About

The Redoubt Reporter is a community newspaper for the Central Kenai Peninsula, published weekly in Soldotna.

It is distributed for free on Wednesdays to more than 90 locations in Soldotna, Kenai, Nikiski, Sterling, Kasilof and Cooper Landing.

Subscriptions by mail are available for $5 per month.

Jennifer Neyman
Editor/Publisher/Reporter
Email redoubtreporter@alaska.net
907-394-NEWS (6397)

Newsroom:
Clark  Fair, Reporter

Email redoubtreporter@alaska.net
907-262-5162

Advertising Sales
Jenny Neyman, 394-6397, email redoubtreporterads@alaska.net
Joe Rizzo 394-1159, email redoubtreporterads@alaska.net

Design
James Brown

Redoubt Reporter
P.O. Box 2908
Soldotna, Alaska 99669

The Redoubt Reporter office is in The Map Shop, 43622 Sterling Highway, across from Fred Meyer in downtown Soldotna.

What others say about The Redoubt Reporter:

KBBI Radio (September 2008)
Homer Tribune (September 2008)
Anchorage Press (February 2009)

2010 Alaska Press Club Awards:
(Awarded March, 2011)

Best Alaska Outdoor Story, All Media, Second place, Joseph Robertia, Redoubt Reporter. “Lucky looks.” Judge’s comments: Denali National Park is one of the crown jewels of Alaska. The chance to experience its 90 miles of road, outside of the confines and tight schedules of the notorious park buses, is an opportunity to be envied. This story brings us the world-class adventure in wildlife and scenery in an evocative way. Few will win the chance to go, but now at least we know what it’s like.

Best Arts Coverage, Small Papers, Second place, Clark Fair, Redoubt Reporter, “Ode to old and new.” Judge’s comments: Any article about a poet ought to make some attempt to bring the poet’s own voice into the piece. Clark Fair does that, and in the process manages to bring Mullen to believable life on the page. Definitely the better of the two articles in this competition which mark the release of this Soldotna poet’s first collection.

Best Business Reporting, Small Papers, Second place, Jenny Neyman, Redoubt Reporter, “Gases to Gases.” Judge’s comments: This reporter offered a detailed look at the technical challenges of meeting new environmental requirements at a refinery that is an important player in the local economy.

Best Education Reporting, Small Papers, First place, Jenny Neyman, Redoubt Reporter, “Food for thought.” Judge’s comments: A wonderful way to tell the school food story! Well reported and written to read.

Best General News Story, Small Papers, First place, Jenny Neyman, Redoubt Reporter, “Something horrible going on.” Judge’s comments: Neyman skillfully uses juxtaposition in her lead and throughout the story as she adroitly taps the pulse of an emerging political movement. Her reporting is fair and clear-eyed. She demonstrates the extreme views of her subjects without passing judgment. She lets them have their say, truly the mark of a responsible reporter. Many people outside Alaska would be interested in this story about the burgeoning anger and distrust of government that this story so accurately captures.

Best Headline Writing, Small Papers, First place, Jenny Neyman, Redoubt Reporter, “Counterintelligence,” “Heartfelt,” “Mousepiece,” “Tough roe to hoe,” Write stuff.” Judge’s comments: “Mousepiece.” Cute play on words in a ridiculously small space.

Best Long Feature, Small Papers, First place, Clark Fair, Redoubt Reporter, “Missing pilot at rest at last.” Judge’s comments: Gripping tale, well written, sensitive and honest.

Best Long Feature, Small Papers, Second place, Jenny Neyman, Redoubt Reporter, “Rest in peace.”

Best Series, Small Papers, First place, Jenny Neyman, Redoubt Reporter, “Tough roe to hoe — Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association.”

Suzan Nightingale Award for Best Columnist, Small Papers, First place, Jenny Neyman, Redoubt Reporter, “Counterintelligence,” “Happy birthday to ‘we,'” “Proud to claim a carrier.” Judge’s comments: Energetic, witty, and sincere, Jenny’s columns leaven an honest sense of mission and responsibility with playfulness and self-deprecation.

