The National Association of Black Journalists has named five feature stories published last year in Riverfront Times as finalists for its 2013 "Salute to Excellence Awards."
The stories are: - Code Dead, freelance writer Christopher Tritto's examination into the encrypted note left on a dead man's body in St. Louis that has stumped the FBI's foremost code-breakers.
- Daddy Do-Over, former staff writer Nicholas Phillips' feature story on the Fathers' Support Center of St. Louis that provides a bootcamp for estranged fathers.
- Farewell to Red Bones Den, freelancer Suzy Rust's profile of north St. Louis tavern owner Warren "Red Bone" Lytle as he considered shutting down his popular watering hole last summer.
- He Ain't Heavy, former staff writer John H. Tucker's profile of competitive power lifter Derrick Johnson, a firebrand whose shadow in his sport far exceeds his diminutive stature.
- Plenty of Guilt, freelancer Tony D'Souza and editor Tom Finkel's investigation into the unreported events and questionable justice surrounding the murder of a white minister's son at the hands of a black man three decades ago in the Central West End.
Last year Riverfront Times took top honors in NABJ's "news feature" category for our coverage of the St. Louis "knockout game" and had two other finalists among a field that included such news outlets as the Associated Press, Washington Post and USA Today.
