors in the United States. Its yearly awards honor distinguished writing and photography. Seven other awards were also announced.

American Society of Newspaper Editors: http://www.asne.org