 

2009 Alaska Press Club Awards:
(Awarded March, 2010)

Best General News Story, Small Papers, Second place: Jenny Neyman, Redoubt Reporter, “Road kill.” Very well written story. Takes what could have been a very ordinary police blotter item — if that much — and instead uses it to explore hunting as an issue. Good quotes. Deeply reported. Get both sides of the issue. And gives us a peek at life in Alaska. Judge: Janet Kornblum is a former USA Today feature writer.

Best Use of Story and Photos by a Journalist, Small Papers, First place, Jenny Neyman, Redoubt Reporter, “Crystal cool.” “Crystal cool” is totally cool. Very nice attention to detail. The photos are well-played and each one is a surprise to the eyes. Of course, since it’s only snowed three times in the last 40 years in New Orleans, anything to remind us of cool weather is a welcome relief. Judge: Doug Parker is the photo editor at the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

Best Long Feature, All Print Media, Second place, Jenny Neyman, Redoubt Reporter, “Crash course.” Strong writing and pacing, compelling details and a true understanding of the struggles faced after traumatic brain injury separate this story from most other “personal tragedy” tales. The writer’s sympathetic eye and ear clearly deliver the family’s challenges. Judge: Stephen Busemeyer is the editor of the Hartford Courant in Hartford, Connecticut.

Best Profile, Small Papers, Second place, Jenny Neyman, Redoubt Reporter, “Wild life.” An elderly couple’s buoyant personalities shine through, courtesy of Neyman’s way with quotes and anecdotes about 30 years in the bush. So deftly written, I’ll forgive the phrase “the inevitable march of time.” Judge: Paula Span was a longtime reporter for the Washington Post and Washington Post Magazine. She currently writes the “New Old Age” blog for the New York Times.

Best Reporting on Health or Science, Small Papers, First place, Jenny Neyman, Redoubt Reporter, “Stuck in the middle.” A lesson in putting the reader in a stranger’s shoes so that abstract problems are communicated more effectively and without clichés. The moments when the protagonist recalls being counseled to file for legal separation (a paperwork trick to qualify for benefits) and the moments when Mom has to shy away from her daughter for fear of infection are heart-breaking. The tone was appropriately measured, never bathetic. Because of class differences, many readers with insurance would never come across someone like the protagonist. Kudos for the introduction to the writer and her editors. Judge: Bob Baker is a freelance writer, editor and writing coach and a newspaperman for 35 years, the last 26 at the Los Angeles Times. He writes the blog “Newsthinking.com” which offers writing tools for journalists.

Best Reporting on Health or Science, Small Papers, Third place, Jenny Neyman, Redoubt Reporter, “Arsenic on tap.” Excellent detail consumer reporting and writing without going over the comfort zone of
the reader. Judge: Bob Baker is a freelance writer, editor and writing coach and a newspaperman for 35 years, the last 26 at the Los Angeles Times. He writes the blog “Newsthinking.com” which offers writing tools for journalists.

Suzan Nightingale Award for Best Columnist, Small Papers, Third place, Jenny Neyman, Redoubt Reporter. Neyman’s musings about her adventures and mistakes are disarming in their candor and engaging thanks to vivid and unselfconscious writing. She’s unafraid to reveal foolishness and foibles, but she does it with a good-natured energy and a refreshing lack of cynicism. Judge: Samantha Bennett is a freelance columnist based in Pittsburgh and president of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists.

Best Sports Feature, Small Papers, First place, Jenny Neyman, Redoubt Reporter, “Matti Leaves a mark.” Nice story, well written, well constructed. Judge: Frank Shorr is a senor lecturer at Boston University’s college of Communication and a veteran of more than 30 years in sports television. Shorr is an eight-time Emmy award winner.

Best Sustained Coverage, Small Papers, Second place, Jenny Neyman, Redoubt Reporter, “Kenai hydro.” Neyman’s work serves as an excellent explanatory piece of journalism, the kind a community needs when big decisions are being made. Neyman also got her fair share of scoops covering the long-term story. Judge: Laura McGann is the Washington reporter for TPMmuckraker.com. Her stories have appeared on the Dow Jones Newswires, Associated Press and in the Wall Street Journal, among other papers.

Best Series, Small Papers, Third place, Jenny Neyman, Redoubt Reporter, “Soldotna cemetery — Laid to rest.” Judge: Barbara Serrano is managing editor at Yakima Herald-Republic.

Best Headline Writing, All Print Media, Second place, Jenny Neyman, Redoubt Reporter, “Kenai River be dammed.” A nice one-letter play on words that works in both directions. Judge: Ron Solomon of the Arizona Daily Star, is a frequent award winner for news headline writing.

Best Alaska Outdoor Story, All Media, Third place, Jenny Neyman, Redoubt Reporter, “Good as gold.” This is a good, exploratory travel narrative that weaves personal experience and frontier history in a seamless tale, enlivened by a wry and bantering tone. Judge: Paul McHugh is the former outdoors writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. He currently writes for New York Times, Washington Post and the L.A. Times, as well as writing short and long fiction and non-fiction books.

Best Alaska History Story, All Media, Third place, Clark Fair, Redoubt Reporter, “Goat woman.” Judge: Steve Haycox is an American cultural historian specializing in the history of the American West and Alaska. He teaches Alaska history, American West and American environmental history at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

Best Weekly Newspaper, Honorable mention, Redoubt Reporter. A shout-out to the newest weekly in the bunch. The Redoubt Reporter has edge and energy, not to mention a lovely logo. Judge: Elizabeth Mehren is a professor of journalism at Boston University and former national correspondent and New England Bureau Chief for the Los Angeles Times.

 

2008 Alaska Press Club Awards:
(Awarded March, 2009)

Best Use of Story and Photos by a Journalist, Small Papers, Third place: Clark Fair, “Tiny But Tough,” Redoubt Reporter.  Judge: Dinah Rogers is the assistant photo editor at the New Orleans Picayune.

Best Government or Political Reporting, Small Papers, Second place: Jenny Neyman, “Sign of the times?” The Redoubt Reporter. Neyman interviewed both real people and candidates to write a “normal” campaign story about campaign sign thefts. What made this interesting were details about signs being “shot, stabbed, shredded by razors, graffitied and burned,”—who knew you could do all that to a campaign sign?— and then the extra details about the actual costs of signs – from $350 to $1,134. Neyman also took pains to make sure her reporting included candidates from both sides and several races. Good job of giving a fresh look at a usual political campaign story. Judge: Carla Kimbrough teaches journalism at University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She was a longtime reporter at the Denver Post.

Best Headline, Third Place: Jenny Neyman, “Blind sided,” with the deck, “Flats duck hunters tangle with Parks over regulations,” the Redoubt Reporter.  Impressive play on words in an extremely tight headline count — not to mention the bold type, which makes it even harder. These things count.  Judge: Ron Solomon has worked for newspapers for nearly 40 years. He is a copy editor at the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson.

Suzan Nightingale Award for Best columnist, Small Papers, First place: Jenny Neyman, “Business leap should have beter safety plan,” “And now a word about our sponsors,” “Shouldering the burden to lighten the load,” Redoubt Reporter Elegantly and energetically written, funny, smart, accessible and wise. You can feel the excitement and terror in the column about launching the paper, and you cheer for her. The profile of the cancer patient captures toughness and courage and never gets gooey — you have  to love “embrace it head on, so she could get a good grip around its neck and beat the livin’ snot out of it.” Judge: Samantha Bennett is president of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. Her work has appeared in the Vancouver Sun, the Toronto Star, the Montreal Gazette and the Baltimore Sun.

Leslie Ann Murray Award for Best Editorial Writing, All Media, First place: Jenny Neyman, The Redoubt Reporter, This is classically good editorial writing, and would be recognized as such in any paper in the country. She’s done her thinking before her writing. She has a good take. She gets to the point quickly, sets up her arguments well, parries counter arguments and finishes strong. Editorials are clean, logical and persuasive. Judge: Tom Condon is an editorial writer and columnist at The Hartford Courant.